Staff Wildlife Rehabilitator

About Rockfish Wildlife Sanctuary: 

Rockfish Wildlife Sanctuary is a nonprofit  wildlife rehabilitation organization nestled in the beautiful foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. The Sanctuary is a mid-volume center, treating roughly 800-1,000 wild animals each year from 70+ different species with the goal of releasing them back to the wild. Our 3,000 square foot indoor facility is complemented by 50 outdoor enclosures across our wooded 20 acre property, providing recovering patients with the peaceful environment they need to thrive. 

We approach each patient’s recovery using species-specific, natural history-informed husbandry to help prepare them for success in the wild. Though we do provide stabilization and first aid care as needed, RWS particularly specializes in treating clinically healthy orphaned animals which make up the bulk of our caseload. We do not have an attending veterinarian on staff, so we typically transfer patients needing more advanced diagnostics, prescription medication, or surgical procedures to partner hospitals in our region. RWS also specializes in caring for some species that few other rehabilitation organizations in the state provide long-term care for, including orphaned raccoons, waterfowl, bats, groundhogs, foxes, Chimney Swifts, and more. We just completed a major renovation to add state-of-the-art care rooms for raccoons and waterfowl! 

In addition to our animal care program, education is an important component to the Sanctuary’s mission. We have 13 non-releasable education ambassador animals which help visitors better understand and appreciate the natural world around them, and our wildlife hotline helps community members assess and help animals in need. 

The Sanctuary’s permanent team is small, with 5 year-round employees. We welcome seasonal rehabilitators and student interns in the spring and summer, more than doubling our team size to take on the busy “baby season” we experience. We work to represent the Sanctuary’s core values in everything we do: community, integrity, accountability, and a good sense of humor. 

About position: 

RWS seeks an experienced animal care professional to join our growing team of wildlife rehabilitators. This position will report to the Rehabilitation Program Manager and help execute all aspects of daily care for injured and orphaned native wildlife.

The Sanctuary operates from 7 AM – 7 PM during our busy spring and summer seasons, and rehabilitation shifts are typically either 7AM-3PM or 11AM-7 PM. (There may be an option for this position to shift to 4×10 hr shifts per week once trained, depending on need!) Due to the nature of wildlife rehabilitation, remote or hybrid work is not an option for this position. However, employees receive dedicated focus time or may work from home during the winter to accomplish continuing education goals or other administrative tasks for the Sanctuary. 

The anticipated start date for this position would be in mid-May. 

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

Rehabilitation (Animal Care): 75%

• Provide excellent rehabilitative care to all animals at the Sanctuary.
• Perform daily cleaning and feeding of all animals housed at the Sanctuary, including our rehabilitation patients and our education ambassador animals. We have two indoor nurseries and over fifty outdoor enclosures, so we are quite busy during baby season!
• Monitor each animal’s health, attitude, weight, appetite, etc., and maintain written records of each animal’s progress.
• Assist with restraint, examination, diagnostic procedures and treatment of animals, as needed.
• Admit patients and complete associated records. Examine and initiate first aid to patients and new arrivals.
• Arrange transport of incoming animals to the Sanctuary and the transport of severely injured animals to the Wildlife Center of Virginia.
• Maintain high standards of cleanliness in our nurseries, kitchen, laundry room, and outdoor enclosures.
• Prepare specialized meals for a variety of species, including making “bird batter” for feeding baby birds; baby birds are fed every thirty minutes, sunrise to sunset!
• Assist with observations of patients to provide information for release considerations.
• Assist with data collection for ongoing research projects, as needed.
• Set a positive example of clear communication and good attitude for interns, volunteers, and general public.

Training/Education: 15%

• Train, supervise, and mentor rehabilitation interns and animal care volunteers.
• Under supervision of education leader, assist with training education ambassador birds and mammals for public programming as needed.
• Assist with and/or conduct outreach programs as needed.

Office/Administrative: 10%

• Enter patients into WILD-One, our online patient database, and disposition patients from WILD-ONe as appropriate.
• Answer the phone and respond to rehabilitation-related questions from the public. Help manage general inquiry email account and provide information to the public.
• Assist in collecting photographs of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds for the website, Facebook, Instagram, newsletter, and presentations.
• Help create social media posts as needed and desired.
• Help with fundraising events, such as our annual gala event, when possible.
• Other duties, responsibilities, and special projects, as requested.

What We’re Looking For:

• Time-efficiency. Our days are fast paced from sunrise to sunset. In order to feed, clean, and take care of all of our patients, it’s important that our rehabilitators move quickly without sacrificing thoroughness or their attention to detail.
• Accountability. Our seasonal rehabilitator will often be working long hours by themselves, so it’s important that they can work independently while maintaining our high standards for animal care.
• An appreciation for teamwork. Our team is small, with just four staff rehabilitators and three summer interns. While many of the day-to-day tasks are done individually, maintaining a good attitude and a commitment to a positive team dynamic is important at RWS.
• Enthusiasm! Our seasonal rehabilitators must be able to take on the more physically and emotionally challenging aspects of the job, whether it’s cleaning out and scrubbing enclosures in the hot sun, dealing with a stressful phone call from the public, or making the difficult decision to euthanize a patient. A good attitude can go a long way in achieving our mission of rescuing,
  rehabilitating, and releasing as many patients as we can.

Applicant Requirements:

• Applicants must be 21 years or older.
• Applicants must be up to date on the tetanus vaccination.
• Applicants must complete the rabies vaccination sequence prior to the start of the position. Funding is available for this important vaccination if your health insurance will not cover it.
• Applicants must be fully-vaccinated against COVID-19.
• Applicants must obtain a Category IV Wildlife Rehabilitation Permit from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources after obtaining the job. This requires completing six hours of approved continuing education related to wildlife rehabilitation.
• As housing is not provided for this position, applicants must secure their own housing.
• Applicants must have access to a car for transporting animals (and themselves) to the sanctuary.
• Applicants should be able to lift 50 pounds.
• Applicants must be capable and enthusiastic about working long days in potentially challenging outdoor conditions. Wildlife rehabilitation can be a dirty job!
• Applicants must be willing to work five days a week including one weekend day, with two consecutive days off during the week. Some overnight feedings of neonatal mammals may also be required, as permitted.
• Applicants should have at least one year of prior wildlife rehabilitation or two years of domestic animal handling experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, Environmental Science, Zoology, or related field is preferred but not required for this role. Experience in wildlife rehabilitation and team management is most important to being successful in this role.
• Experience practicing scientifically-informed biosecurity protocols and a firm commitment to providing the highest standard of cleanliness.
• Knowledge of state and federal regulations related to the handling and care of wildlife.
• Experience working with online wildlife patient databases, like WildONe or WRMD.

 Compensation: 

• $20/hour  for 40 hours/week.
• Overtime pay is 1.5 base wage ($30/hour) but we work hard to limit overtime and ensure all employees can have a positive work/life balance.

Benefits:

• 20 days of PTO per year, with up to 5 unused days rolling over to the next year. PTO can be used for sick leave, vacation time, or personal days.
• $250 stipend per bi-weekly paycheck to cover health insurance premiums bought through Virginia’s marketplace. (This stipend historically  covers over  100% of each employee’s monthly premium.)
• Continuing education opportunities/courses based on the employee’s interests and goals.
• Participation in regional and national wildlife rehabilitation conferences.
• Cross-training opportunities at other regional wildlife centers, as desired.