WHY JOIN NMDR?

At National Mill Dog Rescue, every role directly impacts the lives of dogs rescued from commercial breeding environments and other vulnerable situations. As the Operations Manager, you will play a critical role in ensuring dogs move safely and thoughtfully through every stage of their rescue journey—from breeder release and intake, through daily care and rehabilitation, to adoption and their next home. You will bring people, programs, and resources together to keep dogs moving forward while maintaining high standards of care and operational excellence. Every intake coordinated, every dog cared for, every adoption supported, and every strengthened partnership helps move a dog one step closer to safety, healing, and home.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Operations Manager provides leadership and coordination for NMDR's core animal operations, including rescue intake, breeder relations, dog care, population management, and adoptions. This position works closely with the Director of Operations, veterinary and behavior teams, adoption staff, volunteers, and other organizational leaders to ensure dogs move efficiently and appropriately through NMDR's programs. The Operations Manager is responsible for connecting the day-to-day work of multiple teams into a cohesive operational process. This includes monitoring capacity and population flow, coordinating incoming dogs and breeder releases, supporting consistent standards of dog care, and helping ensure dogs are appropriately prepared for adoption. The ideal candidate is an experienced, highly organized, and solutions-focused leader who can balance animal welfare, operational needs, staff and volunteer support, and the unpredictable nature of rescue work. They communicate clearly, make sound decisions, and remain calm and adaptable in a fast-paced environment.

THE VISION

THE

NEXT MILE

At NMDR, we are always looking beyond what is to what could be. The next mile is our commitment to continuous improvement, innovation, and growth in service of the dogs who depend on us. The Operations Manager plays a central role in advancing this vision by connecting intake, dog care, population management, and adoptions into one coordinated journey. By identifying barriers, strengthening processes, and helping teams work together, this position helps NMDR move more dogs forward—safely, efficiently, and with intention.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES DOG CARE OPERATIONS & TEAM LEADERSHIP

Oversee the daily operations of the Dog Care team and directly supervise Dog Care Technicians. Provide clear direction, coaching, accountability, and support to dog care staff. Ensure consistent standards for feeding, sanitation, enrichment, handling, safety, and daily welfare checks. Develop and maintain efficient workflows that support both dog welfare and operational effectiveness. Monitor staffing, scheduling, workload, and coverage to ensure daily dog care needs are met. Ensure staff and volunteers understand and follow medical, behavioral, handling, and safety requirements. Monitor the dog population and communicate capacity, staffing, and operational concerns to leadership. Identify opportunities to improve the daily experience and welfare of dogs in NMDR's care. Participate directly in dog care and shelter operations as needed.

RESCUE INTAKE & BREEDER RELATIONS

Serve as a primary operational contact for breeder partners regarding dog releases, intake planning, and rescue logistics. Build and maintain positive, professional relationships with breeders and rescue partners. Coordinate incoming dog schedules based on shelter capacity, staffing, medical resources, and operational priorities. Gather and maintain accurate information regarding incoming dogs, including population demographics, medical history, and logistical needs. Coordinate with leadership and operational teams to ensure intake decisions align with NMDR's capacity, priorities, and mission. Assist with transportation planning, rescue logistics, and intake preparations as needed. Ensure facilities, staff, supplies, and resources are prepared for incoming dogs. Participate in rescue intakes, offloads, transports, and special rescue projects as needed. Maintain accurate documentation related to breeder releases, intake, transportation, and dog movement.

ADOPTIONS & DOG FLOW

Work collaboratively with the Adoption team to support efficient movement of dogs toward adoption. Monitor dogs' readiness and identify operational barriers that may delay placement. Coordinate with dog care, veterinary, behavior, foster, and adoption teams to support smooth transitions. Assist with meet-and-greets, adoption events, adopter interactions, and placement activities as needed. Help ensure dogs are appropriately prepared for adoption, including required medical, behavioral, grooming, and documentation needs. Monitor length of stay and identify opportunities to reduce unnecessary delays in a dog's journey to home.

COLLABORATION, CUSTOMER SERVICE & TEAM SUPPORT

Represent NMDR professionally, courteously, and compassionately in all internal and external interactions. Build positive working relationships with staff, volunteers, adopters, breeders, partners, and members of the public. Foster a culture of teamwork, accountability, respect, transparency, and continuous improvement. Support and mentor staff and volunteers, recognizing the important role they play in advancing NMDR's mission. Provide thoughtful service recovery and help resolve concerns in a professional and solutions-focused manner. Support additional organizational, operational, or mission-related responsibilities as needed.

