Are you an experienced operational manager, who relishes a challenge, with a passion for pets and people?
We’re recruiting a Centre Manager with strong leadership, organisational and communication skills to lead our Devon rehoming advice and behaviour unit in all pets, people, financial and compliance matters!
This is a great time to join the Devon Centre, with the chance for a dynamic leader who can quickly adapt and bring their own experience to the role. This is a fixed term contract role until 16th February 2027.
More about the role
At our rehoming, advice & behaviour unit in Devon, our foster-based care and Home Direct Scheme ensures animals find loving homes without the stress of kennels. This means that we do not usually have pets staying onsite overnight and our roles may not include daily pet care, but no two days are ever the same.
As Centre Manager, you’ll be responsible for all aspects of the Centre – pets, people, compliance and finances. Working closely with your Assistant Managers, you’ll inspire and empower your team, embed a culture of continuous improvement and ensure the highest welfare standards.
This role is about leading people and delivering the strategy for the Devon centre. We have a skilled, passionate team, we need someone who can build great relationships and continue to meet the objectives of the centre.
For many, the Centre will be the “public face” of Blue Cross so you will need to ensure that customer service is at the heart of every interaction. At Blue Cross we are ambitious, and the work carried out by our Centres is key in achieving our strategy and ensuring that ultimately, we help more pets.
The standard hours for this role are 37.5 hours per week on a locally agreed rota to include weekends and bank holidays. The standard hours are 8:30 – 5 Monday – Friday, working 1 in 3 weekends (Sat and Sun), with flexibility where there is a business need.
Want to know more detail? Great! Please visit our website to find a candidate pack and job description which hopefully gives you everything you need.
About you
You will be an inspirational leader with a proven track record of motivating, developing and supporting people in a fast-paced environment. You’ll bring strong operational and people management skills – able to set direction, take action and empower others to deliver improvements.
Alongside your leadership strengths, you’ll also possess indepth knowledge of animal welfare and operational excellence from a similar environment. Confident and decisive, you’ll balance the needs of pets, people, and resources to achieve outstanding results.
Resilient, empathetic and emotionally intelligent, you’ll thrive on challenge and approach every situation with a positive, problem-solving mindset.
Knowledge, skills, and experience
– Significant experience of successfully motivating, leading, and developing high performance teams, including setting clearly defined objectives, and managing performance in an animal welfare setting.
– Strong knowledge of animal welfare/care, ensuring operational excellence in a similar animal welfare environment.
– Experience of positively embracing and adapting to change by identifying, leading, and managing change in line with organisational objectives.
– Financially aware and numerate.
– Proven experience of working constructively and collaboratively with colleagues from different teams.
– Interpersonal and consultative skills, including the ability to communicate, present, negotiate, influence, and build credibility with colleagues and external parties.
– Experience of working in a commercial environment where the need to control costs and deliver high levels of service are important.
– Significant experience of working in an emotionally charged environment, showing empathy, and demonstrating resilience under pressure and dealing with distressed people and animals.
– The ability to demonstrate, understand and apply our Blue Cross values
– Current full driving licence.
The process will include:
First stage interview and site tour – Monday 26th January 2026
Online Discovery Session – Monday 2nd February 2026. This will include scenario-based exercises and group discussions, giving you the chance to demonstrate your leadership style and approach to change while meeting colleagues.
Click the apply button below and complete the online application process before the closing date on Sunday 18th January 2026.
