The OC animal shelter is coping with a short-term emergency – the fallout from the Tustin hangar fire. But it must also prepare for the long-term by recruiting a competent and skilled new shelter director. The position is finally posted. That’s welcome news.
The position has been vacant for 5 months. Perhaps the county sought, behind the scenes, to appoint a replacement internally, without the competition of more qualified applicants. The lack of leadership surely hampered the shelter’s preparedness, amplifying the disruption caused by the hangar incident. On the day the fire erupted, the county finally posted the job opening.
The job posting for Director of OC Animal Care, contains a lot of boiler-plate county jargon, but also some important substantive bits. (Below, all quotes are taken from the job posting, but emphasis is added.)
We applaud the recognition of the Strategic Plan and the aspiration for industry best practices as part of the job’s primary responsibilities:
“Review and guide the implementation of a strategic plan of animal care programs, processes and guidelines, balancing legal requirements and industry best practices within approved budget”
The new Director should treat the term “industry best practices” not as a Public Relations buzzword but rather as a genuine, meticulously documented objective.
The responsibilities also place a refreshing emphasis on collaboration, including with community groups:
“Maintain collaborative, effective working relationships with the Board of Supervisors, contract cities, local and state government entities, community groups and other stakeholders”
“Develop policy recommendations for the CEO or Board of Supervisors in conjunction with elected and appointed officials, members of the community and civic and industry leaders”
We hope that the relationship with the Board of Supervisors will move from misdirection to honesty and from secrecy to transparency.
There is welcome attention to data:
Ensure collaboration […], maintaining thorough and accurate electronic records and minimizing the length of stays
The neglect of accuracy must be reversed. Length of stay, a metric that shelter management seemed puzzled about not too long ago, is a common yardstick in the industry. The shelter’s adoption policies have led to longer stays, and that needs to be remedied.
There are other welcome references to:
“a well-developed volunteer support organization that is critical to the shelter’s success”
“education programs that increase awareness and community participation in responsible pet ownership”
“manage the emotional aspects of […] leading a team in an animal shelter environment in a positive and professional manner”
Naturally, the job posting also invokes business development, financial strategies, economic and regulatory challenges, personnel management, contracts, and the other commonplace elements of managing a county agency. All of these are part of this job, just like they are part of any county management job. But the guiding light ought to be an understanding of animal sheltering.
The ideal candidate should possess “comprehensive knowledge of animal control, sheltering, and animal care services or other similarly complex operation or program” says the county. Read that carefully. Did you notice that peculiar “or other” bit? Is the county really saying that a candidate could ride in without knowledge of animal care issues, substituting some other experience for it? Let’s hope this was just a bit of sloppiness in the wording. An unqualified director from another area would only amplify the shelter’s current problems, and would never earn the trust of the community.
The community is eager to welcome a knowledgeable and trustworthy new Director of OC Animal Care!
Michael Mavrovouniotis is retired and lives in Irvine. He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and served as Director of Research at an investment firm. Over the years he has volunteered in many local organizations, including animal shelters.
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