Customer Care Representative

About the Oregon Humane Society

Founded in 1868, Oregon Humane Society is the Northwest’s oldest and largest animal welfare organization with one of the highest adoption rates in the nation. Through our mission of Creating a More Humane Society, we are working toward our vision of a world where all animals are treated with compassion, kindness and respect. With campuses in Portland and Salem, OHS is an Oregon-based nonprofit that relies on donor support for its adoption, education, medical and humane law enforcement programs. Visit oregonhumane.org for more information.

The Position

The Customer Care Representative is a vital member of the OHS Shelter Operations team responsible for providing education about the animals in residence at the Oregon Humane Society to interested adopters and facilitating interactions between the animals and clients Responsibilities include adoption support of the animals; customer service, hospitality to all OHS visitors. All OHS staff members contribute to the stewardship of the organization’s mission and are expected to stay current on and understand issues related to animal welfare and OHS programs. This is a part time position.

Essential Responsibilities

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP

• Consistently strives to exceed expectations; demonstrates flexibility, resilience, and the ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances.
• Maintains high ethical standards, including exhibiting behaviors and actions that embrace and align to our organization and customer service values, while treating all people with respect and dignity. 
• Demonstrates an awareness of their individual personal strengths and development needs, modeling non-defensive behavior and openness to feedback; builds a culture of feedback and learning.

LEARNING

• Contribute to regular dialogue and accountability with the leadership team and across the organization to review progress and course correct, if necessary.
• Ensure data and insights to identify, understand and articulate the key inputs and metrics that tell the story of the organization/team strategy and its progress.
• Build in appropriate feedback loops to see if we are meeting key milestones and if the impact planned is being felt across the organization.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Represent OHS, as requested, at key stakeholder and sectorial meetings or engagements.
• Communicate effectively to executive, and other stakeholder groups to ensure they are informed and able to actively engage
• Liaise with and maintain productive relationships with all stakeholders, including other departments, and donors; build mutually rewarding professional relationships inside OHS at all levels.
• Leverage our best practices externally and grow OHS’ reputation as a leader in this space by identifying opportunities to share the process and results in the broader animal welfare sector through presentations, whitepapers, blogs, etc.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as a vital member of the Shelter Operations team by interacting with the public, showing animals to potential adopters, providing education about a variety of animals and processing adoption paperwork 
• Navigate complex conversations with diverse clientele in person and over the phone, providing education on different animal behaviors as well as discussing medical needs and diagnoses 
• Handle animals with a variety of behaviors and facilitate introductions of client dogs to shelter dogs. 
• Manage a high traffic reception desk answering in person questions, providing resources as needed and using various software platforms to set up client meet and greets 
• Use a POS to ring up purchases for clients in the retail store, while providing information about products and food nutrition 
• Educate clients and collaborate with them to create long-term in-home management plans and demonstrate positive training methods  
• Collaborate and communicate effectively, provide excellent customer service – internally and externally. 
• Reliably and accurately complete work by following up on requests, checking work for errors, completing requests on or before deadlines and assuming responsibility for successes or errors. 
• Assist in training new staff/volunteers. 
• Perform any other duty as requested by management. 

We are interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background. We welcome applicants who bring a diversity of identity, culture, experience, perspective and thought. We encourage you to apply, even if you do not believe you meet every one of the qualifications described. You are also encouraged to address how your professional and lived experience, scholarship, mentorship and/or service will contribute to the Oregon Humane Society.

• 1 year related work experience in customer service, retail, food service, animal care/handling, and/or a high-pressure, high-volume work environment. 
• Able to communicate verbally and in writing with a diverse population.
• Able to solve problems in a constructive and positive manner.
• Able to exercise sound judgment during all interactions with the public, staff and volunteers.
• Basic working knowledge of computer software programs.

Work Environment Conditions & Physical Requirements

This position interacts and collaborates will all levels of the organization, including OHS staff, executive team members, donors, general-public, external vendors, volunteers, and supporters. Contact and communication is carried out through face-to-face, telephone and digital interactions. Excellent customer service skills are essential to success. Communication must be clear, understandable, professional, and respectful in all circumstances.

Working Conditions 

• Work is performed at home or in an office and medical center/animal shelter environment.
• Travel between the two campuses may be required.
• Working at both campuses may be required.
• Occasional weekend and evening work may be required.
• Animal contact and related injuries may occur.
• Noise exposure varies and sometimes includes uncontrolled barking and other animal vocalizations.
• Pace of work is active and demanding, requiring a high degree of multitasking and ability to adapt to changing priorities while managing concurrent projects/tasks to completion.
• Contact with angry or emotional people may occur. 

Physical Requirements

• Must be able to lift, move, guide or manage an animal cart or inanimate objects weighing up to 150 lbs.
• Prolonged standing and/or stooping may occur. 
• Frequent bending and reaching into confined spaces.
• Hearing capacity sufficient to engage in in-depth conversations with individual clients and team members, and for animal handling.
• Occasional lifting and moving of animals weighing up to 150 lbs.  Occasional lifting and moving of inanimate objects weighing up to 50 lbs.
• Frequent pushing and pulling of carted items weighing up to 150 lbs.
• Frequent use of hands and arms at or above shoulder level.
• Frequent keyboarding and use of computer peripherals.
• Must be able to use and operate standard office equipment such as photocopiers, fax machines, projectors and telephones.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and address and overcome complex challenges and barriers. We strive for a culture of integrity, respect, and compassion where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves and reaches their potential as individuals and teams.  We recognize that diversity, equity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening, and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Oregon Humane Society is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group.

At-Will Employment

This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related duties required by their supervisor. This document does not create an employment contract implied or otherwise, other than an “at-will” relationship.