Animal Care Supervisor

About the role

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

• Job Category: University Staff
• Employment Type: Regular
• Job Profile: Animal Care Supervisor

Job Summary

Tucked in a bend of the Wisconsin River about 30 miles north of Madison, the field facilities of the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center are a catalog of current dairy technology.

This position is an important part of the Animal Care Technician (ACT) team, working alongside training, developing and directing an effective and efficient team of ACT employees. Along with coordinating the care of the research herd according to established protocols. To be successful in this position you must also exhibit a positive working attitude, communicate well and develop a good working relationship with co-workers and supervisors and show initiative to see what needs to be done and to get it done.

Key Job Responsibilities

• 15% - Trains animal care and research staff in appropriate practices and standard operating procedures, and schedules employees to ensure proper staffing
• 15% - Exercises supervisory authority, including hiring, transferring, suspending, promoting, managing conduct and performance, discharging, assigning, rewarding, disciplining, and/or approving hours worked of at least 2.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
• 20% - Oversees animal care operations, reporting animal health and welfare concerns to veterinary staff and reporting any equipment failure or facilities problems to the appropriate staff members
• 45% - Performs duties of Animal Care Technicians such as maintenance and oversight of animal health, performance of tests, animal husbandry, and animal biosafety as needed
• 5% - Ensures proper stock of animal care items, annual certification of HEPA filtered equipment, and hazardous material signage throughout the lab

Department: UW-Madison Dairy Forage Research Center

Compensation

The starting salary for the position is $26.00/hr.; Final pay rate will depend on experience and qualifications. Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and paid time off; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits.

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience performing dairy animal care duties in a research, commercial dairy, or agricultural setting, including animal health monitoring, feeding, milking operations, and facility sanitation.
• Experience using herd management software (e.g., BoviSync or similar), employee scheduling systems, and common business software (Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Workday or similar) to maintain records, monitor operations, and support workforce management activities.
• Demonstrated ability to recognize, evaluate, and respond to changes in dairy herd performance, milk production, animal health, or overall operational effectiveness.
• Experience leading, coordinating, or directing employees to successfully complete assigned work while adhering to established procedures, schedules, and operational standards.
• Knowledge of regulatory, animal welfare, milk quality, and research compliance standards applicable to dairy operations. (AAALAC, APHIS, PMO, IACUC, etc.)
• Demonstrated mechanical aptitude to diagnose, repair, maintain, or communicate equipment issues affecting dairy operations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience managing business functions, operational resources, or process improvement initiatives (e.g., managing budgets, purchasing, inventory, contracts, operational resources, business processes, or implementing efficiency improvements).
• Experience overseeing preventive maintenance programs, coordinating major facility, or milking system repairs, managing vendor relationships, or planning equipment and infrastructure improvements for dairy operations.
• Experience developing employees through formal training programs, onboarding initiatives, performance coaching, corrective action support, succession planning, or creation of training materials and standard operating procedures.

Education

Education beyond H.S in relevant field, or relevant experience preferred

Additional Information

• Criminal Background Check is required
• Evaluation/Probationary Period required
• Work will vary between non-climate-controlled animal housing and outdoors in all weather conditions and office responsibility.
• Must be able to lift 50 lbs.
• Work Authorization: The successful applicant will be responsible for ensuring eligibility for employment in the United States by the start of the appointment.

How to Apply

Click on the "Apply Online" button to start the application process. You will be prompted to upload the following documents/Application Materials:

• Resume (required) - Detail your educational and professional background
• Cover Letter (optional) - Refer to your related work experience
• Your application materials will be used during our evaluation to determine your qualifications as they relate to the job. The most qualified applicants will be invited to participate in the next step of the selection process.
• Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment visas at this time.

Institutional Statement on Diversity

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

• The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.
• The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

• Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.
• The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

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