Wisconsin Humane Society - Wildlife

Wildlife Extern Volunteer

No Openings Until May - You May Apply Now to Reserve Your Spot for Upcoming Season

This opportunity combines multiple volunteer positions into one cohesive role and is geared towards college students or recent graduates actively seeking to gain experience in wildlife rehabilitation. Volunteer externs are scheduled approximately 16-20 hours per week, for at least 3 months during our busy season. The Wildlife Extern Volunteer helps feed, clean, and assist in the treatments of our wild animal patients in our Treatment Center, Nursery and outdoor cages. Externs will also assist with triaging and responding to phone calls to our wildlife hotline, admissions, some administration work and facility cleaning. Volunteer must follow and adhere to all safety protocols.

Duties 

• Clean and effectively sanitize animal cages.
• Set up habitats for animal.
• Feed animals’ daily diets and treatments as instructed by shelter staff.
• Assist with dishes and laundry.
• Restock and organize necessary supplies as needed.
• Ability to answer the front desk doorbell in the Wildlife Gallery and our door phone.
• Ability to appropriately interact with clients and physically transport contained animals from the front area to the exam area.  
• Check voicemail and record messages accurately.
• Check email and respond to email as requested by staff.
• Process donations and utilize credit card machine.
• Effectively utilize an Apple iPhone and be comfortable typing and texting responses as requested.
• Answer general client questions and seek additional support from staff as needed to address any concerns.
• Complete filing, data entry (outlook/excel) and other miscellaneous administrative tasks.
• Coordinate logistics for wildlife rescues and communicate appropriately with clients and volunteers.

Shift Time: 

Late Spring/Early Summer – Through the Summer Only – Daily: Shifts vary between 9am-7pm 

Skills Needed 

Volunteers must understand and be onboard with our client centered philosophy and approach; this includes approaching clients and situations without judgement. Volunteers must be detailed-oriented and committed to reducing the chances of disease transmission. This is a physical position and volunteers must be comfortable walking, bending, squatting, scrubbing and moving cleaning equipment from one area to another for the duration of the shift, both inside and outdoors. Volunteers must have the ability to follow directions, read, write and effectively communicate with staff and other volunteers. Volunteers must be committed to providing a welcoming environment for all clients and be capable of reading people and appropriately responding to both verbal and non-verbal communication to ensure a comfortable client experience for all. Volunteers must be enthusiastic, outgoing and detailed-oriented. Volunteers must understand that they may see sick, injured, and/or orphaned wildlife in extreme distress, and that euthanasia may be a possible outcome for the animal’s best interest. Volunteers must have the ability to follow directions, read, write and effectively communicate with staff, volunteers and clients. It is also imperative that volunteers are computers and smartphone savvy, as they will be using our copier, computer, database, smartphone, and POS system to ring up client donations. Volunteers will be privy to private, confidential client and animal information, and they must hold this information in confidence. The physical demands for this job include the following: standing, walking, sitting, writing, lifting, typing, texting, grasping, talking and hearing.  

Required Training 

• Interview with Volunteer Coordinator
• Tour of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center
• Wildlife Volunteer & Intern Handbook & Waivers – Online Training
• Milwaukee Volunteer Handbook & Waivers – Online Training
• People Centered Philosophy – Online Training
• WL – Laundry - Online Training Module
• WL – Dishwashing - Online Training Module
• WL - Minimizing Stress in Captive Wildlife – Online Training Module
• WL - Outdoor Raccoon Cage Cleaning - Online Training Module 
• WL - Transport Volunteer - Online Training Module
• WL - Rescue Volunteer - Online Training Module
• One on One In-Person Training Sessions with staff and/or a veteran volunteer

Commitment/Age Requirement

Seasonal commitment for the Spring-Summer.

Must be 18 years old or older