Relief Veterinarian, Portland Campus

About the Oregon Humane Society

Founded in 1868, Oregon Humane Society is the Northwest's oldest and largest animal welfare organization with one of the highest adoption rates in the nation. We are working toward our vision of a world where all animals are treated with compassion, kindness and respect. With campuses in Portland and Salem, OHS is an Oregon-based nonprofit that relies on donor support for its adoption, education, medical and humane law enforcement programs. Visit oregonhumane.org to learn more about how we’re creating a More Humane Society.

The Team

This position is part of the Medical Services team at the Portland Campus. 

The Position

The Relief Veterinarian is responsible for providing day-to-day to the delivery of exceptional diagnostic, treatment and surgical services to animals served and owned pets by the Oregon Humane Society. As a state licensed DVM, the Staff Veterinarian is also a primary care giver and must deliver exceptional services in accordance with practice and state standards.  Medical cases are both outpatient and inpatient with the majority being canine and feline patients with a small percentage of cases being exotics (small mammals and birds) or other species.  Additional responsibilities include providing clinical leadership to veterinary staff and student interns, as well as providing expert consultation to medical support staff regarding complex medical cases and decisions.

Essential Responsibilities

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP

• Consistently strives to exceed expectations; demonstrates flexibility, resilience, and the ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances.
• Maintains high ethical standards, including exhibiting behaviors and actions that embrace and align to our organization and customer service values, while treating all people with respect and dignity.
• Demonstrates an awareness of your individual personal strengths and development needs, modeling non-defensive behavior and openness to feedback; builds a culture of feedback and learning.

LEARNING

• Contributes to regular dialogue and accountability with the leadership team and across the organization to review progress and course correct if necessary.
• Utilizes data and insights to identify, understand and articulate the key inputs and metrics that tell the story of the organization/team strategy and its progress.
• Builds appropriate feedback loops to measure if we are meeting key milestones and if the impact planned is being felt across the organization.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Communicate effectively to executive and other stakeholder groups to ensure they are informed and able to actively engage.
• Liaise with and maintain productive relationships with all stakeholders, including other departments, and donors; build mutually rewarding professional relationships inside OHS at all levels.
• Leverage our best practices externally and grow OHS’ reputation as a leader in the animal welfare space.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Perform clinical and surgical veterinary duties in a high volume, high quality spay/neuter general surgery and diagnostic medical center.  Patients include shelter owned animals, animals surrendered to OHS from the public or because of cruelty investigations and animals presented for care by their owners or agents through programs at OHS. Uphold team culture and values of compassion, efficiency, and responsibility.  Handle and treat patients in a safe and compassionate manner at all times.
• Work effectively and respectively within the medical team and all departments at OHS.  Demonstrate commitment to teamwork, professionalism, responsibility, efficiency, and compassionate pet care. 
• Provide primary care to multiple species including dogs, cats, rabbits and pocket pets, birds etc.
• Utilize and hone clinical skills to the fullest degree possible and within state practice acts regarding duties of credentialed veterinarians.
• Complete and maintain medical records in accordance with practice and state standards.
• Provide direct professional contact with veterinarians and community practitioners to answer questions or to follow-up on concerns related to patient care and policies.
• Participate in clinical instruction and mentorship of veterinary students during surgical procedures. Attend and participate in twice-daily clinical rounds, when possible. Provide leadership and direction during patient care discussions.
• Deal with difficult situations in a calm and professional manner.  Role model professionalism and mutual respect during all interactions with staff and the public.
• Represent OHS in a professional and positive manner at all times.

SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITY

Supervises: None

ACCOUNTABILITY

Reports Directly To: Hospital Operations Manager

Often Engages Directly With: Medical Team, Shelter Team

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

We are interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background. We welcome applicants who bring a diversity of identity, culture, experience, perspective and thought. We encourage you to apply, even if you do not believe you meet every one of the qualifications described. You are also encouraged to address how your professional and lived experience, scholarship, mentorship and/or service will contribute to the Oregon Humane Society.

• DVM from an accredited academic institution.
• Licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the State of Oregon or able to acquire within six months of hire. Must maintain licensure as a condition of continued employment.
• Able to provide high quality patient care to a wide variety of animal species and breeds.
• Able to demonstrate excellent surgery and medical diagnostic abilities in a high volume veterinary medicine facility.
• Distracting conditions without loss of accuracy or appearance of frustration.
• Possess strong mathematical skills including the ability to add, subtract, multiply, divide, compute rates and ratios, and convert units of measurement.
• Able to exercise sound judgment and maintain a professional demeanor during all interactions with the public, partner agencies, donors, staff and volunteers.
• Proficiency using the Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills - able to communicate with a diverse population in a consistently informative, respectful and professional manner.
• Bilingual abilities are a plus

Work Environment Conditions & Physical Requirements

This position interacts and collaborates will all levels of the organization, including OHS staff, executive team members, donors, general-public, external vendors, volunteers, and supporters. Contact and communication is carried out through face-to-face, telephone and digital interactions. Excellent customer service skills are essential to success. Communication must be clear, understandable, professional and respectful in all circumstances.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Work is performed in an office and medical center/animal shelter environment.
• Occasional weekend and evening work may be required.
• Animal contact and related injuries may occur.
• Noise exposure varies and sometimes includes uncontrolled barking and other animal vocalizations.
• Pace of work is active and demanding, requiring a high degree of multitasking and ability to adapt to changing priorities while managing concurrent projects/tasks to completion.
• Contact with angry or emotional people may occur.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Occasional lifting and moving of inanimate objects weighing up to 50 lbs.
• Occasional pushing and pulling of carted items weighing up to 100 lbs.
• Occasional moving items above shoulder level.
• Occasional use of hands and arms at or above shoulder level.
• Prolonged standing, sitting and/or stooping may occur.
• Occasional climbing and bending.
• Must be able to lift, move, restrain, guide, or manage an animal weighing up to 150 lbs. on a leash on an occasional basis.
• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for prolonged periods.
• Ability to respond and perform life saving techniques in an emergency.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and address and overcome complex challenges and barriers. We strive for a culture of integrity, respect and compassion where every member of our community contributes their perspectives and authentic selves and where everyone reaches their potential as individuals and teams. We recognize that striving for diversity, equity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Oregon Humane Society is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group.

At-Will Employment

This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related duties required by their supervisor. This document does not create an employment contract implied or otherwise, other than an “at-will” relationship.