Senior Director of Shelter Medicine

Summary:
The Senior Director, Shelter Medicine works within the Shelter Medicine Service (SMS) team to provide shelter medicine expertise within the ASPCA and externally to veterinarians, shelters & rescues, and other stakeholders. The Senior Director leverages shelter medicine knowledge and experience; excellent writing, public speaking, and communication skills; and a strong desire to improve the health and well-being of animals, shelters, and communities. This person provides mentorship and training and engages in extensive collaboration with different subject matter experts across programs and organizations. Success hinges on their ability to work with a variety of constituents and facilitate relationship-building.
Who We Are
The SMS team improves the health and welfare of animals in shelters and communities by strategically applying expertise both internally at the ASPCA and externally with key stakeholders. The team supports the animal welfare field through direct consultation and training, development of educational resources, applied research, and strategic positions and partnerships. SMS is primarily comprised of veterinarians ABVP board-certified in Shelter Medicine Practice and is the home department of the Julie Morris Shelter Medicine Residency, which is based in New York City. Most team members are remote with significant travel to ASPCA programs, external sheltering organizations, and training events at conferences and veterinary schools.
Members of SMS each have a portfolio of ongoing work, focused projects, and areas of emphasis. Through close collaboration, SMS members work to provide consistency and continuity in messaging and recommendations regarding shelter medicine practices, balanced with the nuances of implementation in varied contexts. Collectively, members also 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, Shelter Medicine supports sheltering organizations by providing training, educational resources, and direct consultative work. They provide subject matter expertise on a variety of shelter medicine topics both within the ASPCA and with external organizations to support the integration and alignment of key shelter medicine principles and high-quality animal care. Much of the shelter and community facing work is collaborative with other departments at the ASPCA.
They play a critical role as a mentor for shelter medicine residents and practitioners and contribute to continued growth of the field by serving in leadership positions in strategic veterinary medical and animal welfare organizations.
To succeed in this role, the Senior Director, Shelter Medicine must have both breadth and depth of shelter medicine clinical expertise in both individual and population-level practice. They must have outstanding interpersonal, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills and an enthusiasm for training shelter professionals. Success also hinges on their ability to identify and leverage a breadth and depth of past experience to provide a high-quality, collaborative, nuanced approach to implementation of individual and population health principles. Deep relationship building across teams is essential for establishing clinical working relationships and understanding of the work.
The Senior Director, Shelter Medicine reports directly to the VP, Shelter Medicine Services and Veterinary Training Programs and has no direct reports.
Where and When You’ll Work
This remote-based position requires the ability and willingness to travel up to 30% and is open to all eligible candidates based within the United States who live within an hour of a major airport.
Working hours are generally Monday through Friday but vary due to events or travel. The Senior Director, Shelter Medicine must also have infrequent availability for ad-hoc weekend and evening consultation coverage with both internal and external programs on a rotating basis with other members of the SMS team.
Compensation
What You’ll Get
The target hiring range is based on where the employee works, which for remote roles is the employee’s primary location of residence, and its respective cost of labor. You can view which zone applies to you based on your location (aspca.app.box.com/v/aspcazonetable). For questions regarding locations not on the list, please send an email to Careers@aspca.orgmailto:Careers@aspca.org for more information.
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 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 ranges for this role are set forth below and may be modified in the future.
Veterinarians with Shelter Medicine Board Certification
Zone 1: $145,500 - $154,000 annually
Zone 2: $160,000 - $169,000 annually
Zone 3: $176,000 - $186,000 annually
Veterinarians working towards Shelter Medicine Board Certification
Zone 1: $140,000 - $148,500 annually
Zone 2: $154,000 - $163,000 annually
Zone 3: $169,500 - $179,500 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, paid personal time, sick time, bereavement time, paid parental leave, and 10 company paid holidays that allows you even more 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:
Provide Shelter Medicine Expertise
Elevate shelter medicine and community animal health across ASPCA programs and external partners by providing expertise focused on shelter and community animal health and operations
Collaborate with and support sheltering programs to 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
Build capacity in veterinarians and other staff to apply shelter medicine principles and best practices across a wide variety of situations
Develop and support the implementation of efficient and effective protocols for high-quality, practical, and cost-efficient veterinary care in accordance with shelter medicine principles
Coach and trouble-shoot the development, implementation, and continued refinement of key shelter medicine practices (e.g. capacity for care, daily rounds, and pathway planning)
Model continual commitment to improving animal care to advance the principle that animals have positive welfare in animal shelters and communities
Lead remote and onsite shelter consultations both to provide expertise to sheltering organizations but also to support residents and practitioners in developing their own consultative skills and expertise
Consult with animal welfare organizations, focusing on shelter health and operations, regarding the clinical management of individuals and populations
Generate and utilize shelter-level data reports to drive decision-making and recommendations
Produce reports and support materials to assist organizations in implementing recommendations
Serve in strategic roles in veterinary medical, educational, and animal welfare organizations on a regional or national level to promote shelter medicine and community animal health
Participate in the development of industry standards and guidelines
Ensure adherence to regulatory requirements as they pertain to shelter medicine programs and community animal health initiatives
Serve as a champion in times of change management and proactively assist in identifying ways to improve people, policies, and medical protocols.
Work with the SVP, Veterinary Medicine, and VP, Shelter Medicine Services and Veterinary Training Programs to advise and educate on issues pertaining to shelter medicine, animal health, and animal welfare.
Maintain proactive communication with the VP, Shelter Medicine Services and Veterinary Training Programs as to any critical situations or issues that may arise in work with internal and external stakeholders
Provide a safe and compassionate environment for animals in

Work arrangement
Yes