Job Summary

About Maple Grove, MN
Maple Grove is a forward-thinking, thriving community in the northwest suburbs of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.  We are home to over 70,000 residents with a projected population of 90,000 by 2040 with 2,500 acres of undeveloped land. The City of Maple Grove is proud to employ over 250 benefit-earning employees, 500+ part-time, casual, temporary, seasonal employees, and 100 paid-on-call firefighters to staff our many departments.  We provide public safety, public works, community and economic development, parks & recreation, and many other important public services to a growing community.  

The Position
Looking to help animals in need? Then join the PUPS team for The City of Maple Grove!  We are seeking a full-time Animal Care Technician! In this role, you will be able to provide genuine care to animals that are recovered in Maple Grove and its neighboring communities, utilize fear-free handling techniques, and further your knowledge and training working with animals. Help us reconnect families and their pets, as well as work with rescues by coordinating transfers of pets and helping them find their new forever home! 

Pets Under Police Security (PUPS) is a division of the Maple Grove Police Department that serves the cities of Maple Grove, Brooklyn, Center, Brooklyn Park, Champlin, Crystal, New Hope, Plymouth, and Robbinsdale. PUPS is a dedicated animal facility for strays and lost pets that are recovered or turned over to law enforcement agencies. PUPS acts as a holding center for lost animals, assists owners with reclaiming their pets, and helps coordinate the transfer of unclaimed pets to rescues. 

Responsibilities

• Provides food and water for each animal; observes food consumption to ensure animals' overall health; observes animals' behavior and physical appearance; reports illness/injuries to supervisory personnel.
• Properly cleans and disinfects cages and kennels; exercises animals; replaces bedding, toys, and litter pans; maintains a clean and safe environment at all times.
• Maintains records regarding animal behavior and health; reports minor and serious concerns to supervisor for further action.
• Monitors inventory and restocks supplies; reports food and supplies needed as well as shelter maintenance and repair needs.
•  Create a caring environment for all animals and treat animals humanely and with compassion at all times, regardless of circumstances, including those that are sick, injured, feral, or aggressive.
• Assists with the euthanasia of animals in accordance with established laws and departmental policy; disposes of euthanized animals in accordance with established departmental procedure.
• Assists with training new Animal Care Assistants.
• Assists in ensuring animal care tasks are properly and thoroughly completed as assigned. 
• Periodically attend community engagement events representing PUPS.
• Builds and maintains positive working relationships with co-workers, other City employees, and the public using principles of good customer service.
• Self-motivated to accomplish tasks as trained.  
• Is the first point of contact for the facility during the absence of the Coordinator.
• Ensures all animals on medication receive the required doses at the appropriate intervals.
• Provides and monitors enrichment for the animals in our facility.
• Coordinates efforts to ensure the City of Maple Grove is an equitable, inclusive, and respectful organization and supports the City’s mission, vision, and core values. 

• Demonstrates ability to understand and respect the diversity of customers and co-workers, effectively communicating with individuals whose first language may be one other than English. 

• Performs other related duties as apparent or assigned. 

Knowledge of:
 

• Animal care and behavior for many different species.
• Operations and activities of an animal containment facility.
• Basic janitorial skills such as mopping, vacuuming, dusting and emptying waste receptacles, with additional duties related to care of the facility.
• Basic administrative skills and effective use of technology and equipment required for position.
• Communicates effectively both orally and in writing with individuals from various backgrounds, treating all with respect and dignity.
• General Housekeeping and laundry duties.

Ability to:
 

• Work with the general public utilizing effective communication skills and practicing excellent customer service.
• Use animal restraint tools such as catch poles properly and efficiently.
• Perform General maintenance job duties, maintain the facility as directed.
• Work independently or as a team in a fast-paced environment and multitask.
• Complete Fear Free Shelters training within 30 days of onboarding.
• Provide sincere interest in animals and their care.
• Perform general maintenance job duties.
• Work independently, utilizing common sense and maintain order.
• Work with the general public utilizing good communication skills. 

Qualifications

Any combination of experience that would likely provide the required knowledge is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:

Need to have: 

• 18 years of age or older 
• High School diploma or equivalent. 
• Ability to lift 50 pounds regularly.
• Previous animal containment or care experience, which included working with aggressive animals. 

Nice to have: 

• Two or more years of experience working in animal containment or care.
• Experience working as a Veterinary Technician
• Customer Service experience in an animal-related field

Supplemental Information

WORKING CONDITIONS

Environmental Conditions:
 
Primarily inside an animal containment facility environment; working with animals, may be noisy.

Physical Conditions:
 
Essential functions may require maintaining the physical condition necessary for sitting, standing, or walking for prolonged periods; light to moderately heavy lifting and carrying; may be required to climb, stoop, and kneel in performance of job responsibilities; general manual dexterity; adequate vision, speech and hearing required; must be able to operate assigned equipment.