Pet Nutrition Specialist Company:

Heartland Paws Location:

Omaha, NE (In-Store)

Job Type:

[Part-Time]

Pay Range:

$16.50-$18.50 / hour (Depending on certification and experience) Job Overview At Heartland Paws , we provide a holistic, safe, and nurturing environment for local pets. We are seeking a versatile, high-energy Pet Nutrition Specialist to join our team. This role divides your time between guiding pet parents through complex dietary plans on the retail floor and managing our small-dog daycare program. You will act as both a trusted nutritional advisor and an attentive guardian for our smaller canine guests.

Key Responsibilities Nutrition & Retail Sales Nutritional Consulting:

Conduct one-on-one consultations with pet parents to recommend customized diet plans tailored to their pet's age, allergies, or health conditions.

Drive Specialty Sales:

Educate customers on high-margin, premium products, including raw frozen foods, freeze-dried options, and wellness supplements.

Store Operations:

Perform standard retail duties, including operating the point-of-sale (POS) system, handling deliveries, restocking shelves, and maintaining a clean sales floor.

Small Dog Daycare Management Active Supervision:

Maintain consistent, active supervision of the playroom, strictly enforcing our safety standard of a maximum 1:6 staff-to-dog ratio .

Size-Specific Care:

Ensure a peaceful, low-stress environment dedicated exclusively to small dogs under 25 lbs .

Behavior Management:

Read, interpret, and manage canine body language to proactively diffuse tense situations, bullying, or over-excitation before it escalates.

Strict Sanitation:

Execute daily cleaning protocols using pet-safe disinfectants to clean up accidents immediately and sanitize play equipment, floors, and toys.

Check-In & Communication:

Manage check-in/out procedures, verify up-to-date vaccine records (Rabies, Distemper, Bordetella), and provide friendly verbal or written "report cards" to owners at pickup.

Requirements & Qualifications Certification:

Possession of a recognized pet nutrition certification.

Experience:

Minimum of 1-2 years in a professional pet retail, and/or dog daycare facility veterinary clinic. Proven experience handling packs of small breeds is required.

Safety & Behavioral Knowledge:

Strong baseline understanding of positive reinforcement concepts, dog pack dynamics.

Physical Demands:

Ability to spend extended periods on your feet, move quickly to manage dogs, and routinely lift-up to 40lbs (pet food bags/crates). Benefits & Perks Competitive hourly wage with a clear path for growth. Generous employee discount on all pet food, daycare services, and retail merchandise, along with flexible scheduling.

Pay:

$16.50 - $18.50 per hour Expected hours: No more than 25.0 per week

Benefits:

Employee discount Flexible schedule

Work Location:

In person