Summary:

Launched in 2014, the ASPCA Los Angeles Initiative layers policy work, inter-agency partnerships, and direct service programs to drive change for animals and the community. The Los Angeles Initiative is comprised of 80 people from more than a dozen departments. In addition to policy work, current direct services include kitten intake diversion, foster and adoption; animal relocation; and veterinary services (spay/neuter and primary pet care).

The ASPCA’s Los Angeles work is crucially dependent on seamless collaboration and alignment both within the team and with our community partners, which include municipal shelters, non-profits, and policy makers.

The Senior Director of Shelter Medicine, Los Angeles (Senior Director, SMLA) supports the ASPCA’s partnership work with Los Angeles City Animal Services (LAAS) as part of a team of two on-site ASPCA staff members with shelter operations and shelter medicine expertise embedded with LAAS shelter personnel. The focus of this work is the implementation of a joint 3-year plan for LAAS shelters, led by LAAS, and resourced and directly supported by the ASPCA and Best Friends. This work aims to achieve the following goals at LAAS shelters:

community engagement intake, including efforts to support community cats;

pathway planning to ensure animals receive timely, coordinated care and support, and that the shelters are operating within capacity for humane care; and

positive outcomes for animals by increasing adoptions, transfers, and other lifesaving placements.

Who We Are

The Senior Director, SMLA is part of the Shelter Medicine Services (SMS) team. The SMS team is comprised of ABVP board-certified shelter medicine specialists and the ASPCA’s NYC-based Julie Morris Shelter Medicine Residency. SMS provides leadership, consultation, and support to improve the health and welfare of animals in shelters and communities both internally at the ASPCA and externally across the US. Members of SMS each have assigned projects and areas of emphasis but collectively subscribe to a workplace culture of life-long learning, relentless collaboration, and a willingness to dive into work that needs to be done.

What You’ll Do

The Senior Director, SMLA reports directly to the Vice President, Shelter Medicine Services and Veterinary Training Programs and with a dotted line reporting relationship to the Senior Director, Los Angeles Initiative. The Senior Director, SMLA supports the ASPCA’s partnership with LAAS, providing strategic perspective, thought leadership, project planning skills, and tactical guidance relevant to implementation of the 3-year plan. They work with the ASPCA’s Senior Director of the Los Angeles Initiative; the ASPCA’s Senior Director of Shelter Operations, Los Angeles; the LAAS General Manager; and cross-agency leadership to develop and implement shelter medicine protocols and practices for both population level and individual animal care. Scope for the work includes providing subject matter expertise on shelter medical programs as well as shelter programs for admissions, animal pathway planning, and animal placement in service of the aforementioned goals. The Senior Director, SMLA develops and provides on-the-ground coaching, training, and support for LAAS veterinary and animal care personnel. They also provide iterative feedback on the workplan and its implementation and routinely use data and analysis to inform next steps.

As a member of the SMS team, the Senior Director regularly attends SMS department meetings and has access to the SMS team of ABVP board-certified shelter medicine specialists in developing and implementing protocols and practices aligned with the broader shelter medicine field.

To succeed in this role, the Senior Director, SMLA must have a high level of knowledge and experience in shelter medicine; excellent writing, public speaking, and communication skills; a strong desire to continually improve the health and well-being of animals, shelters, and the communities; and a collaborative and resilient spirit. Success will hinge on the ability to work with a variety of constituents and stakeholders, facilitate relationship-building, communicate clearly, and develop practical, effective, and efficient solutions to address critical needs, so that animals’ physical and behavioral needs are met on both individual and population levels.

Where and When You’ll Work

This position is primarily on-site with approximately 80% of time spent across the six Los Angeles city shelters in addition to remote work at a home office (up to 10%) and occasional travel (up to 10%). Regular travel between LAAS shelters and remote work locations is required .

Typical hours are aligned with shelter operational and veterinary staffing; this schedule may vary according to LAAS operations. Scheduling will be managed with attention to availability of partners and a balance of on-site and remote duties.

What You’ll Get

Compensation

Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of factors, including but not limited to education, training, experience, location, business needs, internal equity, market demands or budgeted amount for the role. The target hiring range is for new hire offers only, and staff compensation may increase beyond the maximum hiring range based on performance over time. The maximum of the hiring range is reserved for candidates with the highest qualifications and relevant experience. The expected hiring salary range for this role is set forth below and may be modified in the future.

The target hiring range for this role is $208,000 – $220,000 annually

Benefits

At the ASPCA, you don’t have to choose between your passion and making a living. Our comprehensive benefits package helps ensure you can live a rewarding life at work and at home. Our benefits include, but are not limited to:

Affordable health coverage, including medical, employer-paid dental and optional vision coverage.

Flexible time off that includes vacation time, sick and bereavement time, paid parental leave, 10 company paid holidays and paid personal time off that allows flexibility to observe the days that mean the most to you.

Competitive financial incentives and retirement savings, including a 401(k) plan with generous employer contributions — we match dollar-for-dollar up to 4% and provide an additional 4% contribution toward your future each year.

Robust professional development opportunities, including classes, on-the-job training, coaching and mentorship with industry-leading peers, internal mobility, opportunities to support in the field and so much more.

For more information on our benefits offerings, visit our website.

