General Manager - Dog Training, Boarding & Daycare Facility
Company: Love in the Lead Canine Training
Location: Steele Creek - Charlotte, NC
Job Type: Full-Time Salaried
Anticipated Start: Late August / Early September, with potential flexibility for an earlier start depending on business needs and candidate availability
Compensation: Competitive and based on experience
About the Role
Love in the Lead is seeking a polished, professional, and highly capable General Manager for our Dog Training, Boarding & Daycare Facility. This role oversees the day-to-day operation of our facility, including boarding, daycare, enrichment, puppies, service dogs, board-and-train dogs, staff leadership, client experience, cleanliness, safety standards, and overall department execution.
Our dog care department is growing quickly and has become a central part of our organization. We are looking for someone who can bring structure, consistency, accountability, professionalism, and strong operational leadership to a fast-paced dog care environment.
This is a leadership role for someone who is confident managing people, solving problems, maintaining high standards, communicating clearly, and representing the company well with both staff and clients.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate will have dog care, boarding, daycare, kennel, training, veterinary, shelter, or animal care operations experience.
We strongly prefer candidates who have directly managed operations in a dog care, boarding, daycare, training, pet resort, kennel, veterinary, or animal care setting.
We may also consider candidates with exceptionally strong transferable management experience from high-accountability environments such as childcare, education, hospitality, recreation, service operations, or other settings where safety, scheduling, team supervision, cleanliness, client communication, and daily execution are critical.
This is not an entry-level management role. The right candidate must be polished, presentable, well-spoken, organized, and able to lead a team while maintaining a professional, client-facing presence.
Key ResponsibilitiesFacility & Operations Management
- Oversee daily operations of the Dog Care Department, including boarding, daycare, enrichment, puppies, service dogs, and board-and-train dog care.
- Ensure the facility runs smoothly, safely, and efficiently each day.
- Manage opening, closing, cleaning, and daily task completion procedures.
- Maintain high standards for cleanliness, organization, safety, and animal welfare.
- Monitor department workflows and identify areas for improvement.
- Help create, implement, and maintain SOPs for dog care, cleaning, report cards, health checks, departures, playgroups, and daily routines.
- Manage supplies, inventory, facility needs, and operational tools.
- Support use of systems including Gingr, Homebase, Slack, Google Workspace, and internal tracking tools.
Staff Leadership & Accountability
- Lead, coach, and supervise dog care staff, training assistants, and related team members.
- Create and manage staff schedules, shift coverage, and call-out plans.
- Ensure the right people are scheduled in the right roles based on department needs.
- Hold staff accountable to SOPs, safety standards, cleaning expectations, and communication protocols.
- Provide feedback, coaching, and corrective conversations when needed.
- Support a positive, professional, team-oriented culture.
- Help staff understand expectations, take ownership, and feel successful in their roles.
- Run or support department meetings, check-ins, and team communication.
Animal Welfare & Safety
- Ensure all dogs are properly supervised, cared for, fed, exercised, and monitored.
- Maintain safe handling standards for dogs of different sizes, temperaments, and training needs.
- Support safe playgroup structure and appropriate dog-to-dog interactions.
- Monitor dog behavior, stress signals, health concerns, and safety risks.
- Ensure staff understand and follow dog handling protocols.
- Communicate concerns about behavior, health, or incidents to the appropriate team members.
Client Experience & Communication
- Represent Love in the Lead professionally with clients, staff, vendors, and community partners.
- Maintain a polished, client-facing presence in communication, appearance, and conduct.
- Ensure dog updates, report cards, and client communication are completed accurately and on time.
- Help resolve client questions, concerns, scheduling issues, and service-related challenges.
- Partner with leadership to maintain a high standard of service and client satisfaction.
- Support client retention, trust, and confidence in our programs.
Business & Department Performance
- Sit on the leadership team and participate in weekly leadership meetings.
- Support department goals related to staffing, labor efficiency, revenue, cleanliness, safety, retention, and client satisfaction.
- Monitor scheduling efficiency, labor needs, supplies, and department resources.
- Help reduce recurring operational issues by identifying root causes and implementing better systems.
- Understand how daily operations connect to overall business goals.
Required Qualifications
- 3–5+ years of leadership, management, or supervisory experience preferred.
- Dog care, boarding, daycare, kennel, training, veterinary, shelter, rescue, or animal care operations experience strongly preferred.
- Strong transferable leadership experience may be considered for an exceptional candidate.
- Experience managing schedules, call-outs, shift coverage, and team accountability.
- Clear, professional verbal and written communication skills.
- Strong judgment, emotional maturity, and conflict-resolution skills.
- Ability to coach staff while maintaining clear expectations.
- Organized, proactive, and able to follow through.
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced, physical, noisy, dog-centered environment.
- Comfortable handling or supervising the handling of dogs of different sizes, temperaments, and needs.
- Strong attention to cleanliness, safety, and detail.
- Comfortable using or learning operational software and admin systems.
- Able to work weekends, holidays, early mornings, evenings, and flexible hours as needed.
Professional Standards
Because this is a leadership and client-facing role, candidates must be able to maintain a polished, professional, and approachable presence. The General Manager is expected to represent the company well in appearance, communication, tone, judgment, and conduct.
This role requires someone who can communicate confidently with clients, lead staff with professionalism, and uphold the standards of a premium dog care and training facility.
Strong Candidates May Come From Backgrounds Such As
- Dog daycare or boarding facility management
- Dog training facility leadership
- Kennel or pet resort operations
- Veterinary or animal hospital management
- Shelter, rescue, or animal welfare leadership
- Childcare or education management with strong operational oversight
- Hospitality, recreation, or service operations management
- Retail or service management with strong team leadership experience
Success in This Role Looks Like
- Staff know what is expected and follow through consistently.
- Dogs are safe, supervised, clean, and well cared for.
- The facility feels organized, professional, and calm even on busy days.
- Schedules are covered and call-outs are handled quickly.
- Cleaning, report cards, health checks, and daily tasks are completed reliably.
- Clients receive clear, professional communication.
- The team feels supported but also held accountable.
- Leadership has visibility into what is working, what needs improvement, and what support the department needs.
Work Environment
This role is hands-on and requires comfort working around dogs, noise, cleaning products, outdoor areas, physical movement, and a busy facility environment. Candidates should be prepared to stand, walk, bend, lift, clean, move through play yards or kennel areas, and assist the team when needed.
Equal Opportunity Statement
Love in the Lead is committed to maintaining a diverse, respectful, and inclusive workplace. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other legally protected status.
To Apply
Please apply here and you may submit your resume and a brief note explaining your relevant management experience, including any dog care, animal care, training, boarding, daycare, kennel, veterinary, or transferable operations experience to [email protected].
We are especially interested in candidates who can bring structure, consistency, warmth, accountability, professionalism, and strong leadership to a growing dog care team.
Please visit our website and social media channels for more information about our company.
Website:
www.loveinthelead.com
Social Media:
FB & IG: @loveintheleadclt
Pay: $48,000.00 - $70,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Employee discount
- Paid time off
Application Question(s):
- Have you directly managed staff schedules, shift coverage, call-outs, and attendance issues?
Experience:
- relevant: 2 years (Required)
Shift availability:
- Day Shift (Required)
- Night Shift (Required)
Ability to Commute:
- Charlotte, NC 28273 (Required)
Work Location: In person
