Hotline Staff

About Us:
Wildlife Center of Long Island is a 501©3 not-for-profit Wildlife Rehabilitation & Education Center founded in 1982, dedicated to the preservation of Long Island’s wildlife and natural habitats. We receive over 10,000 calls to our Hotline annually and admit an average of 2,000+ injured and orphaned wild animals to our Center. In addition, we conduct education programs for children and adults to foster knowledge and appreciation for Long Island’s wildlife.

Job Description:
The Wildlife Hotline Staff plays a critical role in fulfilling our mission. In this essential role, you will guide callers how to help the thousands of wild animals who become sick, injured, or orphaned throughout Long Island. In addition to responding to emergency situations, you will also be providing a much-needed service for our community by providing expert advice and helping people find appropriate solutions for a variety of wildlife related conflicts or other situations. In this fast-paced role, you will work under the guidance of Wildlife Center Co-Directors to multi-task a number of responsibilities including incoming/outgoing calls, patient admissions, maintaining the patient database, coordinating wildlife rescues & releases, and liaising with other wildlife rehabilitators and wildlife centers. Additional office work is required as described below. You will interact frequently with members of the public, volunteers, and other staff.

This is a challenging front line role, critical to helping so many of our local wildlife, making this one of the most rewarding positions at Wildlife Center of Long Island!

Duties & Responsibilities:

Handling all aspects of incoming/outgoing calls

• Respond to incoming calls and emails promptly
• Assess situations and help callers resolve them          
• Ensure animal admissions are appropriate (ex. wildlife that actually needs help, species we are licensed to accept, patients within our capacity limits, not domestic animals, etc.)
• Update and maintain call records accurately with attention to detail
• Provide superior customer service to members of the public
• Coordinate admissions of sick, injured and orphaned wildlife from public, veterinary hospitals, and other organizations
• Coordinate with rescue & transport volunteers to ensure timely, appropriate, and safe rescues and transports of wildlife

Wildlife admissions and interacting with the public

• Warmly greet the public that enters facility
• Receive incoming wild patients, admitting scheduled admission and walk-in admissions as per protocols
• Inform public about non-profit status, asking for and receiving monetary donations
• Coordinate with public and other organizations regarding supply donations
• Participate in year end and ongoing Wildlife Hotline program evaluation

Maintain patient database & charts

• Input/disposition patients into online admission and medical database
• Provide email updates to public regarding wildlife patient outcomes
• Maintain organized system of patient charts

General office assistance and miscellaneous tasks

• Order supplies as needed, coordinating deliveries and maintaining accurate records
• Coordinate and receive supply donations from the public
• Help with minor repairs and maintenance in office
• Maintain a clean and organized, shared workspace
• Willingness to run local errands and help with miscellaneous tasks

Candidate Qualifications:

• Strong natural history background ideally with a focus on Long Island wildlife
• General knowledge of local areas and the ability to interpret maps
• Education-Associates or Bachelor’s Degree
• Experience- Minimum 1 year experience in any of the following: Client and Customer Relations, Emergency Services Communications, Veterinary/Medical Office Reception or Administration, Call Center and/or similar field, Highly proficient in Google databases, Microsoft Office with an aptitude for learning new computer programs                                             
• Valid NYS driver’s license in good standing

Skills & Abilities

• Possess a genuine concern for the welfare of wild animals
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with focus on clear, concise messaging
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to empathize with callers, adapt advice for varying situations, and guide callers to make decisions in the best interest of wildlife                                                                                                        
• Ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to spend extended periods of sitting, typing, and talking on the phone
• Motivated self-starter with ability to manage competing time-sentisive priorities
• Exceptional attention to detail, organization, logic and problem-solving skills
• Strong and efficient learner willing to meet challenges and receive ongoing training
• Energetic, enthusiastic, positive, open-minded, enjoys working with a diverse people
• Flexible and adaptable to changing and dynamic work environment with strong ability to focus in a shared work environment with frequent distractions
• Ability to handle emotionally demanding work