Responsibilities:

Responsibility buckets are listed in general order of importance. They include, but are not limited to:

Shelter Medicine Programmatic Support to the Los Angeles Initiative

• Work in the Los Angeles community for approximately three years in a leadership position, working collaboratively with the LAAS shelter system and partners to create systemic change to achieve goals of the ASPCA’s shelter partnership program.
• Working with LAAS leadership, achieve a comprehensive understanding of LAAS sheltering and veterinary operations as well as those of key partners, including strengths and gaps, to best support plan implementation
• Working with LAAS and other partner leadership, provide on-going expert assessment on the plan implementation timeline and sequencing based on both priority and feasibility. Strategize and partner with LAAS leadership to remove barriers to implementation where possible
• Partner with LAAS leadership and staff, the ASPCA Senior Director of the Los Angeles Initiative, and the Senior Director of Shelter Operations to identify, develop, and implement shelter medicine protocols and on-the-ground coaching, training, and support for LAAS veterinary and animal care personnel; assist LAAS leadership with editing LAAS shelter Standard Operating Procedures to ensure alignment with plan implementation
• Working with LAAS leadership, oversee and trouble-shoot the development, implementation, and continued refinement of key shelter medicine practices such as daily rounds and pathway planning in partnership with LAAS leadership and staff, the Senior Director of Shelter Operations, and the Senior Director of the Los Angeles Initiative
• Working with LAAS leadership, facilitate the consistent application of shelter medicine guidelines, principles, and best practices to ensure high quality and humane animal care, and to facilitate the most efficient pathways to placement or other outcomes
• Model a standard of continual commitment to improvement of all aspects of animal care and handling and the further elevation of shelter medicine
• Work with LAAS and partner leadership to build and track training schedules and relevant impact assessments. Identify areas where additional support is needed to create or improve specific programs, and coordinate with ASPCA staff to facilitate additional support needed to ensure success and sustainability of project
• Working with LAAS leadership, build capacity in veterinarians and veterinary teams to apply shelter medicine principles and best practices across a wide variety of situations
• Collaborate with key stakeholders connected to LAAS to build relationships that strengthen implementation of the LAAS initiative. Liaise with on-site South Los Angeles /Chesterfield Square ASPCA Spay Neuter Clinic and LAAS to maximize veterinary interventions for both intake prevention and shelter animal spay neuter
• Participate in regular project meetings with LAAS staff, lead by LAAS leadership, including providing agenda input based on current plan status and identified priority projects
• Participate in regular internal meetings regarding the ASPCA’s work in Los Angeles overall and act as resource internally for the ASPCA on medical issues pertaining to LAAS animals and shelters
• Work with Senior Director, Los Angeles Initiative to support project communications within ASPCA. With LAAS and other partner leadership, identify opportunities for ASPCA communications, and development teams to showcase progress on local and national platforms, both to share learnings with other animal welfare professionals and to highlight shelter partnerships
• Partner with the Communications division to develop and review messaging and content related to shelter medicine practices, the ASPCA’s Los Angeles Initiative, and the implementation of the joint 3-year plan for LAAS shelters to ensure accuracy and alignment with brand and policy
• Collaborate proactively with the Communications division on emerging issues, public education campaigns, and high‑visibility cases that may require coordinated external communication
• Serve as an occasional on-camera organizational spokesperson, providing subject matter expertise for media inquiries, interviews, and public-facing communications as needed

Additional Training/Mentorship and Educational Resource Development

• Develop and deliver programs, presentations, audio-visual content, website content, and written materials on shelter medicine that focus on preventive medicine, epidemiology, population management, and infectious diseases relevant for and tailored to LAAS; when appropriate adapt these resources for broader use by ASPCA programs, including ASPCApro
• Mentor ASPCA shelter medicine residents when onsite for shelter medicine rotations
• Other duties as assigned by the VP, Shelter Medicine Services and Veterinary Training Programs or Senior Director of the Los Angeles Initiative

Qualifications

• High level of shelter medicine expertise required
• Proven leadership skills: inspires, guides, and supports individuals to work together toward shared goals; able to influence and lead teams, even without formal authority, by demonstrating flexibility, resiliency, and commitment
• Skillful and diplomatic communicator: possesses confidence and composure required to effectively communicate with staff and management at a variety of levels
• Engages constructively with different personalities and groups; provides direction while inspiring teams to innovate and explore new directions; clarifies decision roles prior to leading difficult conversations
• Innovative, creative and solution-minded: shows superior problem-solving abilities and a positive, proactive attitude in the face of complex challenges
• Strong sense of integrity: able to maintain high professional standards while innovating and adjusting recommendations and approaches to meet programmatic needs in a way that is productive and well-received by stakeholders
• Strong analytical and organizational skills: able to identify key metrics, communicate persuasively to stakeholders, and translate into data-driven decision making
• Ability to work closely with medically and behaviorally compromised animals and feel comfortable working in an environment where humane euthanasia is performed on a regular basis
• Must be able to identify opportunities and assist in the development of new projects
• Ability to exemplify ASPCA’s core values and behavioral competencies
• Fear Free Shelter and Fear Free Veterinary certification required within 60 days of hire

Education and Experience

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or equivalent degree from an accredited veterinary college
• Minimum of seven years of veterinary experience required
• Minimum 3 years of experience managing veterinary teams, required
• Minimum of five years of shelter medicine experience, including working directly in or closely with a variety of sheltering organizations on both individual animal and population level concerns, required
• Completion of a Shelter Medicine Residency training program or Board Certification in Shelter Medicine Practice preferred
• Experience working in a municipal government sheltering organization preferred

Language:

English (Required)

Education and Work Experience:

Doctorate: Veterinary Medicine (Required)