Position Summary

The internship at Joybound Grooming Academy offers recent graduates of Joybound’s Bather/Brusher Program an opportunity to enhance their grooming skills and gain practical experience in a professional salon environment. The intern will bathe, dry and brush dogs, support the salon's daily operations by setting appointments and communicating with clients. Interns will receive hands-on experience and feedback to help further develop their ability in the grooming industry. The position is short in nature, running for one- or two-weeks in-between academy sessions.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Perform all duties following the academy’s established standards and procedures; adhere to safety protocols when handling animals.

Daily Responsibilities:

• Bathe, dry, and brush dogs, ensuring each one is groomed to the academy’s standards.
• Follow instructions from grooming academy staff about grooming techniques and processes, and safe handling.
• Clean and keep grooming and bathing areas, ensure tools and equipment are sanitized and safely stored.
• Answer telephone calls, provide information to clients, and schedule grooming appointments.
• Greet clients, intake dogs and return dogs to clients.
• Maintain records of grooming services performed in the academy’s booking system – BusyPaws.

Periodic Responsibilities:

• • Participate in performance feedback sessions with academy staff.
  • Support the salon’s client communication efforts by following up on appointments and ensuring client satisfaction with services.
  • These responsibilities and duties are essential to achieving the goal of the internship role, ensuring a high standard of care for pets and experience for clients.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, and Experience for the Internship - Grooming Internship Requirements:

Education & Certification:

• Graduate of Joybound’s Bather/Brusher Program or a comparable program.

Knowledge:

• Basic understanding of dog grooming techniques to include bathing, drying, and brushing.
• Familiar with grooming tools and equipment and their proper use and maintenance.

Skills:

• Ability to follow detailed instructions and adhere to grooming standards.
• Effective communication skills to interact with clients, Joybound staff, and volunteers.
• Effective time management skills. Able to do multiple tasks efficiently within a fast-paced environment.
• Computer skills necessary for appointment scheduling and record-keeping.

Abilities:

• Physical ability to stand for extended periods, lift and handle dogs of many sizes, and perform repetitive grooming tasks.
• Ability to work collaboratively within a team and take constructive feedback.
• Ability to keep a positive and professional demeanor when interacting with clients in unfavorable circumstances and anxious, stressed, dogs.
• Committed to uphold safety and sanitation standards in a grooming salon.
• Affection for animals, concern for their welfare, and a willingness to accommodate animals in the workplace.

• Pre employment background screening required. 

Education and Experience:

• Graduate of Joybound’s Bather/Brusher Program or a comparable program.

Physical/Environmental Requirements:

• Work environment includes constant exposure to dogs and cats and their allergens.
• Push/pull moderately heavy objects up to 25 pounds. 
• Lift and move animals weighing up to 150 pounds for short distances and to humanely restrain animals when necessary. 
• Walk dogs weighing up to 150 pounds in a variety of weather conditions.  
• Kneel, bend, stoop, squat, reach above and below shoulder level, grasp and turn objects, stand and/or walk often and repetitively throughout each shift. 
• Flex the neck upward and downward; twist the neck and the waist. 
• Dexterity to handle animals and small objects. 
• Assess medical and behavior changes in animals using a variety of techniques including, but not limited to, visually and audibly. 
• Sit for long and short periods of time using a computer. 
• Stand for lengthy periods of time grooming dogs. 
• Tetanus and rabies inoculations are needed or must be waived. 

Hours:

The position is temporary. It is an internship between academy sessions.

Days TBD: Hours 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.

EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES

At Joybound, we value diversity and always treat all employees and job applicants based on merit, qualifications, competence, and talent. We do not discriminate on the basis of or traits historically associated with race; color, religion, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.