About the Position:

Windy City Paws is a premier dog walking and petsitting company in Chicago. Recently named “Chicago’s Best Dog Walker” by the Chicago Reader 2019 Poll for the second year in a row, Windy City Paws offers the highest level of service and care to pets and their owners. We are a workplace where you can combine your love for animals and your career. Employees at Windy City Paws work in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment and are dedicated to delighting Chicago’s pets and their owners.

Windy City Paws' Walker Manager ensures excellence in recruiting and retaining field staff in a competitive market. The Walker Manager also manages support staff to provide walkers with the support they need to provide excellent service to our canine and feline clients.

The Walker Manager is a highly visible position within the company that is key to growth. The Walker Manager interacts with clients daily, communicates with field staff constantly, and drives the success of the company's hiring decisions.

Position Details and Job Expectations:

• Salaried Full-Time Employee 
• Benefits: Health Care Benefits with Blue Cross Blue Shield, 401K plan and PTO are offered. 
• Working hours are Monday through Friday 8:00am-5:00pm CST
• Work from home flexibility after established tenure
• On call hours are Monday through Sunday 7:30am-9:00pm for rare emergencies and software system checks
• Once a month weekend shift for 2-3 hrs/day: on Saturday and Sunday for extra compensation

Job responsibilities:

All hours will be worked in the Windy City Paws office in Lincoln Square or out in the field in Chicago, with the exception of occasional after-hours and on-call duties which will be done remotely.

The Walker Manager’s greatest responsibility is to recruit and retain field staff with proactive processes and systems. This is an upper management position and is a cornerstone of WCP operations. This position will work most closely with the Field Operations Manager and Walker Support Specialist, reporting direction to the owner.

Recruit field staff (Dog Walkers, Cat Sitters and Dog Walking Specialists):

• Interviewing applicants and managing them through our interview and onboarding process. 

• In charge of field staff development and growth. Craft and maintain efficient systems for walker relations, retention, and recruitment and oversee those processes with appropriate team members.

Retain field staff (Dog Walkers, Cat Sitters and Dog Walking Specialists):

• Conduct monthly performance reviews with help from Walker Support Specialist and Field Operations Manager.

• Shadow and train staff in field when needed.

• Address scheduling concerns raised by field staff and assist with route optimization. Oversee general route efficiencies for walkers and assist the Scheduling Coordinator with matching dog walkers with regular clients.

• Follow up with field staff on client issues/complaints and discipline as necessary, including creating disciplinary action forms, performance improvement plans and terminations.

• Accept walker emergency calls or escalations from Walker Support Specialist as needed. Manage walker time off requests by approving or denying the request, filling the available services, notifying clients, and updating systems appropriately.
• When field staff leave WCP, effectively manage their last days, ensure routes have necessary replacements, notify clients, and ensure appropriate systems are updated.

Other:

• Track appropriate data associated to the position monthly to report to Manager and Owner. Proactively offer plans if needed to keep recruitment and retention of field staff at optimal levels.
• Be the point person for any emergencies. Our service hours are 8am-8pm which means if an emergency comes up, the Walker Manager may need to be the person on the ground and in person to assist and gain resolution.

Qualifications:

• Professional experience and passion for working with pets
• Prior management or human resources experience desired
• Experience with customer service and comfortable communicating professionally through phone calls and emails
• Independently motivated and able to work without strict supervision
• Proven ability to create systems and processes to organize in a multi-tasking role
• Very strong and friendly communication skills both over the phone and through email

Job Requirements:

• Able to start training not later than March 2nd, 2020 after an offer is extended 2 weeks prior
• Need access to a private laptop computer (year 2016 or newer) and a reliable internet connection outside of the office
• Must be at least 21 years old 
• Must complete Fear Free certification prior to start date. The certification course is all online and Windy City Paws will pay for it. 
• If interested in this position please fill out and submit this survey https://forms.gle/SsivxXEE4fEbG5pGA by February 20, 2020, and we will respond to your by February 23 if we're interesting in moving forward with an interview.