MARION COUNTY – Shelter Veterinarian *NEW SHELTER OPENING SOON*

$100,568.00 – $155,875.20

JOB SUMMARY

Responsible for skilled professional work in the performance of surgical sterilization and overseeing all medical examination and treatment of animals impounded at Marion County Animal Services.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

·            Performs high quality high volume spay/neuter (HQHVSN) surgeries for dogs and cats at the shelter and on the mobile surgical clinic, for shelter and privately-owned animals.

·            Oversees pre- and post-operative care of animals.

·            Triages, examines, and treats healthy, diseased, and injured animals. Based on medical evaluation, decides on appropriate disposition of individual animal, considering available resources, prognosis, and the health and safety of other animals and people; may include adoption, rescue partner transfer, foster and/or humane euthanasia when appropriate.

·            Performs and assists with Humane Euthanasia as needed.

·            Maintains accurate and up-to-date records and provides appropriate documentation for court cases, as needed.

·            Administers vaccinations and microchips at Marion County Animal Services and at off-site locations, including during vaccination and microchip clinics for the community.

·            Oversees the maintenance of surgical equipment and area.

·            Provides veterinarian services during emergency/disaster situations.

·            Perform occasional necropsies, writes medical reports, and testifies in court for cruelty cases.

·            Provides basic medical assessments on and off-site, makes recommendations, and may provide treatment for animals, as needed, for animal control cases.

·            Oversees recognizing, handling, and providing recommendations for any infectious disease outbreaks at the shelter.

·            May assess and provide training and recommendations for employees, fosters, and volunteers.

·            May assist in overseeing hands-on completion of employee euthanasia certification.

·            Provides training and guidance for veterinary students at the shelter or mobile clinic from universities.

·            May provide medical assistance for livestock.

·            Occasionally participates in outreach adoption events on weekends or evenings.

·            Remains available on a rotating on-call basis for animal emergencies.

·            May be required to deploy to active investigation scenes to evaluate, triage, and treat any animals at the location.

·            Assists department director with creating and implementing SOPs, budgeting, and championing for changes to align with best practices in animal welfare.

·            Assesses shelter health and overall herd health.

·            Provides excellent customer service to members of the general public and other County employees. Personal contact occurs with other employees of the unit, employees of other departments in the County, citizens, and customers of the department. Service is provided in person, via email, and/or by phone contact.

·            Implements the organization’s guiding principles and core values.

·            Performs other related job duties as assigned.

SUPERVISION

This position is responsible for directly and regularly supervising work of one or more employees, with indirect supervision.  Includes assigning, directing, and reviewing work of subordinate employees. Responsibilities include providing on-the-job training; evaluating job performance; recommending selection of new staff members, promotions, status changes, and discipline; and planning, scheduling, and coordinating work operations. Will be responsible for veterinary student trainees and provide basic evaluations to educational institution.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience:

Doctoral Degree of Veterinary Medicine or equivalent; and two (2) years’ relevant experience preferred; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Licenses or Certifications:

Possession of a valid, State of Florida driver’s license to operate a motor vehicle. Requirement exists at the time of hire and as a condition of continued employment.

·            Valid Florida Veterinarian License.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

·         Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, and legal documents.

·         Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community.

·         Ability to write speeches and articles for publication that conform to prescribed style and format.

·         Ability to effectively assist and present information to top management, public groups, and/or boards.

·         Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.

·         Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.

·         Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.

·         Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

·         Ability to develop plans, policies, and specifications.

·         Ability to contribute to evolving and improving upon current plans and policies within available shelter resources.

·         Ability to functions as an expert in matters of shelter medicine and work cooperatively with fellow staff veterinarian.

·         Knowledge of drug use regulations, euthanasia and disposal techniques, and bio-hazardous waste disposal.

·         Knowledge of humane animal capture, care, and restraint.

·         Knowledge of communicable zoonotic disease symptoms and veterinary technical procedures.

·         Skill in veterinary practices.

·         Ability to perform a minimum of 20-30 spay/neuter surgeries per day.

·         Ability to identify animals by breed, breed traits, assess behavior, and recognize common health conditions and symptoms of disease.

·         Ability to make decisions and prioritize job assignments.

·         Ability to remain calm in stressful situations involving people and animals.

·         Ability to take a teamwork approach to the job by cooperating with others, offering to help others when needed, and considering larger organization or team goals rather than individual concerns.

·         Ability to build a constructive team spirit where team members are committed to the goals and objectives of the team.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The work is heavy work which requires exerting up to 100 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 50 pounds of force frequently, and/or up to 20 pounds of force constantly to move objects. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will occasionally be required to climb, balance, and run; will regularly be required to talk or hear; and will frequently be required to stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle or feel, reach with hands or arms, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl, and smell.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Work is performed in various indoor and outdoor environments. While performing the duties of this job, the employee will occasionally be exposed to fumes or airborne particles and toxic or caustic chemicals; will occasionally be exposed to outdoor weather conditions, and wet or humid conditions. Will be exposed to zoonotic diseases, fractious animals, animal waste, and blood. Will occasionally enter private citizen’s homes and properties. May be required to wear a respirator.

The noise level for the environment is loud.