Position Description

As part of the rehabilitation team, wildlife rehabilitators are responsible for a variety of tasks, including animal care, husbandry, nutrition, and, most importantly, training. This position reports to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Supervisor and is a member of the Veterinary Department.

Duties and Responsibilities

Animal Care

• Provide excellent rehabilitative care to all animals at the facility, including black bear cubs and non-releasable ambassadors.
• Daily cleaning and feeding of all animal patients housed at the facility.
• Evaluate patients for release. Monitor animal’s health, attitude, appetite, etc., and maintain written records of each animal’s progress. Report evaluations to veterinarians and participate in daily clinical rounds with veterinary staff to discuss medical cases.
• Must be able to handle emotional aspects of euthanasia.
• Exercise all flighted raptors daily and record progress in patient record.
• Assist with restraint, examination, diagnostic procedures, and treatment of animals.
• Admit patients and complete associated records. May also examine and initiate first aid to patients or new arrivals in the absence of the veterinarian or technician, within constraints of training and experience.
• Communicate with other permitted rehabilitators in the state to transfer healthy animals out of the hospital. Arrange for transportation to transfer site as needed.
• In conjunction with veterinary staff, develop and improve rehabilitation protocols for birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals.
• On a regular basis and in conjunction with the team, re-evaluate protocols and give input on accepted procedures.
• Maintain high standards of cleanliness in hospital, kitchen, and animal housing areas.

Training

• Train, supervise, and mentor rehabilitation intern, rehabilitation externs, animal care volunteers, and community service volunteers. This includes daily oversight as well as orientation and mid-term and final evaluations of rehabilitation intern and rehabilitation externs.
• Train and mentor rehabilitation apprentices as needed.
• Develop and lead educational programming for rehabilitation externs and veterinary and veterinary technician externs.
• Assist in teaching veterinary and veterinary technician interns and externs about rehabilitation/caregiving protocols.
• Teach developed courses to rehabilitators and volunteers as needed.
• When travel funding permits, submit one abstract per year to speak at a national conference in person or online. (NWRA, NYSWRC, etc.) Attend the Center’s annual three Call of the Wild conference and present lectures and workshops upon request.

Other duties

• Daily and seasonal maintenance of enclosures, grounds, perches, etc. Recognize and correct any maintenance or safety hazards when possible. Report other problems to the Rehabilitation Supervisor.
• Obtain a personal Virginia Wildlife Rehabilitator permit within one month of start date. Acquire six hours of continuing education yearly to maintain permit.  Renew permit annually.
• Obtain International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC) Certified Wildlife Rehabilitator (CWR) designation within one year of start date. Acquire two continuing education units (CEUs) biennially to maintain permit.  Renew permit every two years.
• As a team, coordinate with other rehabilitation staff to ensure daily coverage of hospital [weekdays, weekends, holidays, and snow days].
• Write at least one article per year for submission to a national wildlife rehabilitation journal.
• Provide support for the Wildlife Center of Virginia’s annual Call of the Wild Conference and Gala and Benefit Auction.
• Act as primary on-call for the after-hours phone one to two nights per week, as needed.
• Assist in creation of a collection of photographs of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds for classes, workshops and educational/promotional materials.
• Other duties, responsibilities, and special projects, as requested.

Required Qualifications

• Commitment to wildlife, conservation, and the environment
• Professional appearance and demeanor
• 2024-2025 COVID-19 Vaccine
• Pre-exposure rabies vaccination required. Provide proof of vaccination or adequate titer within the previous two years of start date.
• Valid driver’s license
• Ability to lift/carry equipment and animals up to 50 pounds.
• Demonstrated reliability and dependability; willingness to work weekends and holidays as necessary.
• At least one year of wildlife rehabilitation experience
• Ability to organize, set goals, and meet deadlines; attention to detail.
• Team player with strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to handle diverse, competing tasks independently, efficiently, and accurately in a high pace environment; flexibility is a must.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Ability to work independently.

Salary & Benefits

Compensation is negotiable based on experience and qualifications, starting at $18 per hour 

The Wildlife Center of Virginia offers the following benefits:   

• After the first 90 days of employment, employees receive paid sick leave (accruing at four hours/month), personal time (40 hours a year), and vacation time (starting at 80/hours a year for new employees, which increases with length of employment).
• Eligible for Center’s health insurance plan; Center pays half of employee’s premium.
• Retirement plan with employer match (up to four percent)
• Continuing education opportunities for professional development.