Employment Opportunities

Location: Huntington, NY 11743
Terms: Full time (30-40 hours/week) 

Three or Four 10-hour shifts/week on a flexible schedule including weekends (typically alternating) and occasional holidays

Salary/Rate: $15-$20/hour (based on experience)

About Us: 

Volunteers for Wildlife is a 501©3 not-for-profit Wildlife Hospital & Education Center founded in 1982, dedicated to the preservation of Long Island’s wildlife and natural habitats. Annually, Volunteers for Wildlife receives over 10,000 calls to our Hotline and admits over 2,300 injured and orphaned wild animals to our Hospital. In addition, we conduct education programs for children and adults to foster knowledge and appreciation for Long Island’s wildlife.

Job Description:

The Wildlife Hotline Operator plays a critical role in fulfilling our mission. In this essential role, you will guide callers how to help the thousands of wild animals who become sick, injured, or orphaned throughout Long Island. In addition to responding to emergency situations, you will also be providing a much-needed service for our community by providing expert advice and helping people find appropriate solutions for a variety of wildlife related conflicts or other situations.

In this fast-paced role, you will work under the guidance of the Rehabilitation Directors and Rehabilitation Supervisor to multi-task a number of responsibilities including incoming/outgoing calls, patient admissions, maintaining patient database, coordinating wildlife rescues & releases, and liaising with other wildlife rehabilitators and wildlife centers. Additional office work is required as described below.

This is a challenging, front line role, critical to helping so many of our local wildlife, making this one of the most rewarding positions at Volunteers for Wildlife!

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Handling all aspects of incoming/outgoing calls 

  • Respond to incoming calls and emails promptly

  • Assess situations and help callers resolve them

  • Ensure animal admissions are appropriate (ex. wildlife that actually needs help, species we are licensed to accept, not domestic animals)

  • Update and maintain call records accurately with attention to detail

  • Provide superior customer service to members of the public

  • Coordinate pick-ups and rescues of sick, injured and orphaned wildlife from public, veterinary hospitals, and other organizations

• Wildlife admissions and interacting with the public

  • Drive company vehicle to meet the public for admissions at designated admissions location

  • Warmly greet the public and admit incoming wild patients

  • Encourage and accept monetary and supply donations from pubic or organizations

  • Participate in year end and ongoing Wildlife Hotline program evaluation

• Maintain patient database & charts

  • Input/disposition all patients into online database carefully recording admission and medical information

  • Provide email updates to public regarding wildlife patient outcomes

  • File and maintain organized system of patient charts 

• Liaise with other departments and organizations, ensuring effective communication and coordination

  • Work with Rehabilitation Supervisor and Directors to ensure animal admissions are within current patient capacities

  • Coordinate with rescue & transport volunteers to ensure timely, appropriate, and safe rescues and transports of wildlife

  • Coordinate wildlife patient transfers to other wildlife centers and releases back to the wild

• General office assistance and miscellaneous tasks

  • Receive, sort, inventory, and put away deliveries and donations

  • Order supplies as needed and coordinate deliveries

  • Thank Amazon wish list donors via email

  • Replenish stock of printed materials utilized in office and rehabilitation 

  • Help with minor repairs and maintenance in office

  • Maintain a clean and organized, shared workspace

  • Willingness to run local errands and help with miscellaneous tasks

Candidate Qualifications

• Strong natural history background ideally with a focus on Long Island wildlife

• General knowledge of local areas and the ability to interpret maps

• Education

  • Associates or Bachelor’s Degree 

• Experience

  • Minimum 1 year experience in any of the following: Client and Customer Relations, Emergency Services Communications, Veterinary/Medical Office Reception or Administration, Call Center and/or similar field

  • Skilled in Google databases, Microsoft Office, and an aptitude for learning new computer programs

• Valid NYS driver’s license in good standing

Skills & Abilities

• Possess a genuine concern for the welfare of wild animals

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with focus on clear, concise messaging

• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to empathize with callers, adapt advice for varying situations, and appropriately influence callers to make decisions in the best interest of wildlife

• Ability to handle emotionally demanding work

• Ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment

• Ability to spend extended periods of sitting, typing, and talking on the phone while maintaining professionalism 

• Motivated self-starter, with ability to prioritize and manage competing priorities with time sensitive demands

• Exceptional attention to detail, organization, logic and problem-solving skills

• Strong and efficient learner, willing to meet challenges and receive training on an ongoing basis

• Energetic, enthusiastic, positive, open-minded and enjoys working with a diverse group of people

• Flexible and adaptable to changing and dynamic work environment with strong ability to focus in a shared work environment with frequent distractions

To apply: Please email cover letter, resume, and list of professional references to [email protected]