Senior Director of Lifesaving Strategy

Description

At Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, the Senior Director of Lifesaving Strategy plays a critical role in shaping the future of animal welfare in our community. This position leads the charge on operational excellence and drives innovation, efficiency, and impact across all aspects of our lifesaving work. With a unique opportunity to help design our new shelter from the ground up, this role is perfect for a bold systems thinker ready to maximize how we serve both animals and people. As champions of open adoptions and compassionate care, we're looking for a leader who believes that saving lives starts with building relationships-within our walls and beyond them.

You might be the perfect fit for this role if you:

● Thrive on leading shelter operations and have a strong track record of doing so. Brother Wolf facilitates around 2,000 adoptions a year, around that many foster placements annually, has a busy shelter medicine department, and operates a public veterinary clinic focused primarily on high-volume spay/neuter. Experience in shelter medicine and public clinics within a shelter setting is essential.
● Are passionate about using resources and relationships to save lives. Brother Wolf doesn't hold a government contract. Around 60% of the animals we take in come from under-resourced partner shelters in our Western North Carolina region. We believe in collaboration, transparency, and being a true safety net for animals.
● Love a good lifesaving puzzle. Expert pathway planning is your jam. You know how to reduce length of stay, prioritize urgent needs, and keep animals moving toward homes. We embrace an open adoption/adopters welcome model and work actively to remove barriers to placement.
● Would be energized by helping to design a brand new shelter. After Hurricane Helene destroyed our facility, we've been running operations from a temporary location. This role offers a rare opportunity: to partner with experts, shape the future of our organization, and design daily workflows and programmatic spaces to maximize our mission, vision, and values.
● Care deeply about the wellbeing of both animals and people. At Brother Wolf, our mission is to better the lives of companion animals and the people who love them. Respect and compassion for living beings are at the heart of everything we do. Equally valuing humans and animals greatly impacts how we carry out our mission and how we treat animals and humans who interact with our organization on all levels.
● Believe animal welfare is a form of social service. We aim to create a joyful, welcoming environment for every person who walks through our doors. A strong customer service mindset is vital across every department of our work.
● Lead with empathy, curiosity, and clear communication. We practice nonviolent communication and prioritize emotional intelligence and collaborative problem solving. We're looking for a leader who builds strong, healthy teams and understands that culture is just as important as process.
● Value work-life balance and want to create a joyful workplace. We aim to keep impactful passionate people in animal welfare long term. In order to do that, we put energy into helping our staff thrive. We believe that the health of our people determines the health of the organization. That's why we actively support staff wellbeing and prioritize creating a healthy work culture. Read more here about how we address this.
● Never stop learning. Our team is adaptable and forward-thinking. We believe change is an opportunity, and we look to national leaders like AAWA, ASPCA, HSUS, and Maddie's Fund to guide our evolving practices.
● Believe that pet retention is a critical part of the solution. We believe that to end unnecessary euthanasia, we must prevent animals from entering the shelter system when possible. We're working to build a facility that supports creative, community-based ways to keep pets in their homes while also helping animals already at risk.
● Understand the power of storytelling. As a donor-funded organization, our supporters are vital partners in our daily work. This role must embrace where operations, marketing, fundraising, and finance intersect and how to support strong brand storytelling and donor engagement from an operations lens.
● Have read Brother Wolf's value statement, workplace culture statement, employment webpage, and philosophy webpage and feel deeply aligned.
● And finally... you've made it to the bottom of this list and feel genuinely excited to connect with us about this opportunity!

Primary Role Responsibilities

● Lead and evolve daily operations across all core programmatic areas, including intake, animal care, behavior, adoptions, foster & volunteer, community cats, shelter medicine, and public veterinary clinic. Ensure systems are efficient, compassionate, customer service focused, and mission aligned.
● Drive Brother Wolf's lifesaving strategy by overseeing comprehensive sheltering practices and animal pathways. Develop and refine processes for managed intake, urgent rescue placement, and community-based animal support with an emphasis on open adoptions and minimizing length of stay.

● Design for the future. Serve as a key leader in the development of Brother Wolf's new shelter facility, working alongside experts to inform programmatic layout and operational flow with the goal of maximizing lifesaving impact and staff wellness.
● Build a high-performing team. Oversee and support operations personnel, fostering a culture of collaboration, empathy, accountability, and ongoing professional growth. Model nonviolent communication (training provided), collaboration, and emotional intelligence in leadership practices.
● Implement strong systems and internal controls for organizational effectiveness, including data tracking and analysis, program evaluation, operational policies, and facility maintenance protocols.
● Ensure regulatory compliance with all federal, state, and local animal welfare laws, including shelter and veterinary licensing and reporting requirements.
● Embrace innovation and continuous improvement. Regularly monitor and analyze industry trends, best practices, and national guidance from leading animal welfare organizations. Propose and implement strategic improvements to keep Brother Wolf at the forefront of progressive, impactful, community-focused sheltering.
● Support cross-functional collaboration. Work closely with leaders in fundraising, marketing, and finance to ensure operational decisions support organizational sustainability, donor storytelling, and community engagement.
● Promote a joyful, mission-driven work environment. Champion workplace wellbeing, staff retention, and open communication to support a resilient and effective team.
● This position reports directly to Brother Wolf's Executive Director.

Qualifications

● 5+ years of senior-level experience overseeing the operations of an animal shelter (or equivalent), including direct leadership of shelter medicine departments and public-facing veterinary clinic/services.
● Proven success in managing and growing multidisciplinary teams, with a focus on building healthy, high-functioning workplace culture through empathy, communication, and accountability.
● Deep understanding of animal welfare best practices, including managed intake, open adoptions, community-based programming, and data-driven decision-making.
● Demonstrated experience leading organizational change- designing and implementing new systems, workflows, or programs that increase impact, efficiency, or staff wellbeing.

● Hands-on experience with program design within an animal shelter environment preferred; ability to envision operational flow within physical spaces.
● Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills, including experience with data analysis, outcome tracking, and continuous process improvement.
● Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with a commitment to using nonviolent communication skills (training provided), team development, and stakeholder collaboration across departments.
● Knowledge of federal, state, and local animal welfare regulations, with experience ensuring shelter and veterinary program compliance.
● Customer-service mindset, with a desire to make the shelter experience welcoming and supportive for all who enter our doors.
● Commitment to ongoing learning and professional development, and alignment with industry standards set by AAWA, HSUS, ASPCA, and Maddie's Fund.
● Values-aligned with Brother Wolf's mission, including a belief in compassionate, inclusive care for both people and animals.

Pay & Benefits

● Compensation for this position begins at $95,000 and may increase based on a candidate's level of experience and expertise
● Relocation stipend of $5,000 for candidates who will need to relocate for the position
● Paid time off and floating holidays for full time employees
● Physical health: health insurance, dental and vision plans, life and disability benefits and direct primary care options available
● Mental health: Employee Assistance Network, group support sessions with a licensed therapist
● Personal and professional development: Variety of professional training opportunities and tuition discount on graduate programs with Lenoir Rhyne University
● Petcare: vaccines, prescription medications, and prescription diets offered at cost for employees' pets

How to Apply

To apply, please send a copy of your resume and cover letter to friends@bwar.org