CENTER FOR ANIMAL
RESCUE AND ENRICHMENT
of St. Louis

Job Title: Adoption and Foster Coordinator

Reports to: Adoption & Foster Manager

 

Overview

CARE STL is committed to the well-being of our city’s pets and the people who love them. We prioritize compassionate, fear-free animal care and empathetic, non-judgmental community support. Our values reflect the strength of our staff, leadership, and the community we serve. All employees are expected to uphold CARE’s core values in their daily tasks, client interactions, and animal care.

The Adoption and Foster Coordinator is a key member of a collaborative, community-facing team. This role supports the St. Louis community through adoption and foster services, lost pet counseling, and rehoming resources. Coordinators play a vital role in ensuring pets find safe and loving homes by responding to adoption inquiries, organizing meet-and-greets, and working directly with the public. Compassionate, respectful, and informative communication is essential—whether by phone, email, or in person.

This position also involves hands-on animal care duties, including walking, feeding, and cleaning for both dogs and cats.​​

Essential Job Functions:

• Collaborate positively with all shelter teams and remain flexible and proactive in a fast-paced environment.

• Prioritize life-saving practices in all areas of work.

• Respond promptly and professionally to emails and calls regarding adoptions, fosters, lost pets, and general pet care.

• Review adoption surveys and connect potential adopters with foster parents for animals in foster homes.

• Retrieve animals for meet-and-greets and supervise those interactions to ensure safety and comfort.

• Provide counseling for community members who find lost pets and offer guidance on next steps.

• Accurately enter adoption and foster care information into the shelter’s software system.

• Intake new animals and update records in the database.

• Prepare and share daily reports on shelter intake and outcomes to track capacity.

• Process adoption, surrender, and rehoming fees.

• Distribute supplies from the community pet food pantry as needed.

• Communicate effectively with team members via GroupMe and other platforms.

• Assist with daily animal care, including walking, feeding, and kennel cleaning.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Always represent and promote CARE STL’s mission, values, and policies.

​

Qualifications  

• Excellent customer service and communication skills; able to remain compassionate and composed during challenging situations.

• Proficient in verbal and written communication, including professional phone and email etiquette.

• Knowledge of dog and cat behavior, training, and general animal care.

• Physically capable of standing for long periods, walking large dogs, lifting up to 50 lbs, and performing routine cleaning tasks.

• Skilled in interpreting animal body language and recognizing signs of stress, illness, or injury.

• Must be available to work weekends.

• Passionate about life-saving work and committed to ongoing learning and improvement.

• Must become Fear-Free Shelter Certified during onboarding.

Education & Experience 

• High school diploma or equivalent required.

• At least 1 year of experience in an animal-related field preferred.

Language Skills 

• Ability to read and interpret policies and procedures.

• Must be able to clearly communicate with adopters and provide exceptional service.
  Spanish-speaking is a plus.

Reasoning Ability 

• Must be able to follow written and verbal instructions accurately and adapt to a variety of situations.

Work Environment  

• The role involves working in a kennel environment, which may be loud and contain strong odors.

Salary and Benefits

Starting wage: $16/hour

​

• Very low-cost veterinary care for personal pets

• Pet food assistance

• Health, dental, vision, and life insurance (for full-time employees)

• 80 hours paid time off after probationary period (for full-time employees)

• 56 hours of paid sick time annually