The Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA) is seeking a strategic, collaborative, and compassionate Chief Operations Officer (COO) to lead the organization's animal sheltering operations and drive excellence across all program areas. The Chief Operations Officer provides strategic and operational leadership for all animal sheltering programs. This position oversees all core operational functions including animal care, shelter veterinary services, behavior, adoptions, foster, and transfer.
The COO works closely with the President/CEO and Chief Animal Control and Community Resources Officer to advance organizational priorities, strengthen operational effectiveness, and ensure high quality care and service for both people and animals. This role is responsible for fostering a collaborative, solutions-oriented workplace grounded in compassion, collaboration, and a commitment to operational excellence.
Through delegation to League employees, the Chief Operations Officer is responsible for ensuring operating procedures align with industry best practice, are responsive to the evolving needs of programs, and support high levels of care for animals. In addition, in coordination with the Chief Animal Control and Community Resources Officer, this position is responsible for carrying out the directives contained in the League’s contract with Arlington County and requirements of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The ideal candidate is an adaptable leader who thrives in a fast paced environment and can effectively manage complex challenges and competing priorities. They are data-driven and committed to progressive, community centered industry best practices.
Responsibilities:
- Provide leadership and oversight for all shelter operations – intake, animal care, behavior, veterinary medicine, adoptions, foster, transfer.
- Partners with the President/CEO and senior leadership team to develop and implement organizational priorities, operational goals, and long-term strategic initiatives.
- Promotes a workplace culture that supports employee engagement, accountability, and organizational values.
- Ensures operations align with regulatory requirements, industry best practices, humane standards of care, and organizational values.
- Drives operational decision making through the effective implementation of data collection mechanisms and regular benchmarking of program outcomes.
- Respond to customer service escalations, operational emergencies, critical incidents, and disaster situations with professionalism, compassion, and sound judgment.
Program Oversight
- Oversee innovative shelter population management strategies to ensure individualized care for animals of all species while maintaining high levels of live outcomes and protecting public safety. Foster an environment of continuous improvement to expand and improve capacity for care.
- Ensure seamless integration of activities with community resources and animal control operations.
- Lead collaboration and communication across departments to support timely animal movement decisions, response to the public, and story telling to make the case for support for AWLA.
- Ensure consistent implementation of policies and procedures and oversee their revision as necessary to maintain high standards of care and operations.
- Oversee accurate record keeping and reporting to support decision making and comply with regulations .
- Participate in local, regional and national industry initiatives representing AWLA and to stay abreast of local, regional, and national activities that may impact operations.
- Represent AWLA at public events, stakeholder engagements and community meetings as needed.
Staff Leadership and Development
- Lead, coach, and develop staff to build a high-performing, collaborative, and mission-driven team culture while fostering an inclusive and welcoming workplace for employees of all backgrounds and experiences.
- Support employee growth through regular feedback, mentorship, training, and leadership development opportunities.
- Promote accountability, professional development, continuous improvement, and strong cross-department communication through operational meetings, coaching, and consistent leadership support.
- Encourage teamwork and partnership across departments to support organizational goals and positive outcomes.
- Address employee concerns, operational challenges, and public complaints in a timely, professional, empathetic, and solutions-focused manner.
Financial oversight and Administration
- Support the development and oversee the implementation of the organization’s strategic plan.
- Work collaboratively with President/CEO, CDO and Director of Finance on annual budget planning, forecasting and resource allocation. Manage budget implementation for related programs, including regular oversight of spending. Ensure purchasing and departmental expenditures align with approved budgets and priorities.
- Maintain an effective working relationship with Arlington County and City of Falls Church contract officials in support of contractual obligations and other operational integrations.
- Responsible for all reporting to State and County related to shelter activities.
- Manage collection of monthly operational data and produce monthly report for internal and stakeholder dissemination.
- Oversee manager on call activities in response to animal control or foster care emergencies and provide coverage as needed.
- Support response to FOIA requests for information.
- Partner with the Chief Development Officer to provide engaging content and story telling for community partners, sponsors, and donors. Represent AWLA to stakeholders as determined.
- Maintain current shelter operations related to state and local licenses.
- Provide operational support during emergencies, staffing shortages, or critical incidents as needed.
Supervisory Responsibilities: The Chief Operations Officer (COO) supervises the following positions:
- Senior Director of Operations
- Director of Veterinary Services
Qualifications:
- At least 5+ (five plus) years of professional management experience in an animal welfare or animal shelter environment required.
- Knowledge of animal sheltering best practices, humane care standards, and regulatory compliance requirements.
- Experience leading multidisciplinary teams in a fast-paced, high-volume environment .
- Excellent interpersonal oral and written communication skills with the ability to build relationships across diverse groups and communities.
- Proven success providing constructive feedback to support individual development or progress in a particular area.
- Strong attention to detail and ability to multitask in a sometimes unpredictable work environment.
- Comfortable using data to inform decision making and adapting programs to optimize outcomes.
- Ability to preserve cordial, productive relationships with all staff and board members with maintaining confidentiality pertaining to privileged administrative and operational information
- Ability to remain calm, adaptable and solution focused in emotionally charged or emergency situations.
- Experience managing organizational change, operational growth, or program development strongly preferred.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, Google Suite, shelter management software and other reporting tools.
- Ability to exercise sound judgment and maintain confidentiality with sensitive organizational information.
- Have a passion for the mission and a deep commitment to the goals of the organization
Work is performed in both office and shelter environments, with regular exposure to animals, animal sounds, dander, disinfectant solutions, and variable temperatures. Requires manual dexterity sufficient to operate standard office equipment, and the ability to move throughout shelter facilities including offsite event locations. Must be comfortable around dogs, cats, small companion animals, reptiles, amphibians, and wildlife. May occasionally assist with animal handling or event support, with or without reasonable accommodation. Requires flexibility to work with frequent interruptions and occasional evening/weekend availability for organizational events.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees, volunteers, and program participants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.
