Pet Welfare Assistant

Blue Cross For Pets; Ipswich; On-site; GBP 10,000; Full time

Job summary

A pet welfare organization in Suffolk is looking for a Pet Welfare Assistant for onsite animal care. This role requires strong animal handling skills and empathy for the welfare of pets. You will conduct assessments and follow rehabilitation plans, ensuring high standards are met. The position is part-time with shifts on Saturdays and Sundays. A collaborative nature and good communication skills are essential. Join us to make a meaningful difference in the lives of pets in need.

Benefits

38 days holiday increasing with service

Health and wellbeing support

Free access to GP services

Pension scheme with enhanced contributions

Life assurance

20% discount on pet insurance

Qualifications

• Experience working or volunteering with domestic animals, particularly dogs.
• Experience in customer-focused environments.
• Excellent communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Care for pets in the rehoming centre.
• Conduct assessments and follow rehabilitation plans.
• Manage meetings with pet owners surrendering their pets.

Skills

Animal handling

Empathy

Communication

Organization

Education

None specified

Tools

Computerised systems

Driving licence

Job description

Pet Welfare Assistant - Onsite Services

Application Deadline: 19 February 2026

Department: Rehoming & Fostering Services

Employment Type: Permanent

Location: Suffolk

Compensation: £9,597 / year

Description

We’re recruiting a Pet Welfare Assistant for onsite animal care as part of our Rehoming & Fostering team in Suffolk!

At Blue Cross, we\'re dedicated to providing the best care possible to pets in need. As a Pet Welfare Assistant for our onsite services, you\'ll play an important role in our mission, ensuring that every pet receives the love, attention, and support they deserve during their stay at our Suffolk rehoming centre.

More about the role

Our Suffolk Centre has a wonderful group of dedicated people with varying skills that meld into one team with one mission: to help as many pets as possible. With great facilities, including a woodland, the team are proud of what they can accomplish on a daily basis together.

As a skilled animal handler and assessor, you will be responsible for the ‘preparation stage’ with the pets in our care which involves caring, carrying out assessments and rehabilitation plans, preparing them for the ‘adoption stage’ or the best possible outcome for their circumstances with minimal delay.

As a Pet Welfare Assistant, you will ensure that the welfare standards are met and that rehabilitation plans are followed and supported for pets in our care. Working independently and with the team you will carry out meetings with owners giving up their pet, ensuring all information is recorded, paperwork completed and that the pet is immediately assessed for behavioural or veterinary problems. Working closely with the Adoptions Coordinator you will provide additional in person or virtual advice and practical demonstrations to ensure adoptees are fully aware of the work that has been done with the pet and how to continue with any other additional behaviour training or medical provision.

At our Suffolk rehoming centre, we provide onsite accommodation for pets in our care 24/7. Overnight shifts are usually undertaken by team members who live on site. Occasionally, you will be expected to carry out night checks or stay in onsite accommodation overnight when the resident team members are either not working or away for a period of time.

The working hours are Saturday and Sunday each week, this is a total of 15 hours per week.

If you excel in an environment where you can see the difference you make every day, then this is the role for you. Interested? Then apply and let\’s work together to see if this is the role for you.

About you

As a skilled animal handler and assessor, you will be intuitive with pets, empathetic and welfare focused having worked in a similar animal related environment. You will also be used to assessing the needs of a pet, alert to the behavioural signs and have a basic knowledge of the use of medication e.g., hibiscrub, flea and tick treatments, diabetes management. In addition, you will have a fundamental understanding that the best welfare intervention for a pet is to find a new home and leave on site pet accommodation as quickly as possible.

You will be self-motivated, forward thinking with a collaborative and creative approach to your work, which will ensure to bring your best pragmatic ideas for the care of the pets to ensure the best outcome is achieved. In addition, you will be able to quickly assimilate information, be competent at accurately recording information while also conducting conversations with clients and stakeholders. You will be an excellent communicator, approachable with strong interpersonal skills.

You will know what it is like to work in an emotionally charged environment and have excellent ‘bounce back ability’ and resilience. In addition, you will be emotionally intelligent, showing empathy and knowing how to support clients and colleagues.

Knowledge, skills, and experience

• Experience of having previously worked or volunteered with domestic animals or in an animal welfare environment. Some of this experience must have been with dogs.
• Previous experience in working in a customer focused environment and used to achieving a high level of customer satisfaction.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Good organisational and administration skills to include computerised systems.
• Current full driving licence.

It would be great (but not essential) if you also had:

• Qualification or similar experience in animal behaviour or animal training.
• Experience of cash handling.
• Experience of working to strict health and safety procedures.
• Understanding of safeguarding issues.

Want to know more detail? Great! We have attached the job description which hopefully gives you everything you need.

How to apply

Click the apply button below and complete the online application process before the closing date on Thursday 19th February 2026.

Blue Cross benefits

Our people are the most important part of delivering our purpose. If it were not for their amazing efforts and commitment, we would not be able to make the difference that we do today.

In return, Blue Cross wants to ensure we provide you with the best working environment we can. We want you to be happy working for us and will do everything we can to make sure you are.

Our generous benefits package includes:

• Full time equivalent of 38 days holiday rising to 43 with service (including Bank Holidays)
• Programmes for physical and mental wellbeing support
• Free access to GP via MetLife- 24/7 GP services, private prescriptions and more for you and your family
• Health cash plan
• Unlimited access to an employee assistance programme
• Pension scheme with enhanced employer contribution
• Professional fees paid with Continuing Professional Development and personal development support.
• Life assurance
• 20% discount on Pet Plan pet insurance
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Recognition scheme
• Annual volunteer days
• Charity worker discounts across a variety of retailers

To read more about the benefits Blue Cross has to offer, please read the 'why work for us' page on our website.