VETERINARY DEPARTMENT – OUTREACH PROJECTS
Job Title:
Freedom Project Assistant – Greater London
Reporting to:
Freedom Project Co-ordinator (in their absence Head of
Outreach Projects)
Location:
Dogs Trust London EC1V (office based)
Contract:
6 months maternity cover from January 2016
Hours:
Mon to Fri, 9am to 5pm
Revised:
Dec 2015
Post details:
This post is for women only and is exempt under section 7.2 (e)
of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975
Summary
Dogs Trust Freedom Project is a pet fostering service for families fleeing domestic
violence. The service places dogs into volunteer foster homes on a temporary basis
until their owners are able to have them back. We also take referrals for cats and
arrange care for them with Cats Protection. The Freedom Project has been running
successfully in the Greater London Area since June 2004 and in Yorkshire since July
2005 - to date we have helped over 1,300 pets.
The project takes referrals from various agencies, including women’s refuges, the
police and local authority housing departments. Each foster placement is continually
monitored and each volunteer foster carer receives ongoing support and advice. For
safety and confidentiality reasons owners are unable to visit their pets during
placements. However, regular updates and photographs are sent. Pets are either
returned to their owners once they are settled in a new home or rehomed via one of
our 20 rehoming centres.
The Freedom Project Assistant will come into this fixed-term post with good all round
experience of assessing and handling dogs, giving advice on pet care and having
worked in a public facing role. They will be a confident self-starter who has had some
experience of working with volunteers and of home visiting. A large part of this role
involves transporting dogs across London and the Home Counties, so candidates
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Job Description/Freedom Project Assistant
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should have a full, clean, manual UK driving licence and experience of driving as part
of a previous role.
Duties
Freedom Project
The Freedom Project Assistant is managed by the Freedom Project Co-ordinator
and will undertake tasks to enable the efficient running of the service, to include:

Deal with pet referrals into the project from clients and referral organisations
such as refuges, the police and housing departments

Work with the Freedom Project Co-ordinator to assess and match dog referrals
with suitable registered volunteer foster carers

Work alongside the Cats Protection Freedom team in order to manage cat
referrals and client contact during cat placements

Collect and transport dogs from safe locations in Greater London and the Home
Counties

In conjunction with the Freedom Project Co-ordinator, assess suitability of
volunteer foster carers by carrying out home checks, interviews and referencing

Carry out monitoring visits and support / advise volunteer foster carers during
foster placements for dogs

Monitor the welfare and behaviour of foster dogs during each placement and
discuss any concerns with the Freedom Project Co-ordinator

Sign up private veterinary surgeries to our veterinary payment and invoicing
procedures on authorisation of the Freedom Project Co-ordinator

Order dog food and necessary dog accessories / equipment for the project

Update clients on their pet’s progress including sending them monthly updates
and photographs. Discuss any concerns regarding client contact with the
Freedom Project Co-ordinator

Maintain contact details for foster carers, clients and foster dogs on DTS (our
internal database)

Answer public enquiries coming into the project via telephone, email and letter
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
Organise and attend events to promote the service and recruit volunteer foster
carers

Attend regular update meetings with the Freedom Project Co-ordinator

Cover the day-to-day running of the service in the absence of the Freedom
Project Co-ordinator

Cover the out-of-hours mobile phone rota for both the Yorkshire and London
Projects (one week in every six)
Duties (General)

To assist and support the Freedom Project Co-ordinator and Outreach Projects
team when required

Liaise effectively with internal Dogs Trust departments where required

To implement and abide by all Dogs Trust and Freedom Project service policies

Ensure that all Health & Safety procedures, as deemed necessary after
assessment of risk, are implemented and followed

Carry out any other duties as directed by the Freedom Project Co-ordinator,
Head of Outreach Projects or Veterinary Director
Person specification
Essential
 Experience and overall competency of assessing and handling a variety of dogs
and breed types in a working environment
 Experience of giving pet care advice to owners / volunteers
 Competent driver, with a valid driving licence, who has driven as part of a
previous role
 Confident and personable communicator (written and face-to-face), able to deal
with sensitive and challenging situations in an appropriate and mature manner
 Experience of working in a public facing role
 Experience of working with volunteers
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 Experience of home visiting in either a voluntary or paid capacity
 Ability to work and communicate as part of a team but able to prioritise and to
take responsibility for own workload
 IT literate, able to use elements of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel & Outlook) and
in-house databases
 An understanding of the problems faced by families fleeing domestic violence
with pets
Desirable
 Experience of transporting animals as part of a previous role
Managing volunteers
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Job Description/Freedom Project Assistant
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