SAFETY, COMPLIANCE & MISSION EXECUTION

Ensure compliance with NMDR policies, animal welfare standards, safety protocols, and applicable regulations. Maintain a safe work environment and model safe practices at all times. Promptly identify, address, and escalate safety, animal welfare, or operational concerns. Ensure appropriate procedures are followed during rescue intake, animal handling, transportation, and daily operations. Uphold and actively advance NMDR's mission, values, culture, and standards of care.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

This position provides direct supervision and leadership to Dog Care Technicians and other assigned operational staff. The Operations Manager is responsible for providing clear direction, training, coaching, feedback, and accountability while ensuring consistent standards for animal care, safety, customer service, and professionalism. This role supports staff development, scheduling, and performance management of staff and provides general oversight, training, and support for volunteers.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

Minimum of 3 years of experience in animal welfare, rescue, sheltering, animal care, or a related field. Supervisory, management, or team leadership experience required. Experience with rescue intake, animal shelter operations, dog care, population management, or adoptions strongly preferred. Strong knowledge of canine behavior, body language, safe handling, and animal welfare practices. Experience coordinating multiple teams, programs, or operational workflows. Strong organizational, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Strong relationship-building and customer service skills. Ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced, constantly changing environment. Ability to remain calm, professional, and solutions-focused during high-stress situations. Experience with shelter management software such as ShelterLuv or PetPoint preferred. Strong computer skills, including Google Workspace and/or Microsoft Office. Ability to maintain confidentiality and exercise sound professional judgment. Must possess a valid driver's license and be comfortable operating larger vehicles as needed. High school diploma or GED required.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

Keeps the welfare and successful placement of each dog at the center of decision-making. Looks for ways forward rather than simply identifying problems. Comfortable shifting priorities when rescue needs, dog populations, or operational circumstances change. Communicates with empathy while maintaining appropriate boundaries and accountability. Can manage multiple moving pieces without losing sight of important details. Builds trust across departments and understands that successful rescue depends on teams working together. Comfortable making informed decisions and taking appropriate action when circumstances require. Follows through on commitments and holds themselves and others to NMDR's standards. Brings an upbeat, professional, team-oriented presence to challenging work. Looks for opportunities to improve systems, strengthen programs, and help NMDR move into its next mile.

ON-SITE RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT

Due to the nature of NMDR's rescue operations, animal care responsibilities, and emergency response needs, this position is required to reside in designated on-site housing at the Dogsville facility. The incumbent must be available to respond to after-hours emergencies, urgent animal welfare situations, facility concerns, weather-related events, transport arrivals, and other operational needs as required. While this position is not considered on-call at all times, living on-site is an essential function of the role and supports NMDR's commitment to maintaining a safe environment for animals, staff, volunteers, and visitors.

WORKING CONDITIONS & PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Must be comfortable working in a shelter and animal welfare environment, including exposure to barking dogs, cleaning products, odors, and other shelter-related conditions. Must be able to safely handle dogs of varying sizes, ages, temperaments, and behavioral needs. Must be able to stand, walk, bend, stoop, kneel, and move throughout the facility during the workday. Must be able to lift and move objects weighing up to 50 pounds. May be required to work occasional evenings, weekends, holidays, or flexible hours based on rescue and operational needs. Occasional travel between NMDR locations and partner facilities may be required. From the moment a dog is released by a breeder to the moment they leave for their adoptive home, this role helps ensure there is a clear, coordinated path forward. The Operations Manager brings together the people, information, resources, and decisions needed to keep that journey moving while never losing sight of the individual dog at the center of it.

Pay:

From $62,000.00 per year

Benefits:

Employee assistance program Flexible spending account Health insurance Paid time off Tuition reimbursement Vision insurance Application Question(s): Failure to respond to the pre-screening questions may result in disqualification of your application. Do you understand? What interests you about this Senior Manager position at Dogsville, and why do you believe your background is a good fit for this particular role? Please briefly describe the largest team you have supervised, including approximately how many employees you managed and what you were responsible for. Rescue operations do not always go according to plan. Please give a brief example of a time you had to quickly change priorities because of an unexpected staffing, animal-care, or operational issue. What did you do? This role will work directly with breeders who are releasing dogs to rescue. Are you comfortable maintaining professional, respectful working relationships with individuals whose animal-care practices or perspectives may differ significantly from your own? Are you able to work a flexible schedule that may occasionally include evenings, weekends, holidays, transports, or emergency situations? If selected for this position, when would you be available to start work?

Experience:

Supervising:

2 years (Required) Ability to

Relocate:

Humansville, MO 65674: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location:

In person