Apprenticeship training course

Animal care and welfare manager (level 3)

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Information about Animal care and welfare manager (level 3)

Plan and manage the husbandry needs of domestic or wild animals in their care.

• Knowledge, skills and behaviours:
  View knowledge, skills and behaviours

  Knowledge

  • The Animal Welfare Act, Veterinary Surgeons Act, animal related legal and regulatory obligations and company policies how they are applied.
  • Planning the care of animals taking into account the species, individual requirements and the five animal welfare needs.
  • Impact of the animals' environment on animal care and welfare operations.
  • Sustainable approaches to feed, accommodation and waste management.
  • Species and breed characteristics, the common problems associated with them and how they influence the healthcare plan.
  • Techniques to interpret animal behaviour, and how animal behaviour affects animal health care plans.
  • Animal enrichment requirements and methods.
  • How the principles of animal learning can be applied in the workplace.
  • Signs of pain, injury, disease and distress and how this information is used to inform and adapt care plan to ensure animal welfare of different breeds or species.
  • Preventative healthcare approaches for animals.
  • Methods used to assess the health and weight of the animal and how health and weight impact on feeding and care requirements.
  • Principles of planning feeding schedules (including appropriate feeds, frequency, and feeding methods).
  • Techniques used for handling, moving and transporting animals and their advantages and limitations.
  • Animal accommodation requirements and methods, including dimensions and setup costs.
  • How to deal with animal health emergency situations.
  • The limits of personal responsibility and when and where escalation is required.
  • Risk assessment development, recording and monitoring processes.
  • The importance of biosecurity and how risks can be managed through disinfecting, cleaning and correct disposal of waste.
  • Strategies for delivering customer feedback and advice in relation to animal health, behaviour and welfare.
  • How to access credible and reliable sources of information to keep up to date with advances in working practices and technologies.
  • Legal and statutory health and safety obligations and how they impact on the organisation.
  • How to identify and recommend improvement opportunities for business working practices.
  • Project management techniques to monitor and allocate resources to deliver an efficient animal care service within budget constraints.
  • The importance of key performance indicators and how they are measured.
  • Approaches to build and maintain customer and stakeholder relationship and effective approaches to managing difficult conversations.
  • The suitability of different communication styles for different audiences and to meet the desired outcome.
  • People and team supervision strategies, including team dynamics, motivation, coaching, mentoring and training techniques.
  • How to conduct performance appraisals and develop personal actions plans.

  Skills

  • Provide care for animals to meet their welfare needs and in accordance with company policy, legal and regulatory obligations.
  • Monitor and oversee animal care ensuring the five welfare needs are met and in accordance with company policy, legislation and regulations.
  • Evaluate animal behavioural characteristics in order to establish animal care requirements.
  • Assess and evaluate animal health using the least invasive methods and use this to inform the care plan.
  • Deliver medical and preventative treatments in accordance with company policies and following veterinary advice.
  • Handle and move animals using the least invasive, minimally aversive methods suitable for the situation.
  • Assess animal weight and carry out body condition scoring.
  • Produce care plans to meet the welfare needs of the animal.
  • Implement animal socialisation strategies to ensure animal health and welfare is maintained.
  • Select sustainable accommodation solutions that ensure the welfare, safety and security of animals.
  • Manage biosecurity risks by ensuring disinfecting, cleaning and waste disposal in line with company procedures and legislation.
  • Complete health and safety risk assessments.
  • Monitor compliance with risk assessments and provide feedback to support the development of health and safety policies.
  • Resolve customer complaints.
  • Collaborate with colleagues, supply chains and customers.
  • Supervise the day to day running of the business (including the allocation of resources, ordering stock and scheduling workload).
  • Keep up to date with advances in animal care working practices and technologies and identify opportunities for these to be applied.
  • Monitor the health and safety of animals and people in accordance with company policies and procedures.
  • Support and mentor colleagues and provide constructive feedback.
  • Seek feedback and identify personal development needs. Undertake and apply learning from relevant continual professional development.
  • Provide operational information to inform team goals and objective setting.
  • Monitor progress towards the achievement of team goals and objectives.
  • Assimilate information to make changes to the animal care provision.

  Behaviours

  • Animal welfare focussed, showing respect and empathy for animals in their care.
  • Takes ownership of work.
  • Puts safety first for self and others.
  • Committed to keeping up to date with industry best practice and source solutions to improve working processes.
  • Respectful of others.
  • Committed to personal Continual Professional Development (CPD) and applying learning to everyday practice.
  • Team focussed and works effectively with stakeholders.
  • Embraces equality, diversity and inclusion.
  • Adapts communication style to the audience.
• Apprenticeship category (sector): Agriculture, environmental and animal care
• Qualification level: 3; Equal to A level
• Course duration: 18 months
• Maximum funding: £9,000 ; Maximum government funding for ; apprenticeship training and assessment costs.
• Job titles include:
  • Animal collection officer
  • Animal day care supervisor
  • Animal welfare officer
  • Dog grooming stylist
  • Farm park supervisor
  • Kennel and cattery manager
  • Per retail manager
  • Senior animal technician
  • Wildlife rehabilitation officer
  • Pet retail manager

View more information about Animal care and welfare manager (level 3) from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.