Location: Stafford and Surrounding Areas

Job Type: Permanent, Part-time with Full-time Opportunities as the business expands

Hours per Week: 14 hours, plus overtime opportunities

Pay: £13 an hour + bonus opportunities

Closing Date: 5th August 2024 (Please note this position may close early if a suitable candidate is found)

Starting Date: Immediate start, subject to satisfactory references.

Full Job Description:

About Us!

All About The Dogs is a premium dog training, dog walking and pet care service for Stafford and surrounding areas. Previously based in Manchester for 3 years, we reopened our doors in Stafford in March 2023. We are a fast-growing business with over 50 loyal regular clients. We provide a high-quality service for all our pet owners, whether it be for training, walking or our drop-in service. Our clients’ pet’s welfare is our top priority. We believe pet services should be run by passionate, qualified and experienced trainers/walkers to ensure all pets are understood and comfortable, no matter their background or breed.

Dog education regarding training and behaviour is of high importance to us for all our roles. Therefore, full training will be given as well as possible qualification opportunities in the future. We want to make a positive change to our community’s pet and dog welfare by leading the way for responsible and appropriate dog socialisation, preventing the development of problematic behaviours that may lead to dogs being unwanted and to challenge the stigma that a difficult dog is a bad dog. We are a judgement-free, safe space that any owner can come to for help, whether for walks or training. We provide high quality, fun and educational training and advice using positive reinforcement, reward-based methods only.   

Our job really is the best job in the world: from unlimited cuddles, playtime and making new furry best friends who are always happy to see us to exploring the outdoors and enjoying nature with our furry friends. We use the most up-to-date research and training techniques help our clients build their understanding of and bond with their dogs.

About this job:

Are you an animal lover? Do you want to make a difference to dog owners in your community and improve dog welfare?

We are looking for passionate and enthusiastic people who would enjoy a working day spent mostly outdoors, walking dogs, dropping in on all kinds of pets and working with dog owners to help build relationships and the confidence to train their dogs.

This is an exciting opportunity to any animal lover looking to be a part of a team in an expanding business. Although this role will initially be part-time, we will have many overtime opportunities and we anticipate the opportunity for a full-time position as the business continues to develop and expand. The successful applicant will have the option to go full-time when this opportunity arises.

Although we work as a team, this role will involve a mixture of group work and lone working. The main duties will be based outdoors or in client’s homes around Stafford and surrounding areas. However, there will be occasional home or office based working.

As a Dog Walker / Training assistant you will:

• Walk dogs solo or as part of a small group in Stafford and surrounding areas

• Visit dogs or other pets in the home as part of our drop in service

• Drive to each pet location safely

• Manage time and daily duties effectively and efficiently to ensure booking schedules are kept on target

• Keep clients updated with their pet’s service via pictures and messages.

• Help organise and assist teaching dog training sessions (both online and in-person) to the public working alongside the Head Trainer and occasionally acting as lead coach. These could be in the form of group classes, 1 to 1 sessions, workshops or progression classes.

• Organise and complete meet and greets with potential new clients.

• Complete administrative duties to help with customer enquiries and bookings in a timely and organised manner.

• Support the promotion of All About The Dogs through effective marketing initiatives with local businesses, vets and rescue organisations etc as well as social media engagement.

• Undertake administrative duties such as: keeping booking calendars and spreadsheets up to date; content creation for social media and marketing; training and exercise write ups.

• Assist with the launch of the volunteer programme as well as support any volunteers that may join us.

• Ensure data collection is in line with GDPR and All About the Dogs policies.

• Follow health and safety protocol; all employees to have a duty of care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by your actions. Responsible for the safety of themselves, members of the public, clients, volunteers, other staff members and dogs.

• Other reasonable duties as required by the Head Trainer / Walker, Team Leader and Management.

Work Schedule:

Our part-time role will consist of 2-3 days per week. The set days are Tuesdays and Thursdays, with potential for an additional day or half day. There will also be full-time and overtime opportunities during the part-time position.

