Veterinary Technician/Wildlife Rehabilitation

Hawks Aloft, a 501(c)3 Albuquerque-based avian conservation, research, and education nonprofit, initiated Raptor Rescue in 2013. This program includes both a statewide hotline to mobilize a network of volunteers to respond to rescue calls, and a wildlife rehabilitation program to care for birds until they can be released back to the wild. The goal of the hotline is to ensure that injured and orphaned raptors, roadrunners, and corvids are safely captured and transported to Hawks Aloft or other qualified wildlife rehabilitators in a timely manner. In 2025, our Albuquerque-based personnel directly provided care for over 270 birds and the hotline fielded 729 calls. Our Raptor Rescue Dispatcher fields all hotline calls and determines the best placement for that bird, either with our personnel in the Albuquerque area or at other rehabilitation centers throughout the state as well as El Paso, TX. 

Currently, our five veterinarians work with several home-based rehabilitators and we have a small in-house clinic. This facility allows us to provide critical care, diagnostics such as radiographs, and surgical care. In 2023, we constructed a large flight cage suitable for rehabilitating Bald and Golden Eagles, although these birds will likely still be transferred to one of the larger rehabilitation centers for pre-release conditioning.

We seek a part-time wildlife rehabilitator to coordinate the Raptor Rescue program and work closely with the Raptor Recue Dispatcher. Other duties include:

Interact well with volunteers and other nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Work hand-in-hand with our social media team to provide images and stories. Flexibility is essential, as there are times when we have many birds in care and there are slower times of the year when office and administrative tasks become the priority.

At the time of this posting, some of our operations are onsite and some remote work is possible on a case-by-case basis.

• Maintain the WRMD medical database
• Manage all state and federal permit reporting
• Conduct in-house rehabilitation and work with our home-based rehabilitators
• Participate in occasional rescues, transportation and re-nesting efforts
• Assist with hotline calls
• Be flexible enough to handle the seasonality of wildlife rehabilitation
• Some night and/or weekend work required during the peak intake season
• Establish and maintain relationships with other nonprofit organizations and government agencies
• Work hand-in-hand with our social media team to provide images and stories
• Collaborate with other governmental and nonprofit conservation efforts
• Conduct outreach in distant New Mexico communities with assistance from our existing team

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Proven wildlife rehabilitation experience with raptors
• Intermediate-to-advanced wildlife rehabilitation skills including handling, nutrition, physical exam, injections, gavage feeding, and subcutaneous fluid administration
• Excellent interpersonal skills, team-building experience and work well in a team setting
• Exceptional time management and organizational skills
• Excellent written communication and computer skills, including Word and Excel
• Experience with WRMD (Wildlife Rehabilitation Medical Database) preferred
• Ability to prepare clear, concise, and accurate reports
• Vet tech experience a plus