ANIMAL CONTROL MANAGER

Job Description

Position/Program Information

DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL

EXAM NUMBER
O-3004-J


TYPE OF RECRUITMENT
We welcome applications from anyone!

WHEN TO APPLY
The application filing period will begin on September 28, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. (PT) - Continuous. We will keep accepting applications until the position is filled. The application window may close unexpectedly once we have enough qualified candidates.

WHY WORK FOR US?

The County has more than 2,100 different job types, offering a lifetime of opportunities and careers! We are dedicated professionals committed to preserving the dignity and integrity of the workplace as well as protecting the rights of each employee. Join us and discover one of the strongest public-sector benefits packages in the county with a rich selection of health care options, robust retirement plans and the flexibility to work, relax, and rejuvenate to reach your fullest personal and professional potential.

For more information about our amazing benefits, please visit us here : https://hr.lacounty.gov/benefits/
DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL
The County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control is one of the largest and most progressive animal control agencies in the United States. Our seven animal care centers serve over 3 million residents across 43 contract cities and unincorporated areas. We cover a diverse area of more than 3,400 square miles, providing 24/7 animal control and rescue services.

OUR DEPARTMENT'S MISSION
An innovative animal care and control agency with state-of-the-art facilities providing animals and residents high quality, effective, and caring service.

THE TEAM MEMBER WE ARE SEARCHING FOR
We are looking for an extraordinarily dedicated and compassionate person who has a demonstrated history in animal care and control. Our ideal applicant is a driven professional with excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse teams and stakeholders. You should be motivated to effectively carry out animal control strategies and give to making Los Angeles a safer environment for both animals and residents.

Essential Job Functions

Some of your responsibilities will include:

• Plans, organizes, and directs the operations and services of an animal care center and all field animal care and control services in an assigned geographical area, or a comprehensive Countywide animal care and control program.

• Supervises the enforcement of the County's Animal Control Ordinance and related State and local laws pertaining to animal licenses, vaccinations, and humane treatment of animals; supervises the collection of delinquent animal license fees and penalties.

• Develops animal behavior enrichment and training programs to help rehabilitate behaviorally challenged animals to make them more adoptable.

• Establishes protocols and evaluation methods to properly and effectively regulate potentially dangerous or vicious dogs.

• Supervises all personnel assigned to the animal care center or a comprehensive Countywide program through subordinate supervisors by evaluating performance, handling grievances, resolving disciplinary problems, or recommending their resolution to higher levels.

• Trains staff and volunteers regarding animal behavior using industry accepted humane animal training methodologies.

• Establishes patrol areas or programs within the jurisdiction by analyzing such variables as workload statistics, population concentrations, available staff, and traffic patterns.

• Assigns staff to shifts and patrol areas to maximize coverage on a seven-day, 24-hour basis; continually revises schedules based on such factors as absences, constituent complaints, health hazards, needs of the animal population, community response, and other emergencies.

• Maintains liaison and meets and confers with officials of contract cities, public law enforcement and wildlife agencies such as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and other counties and cities, and community groups for the purpose of resolving problems concerning constituent complaints, level of service, response time and interpretation of code sections; assists local agencies in admitting and sheltering animals used as evidence in legal proceedings; disseminates educational information regarding the delivery of animal care and control services.

• Collaborates with departmental volunteers and non-profit organizations to serve the needs of animals and community members.

• Identifies training needs for personnel and volunteers and supervises the conduct of training sessions for all personnel on such subjects as animal behavior, animal care, law enforcement, customer service, loading livestock, and animal capture.

• Reviews reports for such things as completeness, quality and uniformity of service and standards, and for indications of training needs and workload trends.

• Prepares and submits budget requests for an assigned geographical area or comprehensive Countywide program; ensures operations are maintained within established budget by reviewing and approving requests for overtime, equipment replacement, supplies, building and equipment repairs; and directs the allocation of resources to accomplish budget goals.

• Researches, prepares and submits grant requests to department administration for program support and development.

• Reviews the results of inspections within subordinates' assigned area to ensure that all shifts are in conformance with laws governing feeding, sanitation, security and quarantine of animals.

• Oversees the Department’s communications, including the supervision of the Department’s 24/7 Communication Centers, public information officer and media relations. Acts as a liaison to other agencies and stakeholders to provide public information updates through press releases, interviews, and Public Service Announcements.

• Oversees the Department’s e-Programs reporting and analytics function, including the development standard and customized reports utilizing the animal care software system and internal reporting dashboards. Informs strategic decision-making and actively monitors key performance metrics across departmental programs.

• Oversees the planning, development, and management of a comprehensive volunteer and foster program, including recruitment and training of volunteers, supervising staff members, and supporting volunteers and foster programs across all Animal Care Centers, while also addressing performance concerns and facilitating volunteer separation from the program when necessary.

• Perform euthanasia per departmental policy, when necessary.
  

Requirements

REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY:

OPTION 1
Three (3) years of experience at the level of Los Angeles County's class of Animal Control Officer IV .

OPTION 2
Five (5) years of experience at the level of Los Angeles County's class of Animal Control Officer III .

OPTION 3
Three (3) years of experience at the level of Los Angeles County's class of Supervising Registered Veterinary Technician .

OPTION 4
Three (3) years of experience as a dog behavioralist, dog trainer, or military working dog handler. Two (2) of the three (3) years of experience must have been in a supervisory role in an animal shelter related field.

OPTION 5
Three (3) years of experience at the level of Volunteer Programs Director managing a complex animal welfare volunteer program consisting of at least 800 volunteers.