The working week will typically be Monday-Friday with weekends and bank holidays off. However, there will be the occasional weekends worked or overtime offered during weekends and bank holidays. Weekends may become more regular as the training section of the business expands, however days off during the week will be given if or when this occurs. Flexible working hours are essential as you may need to work morning, days and evenings shifts, for example we may have morning and evening drop ins or walks, as well as lunchtime walks and evening training classes. These will be shared across the team and worked equally.

About You:

Our ideal candidate would have experience caring for pets. However, we offer full training and development for all our new starters. We are looking for people who are confident with all types of dogs and pets, who are enthusiastic to learn and passionate about animals, their welfare and supporting and teaching others whilst delivering excellent customer service. The successful candidate must be 18 years old or over, flexible, reliable and have strong communication skills. We are looking for a team player, who is also confident working alone and able to manage their time efficiently. If you are also creative and love taking pictures or making content for social media and marketing, then we’d also love to get you involved with our social media and marketing campaigns as we would like to develop our media not only for adorable pictures, but for education and training advice.

Person Specification

Essential skills, experience and attributes

• Demonstrate a passion for dog behaviour, welfare, training and in helping owners better understand their pets.

• Appreciation of health and safety issues relating to dog walking, drop ins, dog training, members of the public and staff.

• First aid and Dog First Aid trained or willingness to undertake assessment.

• Excellent communication skills in order to be able to:

-Present and deliver training.

-Undertake meet and greets with new customers.

-Deliver talks to small or large groups

-To be able to explain reading dog body language and motivation behind behaviours

-Be empathetic, adaptable and able to listen to individual owner’s situations

-To be able to speak to customers on the phone regarding their booking enquiries and advise on suitability for walks and training.

• Some administrative experience, organisational skills and IT skills (word, excel, outlook).

• A reasonable level of fitness, stamina and mobility are required to complete physical demands such as long walks and lifting and carrying of equipment.

• A level of resilience to manage potential demands of the role

• Experience or a qualification in animal behaviour, management, training or relevant academic studies would be advantageous.

• Ability to work flexibly across the week to meet the needs of the business, which may include evening or weekend working on occasion.

• DBS checked

• Full, clean driving license with use of own vehicle that is insured for business use. Confidence to drive a larger vehicle or van when driving business vehicle.

What we provide:

• Uniform

• Fuel costs when using own vehicle for dog walks/drop ins

• Insurance

• Holiday/sick/maternity pay

• Flexible hours

• Ability to manage your own schedule around bookings

• Full training

• Bonus opportunities

• Overtime opportunities

• Career development and qualification opportunities

• Employee discount

What you need to know:

We want our walkers and trainers to feel supported, confident and empowered to be able to walk any of our clients’ dog/dogs no matter their behaviour or breed, as well as have the skill set to help give advice to our clients, assist in teaching classes or potentially lead classes or lone teach in the future. As the business expands, so will the opportunities for personal and career growth. We will provide lots of opportunities for on-going career development, whether that be in training, management, walking, marketing, research or behaviour, to name just a few.

So, if you want to make a difference to your local community and are interested in working in a dynamic forward-thinking team where dog and pet welfare is at the forefront of our goals, and where you will have opportunities for furthering your skills with continuing professional and career development, we would love to hear from you!

References

Please give the names and contact details of two people who we can ask to give you a reference. We may ask them before an employment offer is made. We will not ask a current employer until we get your permission. Please include these references in your application email.

To apply for this position please submit a CV, two references, and a cover letter explaining your interest and suitability for the role to our email at allaboutthedogsstafford@gmail.com. Please include in the email when you can start working for us.

We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, cultures, and abilities, and we believe that a diverse workforce helps us to achieve our mission. We want every candidate to excel throughout the entire job application process, interview stages, and during their time with us. If there's anything on your mind or any adjustments you may need, don't hesitate to reach out to us. Feel free to send us an email at allaboutthedogsstafford@gmail.com. We're here to support you every step of the way.