5757 - Animal Care Field Investigation Officer

Salary Grade: 6

Pay Range
Hiring Range: $20.10 - $23.62 Per Hour
Full Range: $20.10 - $27.14 Per Hour

Salary offers are based on the candidate's equivalent experience and internal equity with other employees within the same job classification.     
    

Investigates alleged violations of animal care laws and ordinances in Pima County.

Duties/Responsibilities

(Work assignments may vary depending on the department's needs and will be communicated to the applicant or incumbent by the supervisor.)
 
Conducts detailed investigation of alleged violations of animal care laws and ordinances; Prepares and maintains detailed manual and automated records and reports, including those in support of prosecution of alleged violators;

Enforces dangerous animal regulations by assigning the classification of dangerous animal through observation and evaluation of actions, behavioral tendencies, and owners' responsibility under varying circumstances;

Gathers information and evidence from various sources including records of outside agencies, interviews, and on-site visual inspections;

Interview victims, witnesses, and suspects to investigate leads to obtain and verify information, establish background and identify probable intent of alleged violator;

Presents evidence and defends the classification of dangerous animals at appeal hearings;

Serves as sectional technical resource by advising less experienced employees of proper procedures and assisting in their initial training;

Operates and performs operator-level maintenance, servicing and safety inspection of assigned vehicles;

Operates and performs operator-level maintenance for chemical-immobilization and other animal control equipment, such as snares, ropes, nets and traps used in capturing animals;

Obtains search warrants, conducts searches, and identifies, collects and maintains custody of evidence for prosecution activities by the prosecuting attorneys;                                                
Assists other agencies in the investigation of felony animal cruelty cases; 

Testifies in court on cases pertaining to animal care issues;

Maintains legal chain-of-custody of evidentiary materials;

May authorize use of controlled chemical capture delivery systems by qualified staff;

May perform enforcement, field service, and animal care activities as required;

May act as a lead in the absence of the supervisor;

May inspect businesses and sites of special events as requested by other agencies to ensure compliance with animal care laws and ordinances.
 

Minimum Qualifications

(1) Two years of experience enforcing animal care laws and ordinances, and working in an animal welfare, animal shelter or veterinary clinic environment.

(Fifteen semester hours or thirty-quarter hours of college-level course work from an accredited university or college in veterinary or animal science education from an accredited college or vocational school could be substituted for six months of the aforementioned required experience.)

OR:

(2) One year of experience with Pima County as an Animal Care Field Officer or Animal Care Dispatcher.

Qualifying education and experience must be clearly documented in the "Education" and "Work Experience" sections of the application. Do not substitute a resume for your application or write "see resume" on your application.

Preferred Qualifications: (Be specific in describing your experience in your application. Ensure the descriptions provided illustrate your competencies, specifically addressing the required and preferred qualifications.):
 

1. Experience conducting investigations such as dangerous or vicious dog and/or joint agency investigations. 
2. Education and/or training specifically involving animal cruelty investigations. 
3. Education and/or experience in public safety. 
4. Education and/or professional experience in social work, education, community organizing and/or program development. 
5. Bilingual (Spanish/English). 

Selection Procedure: 

Pima County Human Resources Department reserves the right to admit to the selection process only those candidates that meet the minimum/desired qualifications. All applications will be assessed based on an evaluation of the listed education and experience. Candidates meeting the minimum/desired qualifications may be further evaluated/scored against any advertised Preferred Qualifications. The hiring authority will interview and select the successful candidate from a referral list provided by Human Resources. Additional assessments/testing may be required as part of the selection process.