Foothills Animal Shelter seeks an Animal Experience Manager who believes exceptional animal care is shaped by more than daily husbandry. This role brings together people, systems, and strategy to ensure every animal in our care benefits from thoughtful decisions, strong collaboration, and a shelter designed to help them thrive.

Who We Are

As an open admissions shelter, we are committed to being here for families and their pets in Jefferson County, Colorado. We identify as a socially conscious shelter, caring for over 9,000 dogs, cats, and small animals every year with a compassionate team of staff and volunteers who are committed to the physical and emotional wellbeing of every pet we serve.

What You Bring

• You build bridges. You value collaboration and know the best solutions come from bringing people together across teams, perspectives, and areas of expertise.
• You improve what you inherit. You don’t expect systems to be perfect, but you also don’t accept that they can’t be better. You enjoy understanding root causes, removing barriers, and building thoughtful, practical solutions.
• You help people thrive. You enjoy creating an environment where people feel supported, empowered, and encouraged to grow.
• You exercise sound judgment. You know when to act quickly, when to listen, and how to balance the needs of individual animals with the realities of an open-admission shelter.
• You create momentum. You bring calm, curiosity, and thoughtful problem-solving to a fast-paced environment, helping others stay focused on possibilities and the next right step.
• You believe in our mission. You’re excited to help build a community where pets and people can thrive together.

What You’ll Do

• Oversee shelter population management, animal movement, and housing strategy to support capacity for care, timely progression through the shelter, and the best animal experience possible.
• Lead and develop two Animal Care Supervisors who oversee a team of 10–14 Animal Care Technicians and Leads.
• Partner with peers across the organization to identify and remove barriers to an animal’s progression.
• Develop, implement, and maintain standard operating procedures that reflect current best practices in animal welfare and sheltering.
• Use shelter data and daily observations to identify opportunities to improve length of stay, organizational efficiency, and the animal experience.

What We Offer

• Let’s start with the obvious: we offer truly meaningful work that positively impacts the lives of thousands of animals each year.
• You will work with a team of animal welfare professionals who work hard, care deeply, and are 100% dedicated to the well-being of our shelter animals.
• We strive for a healthy work-life balance, and we offer generous time off including six paid holidays, additional floating holidays (awarded annually on your employment anniversary), three weeks of accrued vacation, and paid sick leave.
• We offer a full spectrum of employee benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, and a retirement plan with up to 4% employer match and immediate vesting. Currently, two of our medical plans and our dental and vision plans are offered at no cost for employee-only coverage.
• The salary range for this position is $60,000 – $65,000 annually, commensurate with experience.
• Foothills Animal Shelter is a Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer.

Key Qualifications

• 2 years of supervisory experience, including experience training and leading a team
• Prior experience in animal sheltering or a similar professional animal care field
• Demonstrated aptitude for safe animal handling, including dogs, cats, and small animals
• Physical ability to stand and walk for extended periods on hard surfaces, lift and carry up to 50 pounds regularly, and handle dogs of all sizes, including dogs weighing over 100 pounds
• Ability to work outdoors in all weather conditions year-round
• Ability to maintain regular and reliable attendance to ensure consistent coverage for essential daily operations

Schedule

• 40 hours per week with at least one weekend day required
• Schedule will include some holidays
• For a full list of duties and qualifications, view the complete job description here.