You may still qualify even if your job title isn’t exactly the same as the ones listed. What matters is that your experience is at a similar level - meaning your job involves similar responsibilities, requires comparable skills and knowledge, and takes place within a similar organizational structure. Please provide a clear explanation of your experience to demonstrate that it is at the appropriate level.

PHYSICAL CLASS
Physical Class 2 - Light: This class includes administrative and clerical positions requiring light physical effort that may include occasional light lifting to a 10-pound limit and some bending, stooping, or squatting. Considerable ambulation may be involved.

LICENSE:
A valid California Class C Driver License or the ability to use an alternative method of transportation when needed to carry out job-related essential functions.

Out-of-class work experience or withhold will not be allowed for this examination. Required experience must be fully met at the time of filing.

Additional Information

EXAMINATION CONTENT :

This exam will consist of a multiple choice and/or simulation test, weighted 100%, measuring:

Analyzing Information, Empathy, Sharing Knowledge and Guidance, Controlling Emotions, Management Judgement, Management Potential, Achievement, Responsibility, Willingness to Learn, Working Relationships, Learning Quickly, Generating New Ideas, Using Time Efficiently, Working to High Quality Standards, Adapting to Change, and Reading Comprehension.

Applicants must meet the Minimum Requirements, and achieve a passing score of 70% or higher on the assessment to be added to the list.

MULTIPLE-CHOICE AND /OR SIMULATION ASSESSMENTS ARE NOT REVIEWABLE BY CANDIDATES PER CIVIL SERVICE RULE 7.19.

TRANSFER OF TEST COMPONENTS:

If you have taken identical components recently for other exams, your responses may be automatically transferred to this examination. This exam contains test components that might be used on future exams, and your responses could be transferred to that exam. Scores cannot be given over the telephone.

TEST PREPARATION:

We provide study guides and other test preparation resources to help candidates prepare for employment tests. While the guides will help you prepare for the test, we recommend reviewing all related materials that seem necessary.

• An interactive, Online Test Preparation System for taking practice tests may be accessed on the Department of Human Resources website at http://hr.lacounty.gov/ . Please click on "Find A Job" and then "Job Search Toolkit." Test preparation information is located under the "Employment Test Assistance" section.
• Additional online practice tests are available at https://www.shldirect.com/en-us/practice-tests/ . You can also access test preparation for the computerized portion of the test by going to http://www.shldirect.com/practice_tests.html .

SPECIAL INFORMATION:
Appointees may be required to work any shift including evenings, nights, weekends and holidays.

ELIGIBILITY AND VACANCY INFORMATION:

Applicants who passed the assessment(s) are placed on the list in the order of their score group for a period of twelve (12) months. Applications will be processed as they are received and added to the list accordingly. We will use this list to fill vacancies in the Department of Animal Care and Control as they occur.

APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION:

WE ONLY ACCEPT APPLICATIONS FILED ONLINE. APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED BY U.S. MAIL, FAX, OR IN PERSON ARE NOT ACCEPTED.
Apply online by clicking on the green "Apply" tab for this posting. You can also track the status of your application using this website.

Please fill out the application completely. Provide relevant job experience including employer's name and address, job title, beginning and ending dates, number of hours worked per week, and description of work performed.
Resumes may be added to your application but cannot be substituted for the Experience portions of the County application nor for the completion and submission of the supplemental questions. If your application is incomplete, it will be rejected.
Plan to submit your online application well in advance since verifying your email might be necessary. This only needs to be done once per email address, and if you already have a job seeker account on www.governmentjobs.com/careers/lacounty, you can verify at any time by logging in and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of your online application and to ensure you do not enter an incorrect email address.
We may verify information included in the application at any point during the examination and hiring process, including after an appointment has been made. Falsification of information could result in refusal of application or rescission of appointment. Copying VERBIAGE from the Requirements or class specification as your work experience WILL NOT BE sufficient to demonstrate meeting the requirements. Doing so may result in an INCOMPLETE APPLICATION and may lead to disqualification.

We will send notifications to the email address provided on the application, so it is important that you provide a valid email address. If you choose to unsubscribe or opt out from receiving our emails, it is possible to view notices by logging into governmentjobs.com and checking the profile inbox. It is every applicant's responsibility to take steps to view correspondence, and we will not consider claims of missing notices to be a valid reason for re-scheduling an exam part. Register the below domains as approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk mail.

• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]

New email addresses need to be verified. This only needs to be done once per email address and can be done at any time by logging in to governmentjobs.com and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of the online application and to prevent incorrectly entered email addresses.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER: Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number, so include yours when applying.

NO SHARING OF USER ID AND PASSWORD: All applicants must file their application online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member's or friend's user ID and password may erase a candidate's original application record.

It is your responsibility to take the above steps to view correspondence. Los Angeles County will not consider claims of not viewing or receiving notification to be a valid reason for late test administration or rescheduling of a test component.

Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI ):

The County of Los Angeles recognizes and affirms that all people are created equal and are entitled to all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States. The Department of Animal Care and Control is committed to promoting Anti-racism, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts to address the inequalities and disparities amongst races. We support the ARDI Strategic Plan and its goals by improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in recruitment, selection, and employment practices.

Testing Accommodation:
If you require an accommodation to fairly compete in any part of the assessment process, you will be given the opportunity to make a request when completing your application. Please note, you may be required to submit documentation from a qualified medical provider or other qualified professional to support your request for a testing accommodation.

Testing Accommodations Coordinator: [email protected]
Department Contact Phone: (562) 534-1402
Department Contact Email: [email protected]
ADA Coordinator Phone: (562) 256-7100
California Relay Services Phone: (800) 735-2922
Teletype Phone: (800) 899-4099
Alternate TTY Phone: (800) 897-0077

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