Evaluation, Enrichment & Learning Manager

Posting Date 09/26/25 Application Deadline 10/01/25 Pay Range Anticipated Hiring Range: $78,500 - $93,496 annually Full Pay Range: $78,500 - $108,500 annually

Salary offers are based on the candidate's equivalent experience and internal equity with other employees within the same job classification. This position is not eligible for overtime compensation. Job Type Unclassified Department Animal Care and Control About the Position Do you have a passion for improving the lives of animals and leading a team that makes a difference every day? Join us as our Evaluation, Enrichment & Learning Manager, where you'll play a vital role in ensuring the behavioral health and overall well-being of animals in our care.

In this role, you'll oversee behavior assessments and enrichment programs, guide staff in fear-free, humane handling, and provide training while fostering collaboration across departments. We're seeking a compassionate leader with a passion for animal welfare and a commitment to low-stress care, who promotes teamwork to achieve positive outcomes.

If you're ready to use your expertise and leadership to help more animals find their forever homes, apply today! The position requires the employee to be in the office and or customer-facing for all hours worked.

About Us Maricopa County Animal Care & Control employees are committed to animal welfare and strengthening the human-animal bond in our community, and we are always looking to add talented individuals to our team, either at our West or East Valley Animal Care Centers. As one of the nation's largest open-admission shelters, we work with our community to serve the animals and people of Maricopa County. Our adoptions, shelter, clinic, and animal services officer teams learn first-hand about proper care of homeless and stray animals and work hard to help find them new homes.

Proud to Offer Work with a greater purpose

Tuition reimbursement

Exceptional work-life balance

Opportunities for growth and development within Maricopa County

Low-cost, high-value healthcare for you and your qualifying dependents

Child care benefits, including access to our on-site center, Maricopa County Kids Club, dedicated to serving Maricopa County families exclusively

Paid vacation, sick time, and parental leave

Extensive wellness program, including healthcare premium discounts

Maricopa County participates in the Arizona State Retirement System. This defined retirement benefit requires a 12% monthly contribution rate and includes a 100% employer match on Day 1

Learn more at Work With Us | Maricopa County, AZ

We Require Three years of experience evaluating animal behavior or implementing and developing animal enrichment programs, including two as a supervisor

Bachelor's degree in animal or behavioral sciences

An equivalent combination of related post-secondary education and/or relevantexperience may be considered in substitution for the minimum qualifications on a year-for-year basis

We Also Value Two or more years of experience in a leadership role in a professional setting and/ or workplace

Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge Assessed: ACABB preferred, or CCPDT, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, or similar certification from a training academy

Job Contributions Manage and lead the Evaluation and Enrichment team, assuring quality performance and timely completion of behavioral evaluations, playgroups, enrichment, and all other daily behavioral processes to improve overall animal welfare in the shelter and reduce length of stay

Oversee behavioral outcome decisions and review of animals who may need alternate pathways outside of adoption, such as rescue placement or euthanasia. Maintain clear behavioral pathway guidelines for animals under our care while acting as one of the primary decision makers for animals being reviewed for behavioral deadlines

Implement and maintain a well-rounded enrichment program that touches on all five categories of enrichment, resulting in stress reduction and increased welfare for animals in our care, including, but not limited to, playgroups, multi-sensory in-kennel enrichment opportunities, and alternate out-of-kennel enrichment programs

Implement any necessary changes to the animal behavior evaluation process to ensure it is up to date with best practices, creates a reduced length of stay, and appropriate pathway planning with limited barriers to adoption

Supervise the Training and Development Coordinator and oversee and guide the growth and improvement of new employee orientation, onboarding, training, and creation of classes and content

Develop and oversee the implementation of animal handling training programs while supervising the Animal Handling Trainer position

Supervise welfare rounds on all animals in the shelter, monitoring their behavioral health and identifying those displaying signs of fear, frustration, stress, or anxiety in need of immediate intervention

Review and create new operational policies and procedures, evaluating them for the safety of our associates and for the low-stress handling of the animals in our care

Ensure that every animal in the shelter's care has clear and objective behavior notes, training plans, and placement recommendations in the shelter database to support the improved promotion, better matchmaking, and ultimately shortened length of stay

Working Conditions Must possess or have the ability to obtain by the time of hire, a valid Arizona driver's license and have an acceptable driving record

This position requires animal handling and must complete animal handling training within 30 days of hire

Work is predominantly performed in an animal shelter with exposure to extreme and varying temperatures, animals with unknown temperaments and behaviors, excessive noise, animal waste and fluids, deceased animals, cleaning chemicals, and Zoonotic Diseases

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand and walk on all types of surfaces, sometimes slippery and/or uneven and rough, and perform duties that require lifting, bending, and stooping

Must be able to lift up to 20-25 lbs. occasionally, 10-25 lbs. frequently, or up to 10 lbs. constantly

May be assigned to work at other shelter locations based on operational needs

Selection Procedure Only the most qualified candidates will be considered

Consideration will only be given to candidates who submit online applications

Candidates will be contacted primarily through email and their Workday online application profile

Must pass a pre-employment background and/or fingerprint investigation as required by statute or policy, including drug and alcohol testing requirements for positions designated as safety-sensitive

Maricopa County is an equal opportunity employer.

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