Behaviour Officer

Application Deadline: 29 January 2026

Department: Rehoming

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Penrith Transfer Centre

Compensation: £25,566 per year + benefits

Are you an experienced dog trainer and handler? We are looking for someone who can assess, design and implement behavioural rehabilitation plans for our dogs.

As Behaviour Officer, you'll take the lead, figuratively and literally, when it comes to the assessments of our dogs and their training programmes, playing a key role in their journey towards rehoming.

As a Behaviour Officer you'll:

• assess the behaviour of dogs, before they enter the centre and during their stay, to identify potential behaviour needs, as per Dogs Trust Standard Operating Procedures,
• design and implement Behaviour Modification Programmes and training plans to enhance each dog's chances of rehoming, in support of the centre's priorities based on individual dog welfare and requirements,
• oversee and support the implementation of training and behaviour plans by colleagues, working with other departments to modify and seek guidance,
• monitor the progress of individual training and rehabilitation programmes and maintain detailed records of the progress of each dog,
• provide professional training and support to colleagues.

Interviews for this role are provisionally scheduled for week commencing 9th February 2026 at our transfer centre in Penrith.

To be successful in this role, you'll have an in-depth knowledge of dog behaviour and welfare, including experience of writing training and behaviour programs. You'll also have achieved ATBC competence at Animal Trainer standard and have achieved specific competences from the Behaviour Technician standard or equivalent. This competence should be combined with significant practical experience handling challenging dogs. You'll also have excellent communication skills with the ability to handle delicate situations sensitively and professionally.

Our rehoming centres house thousands of dogs each year until they are able to find a loving new home, and the success of our centres wouldn't be possible without our dedicated team of staff and volunteers; there is a real family-community within each of our centres. Come rain or shine, our team are out in all weathers to make sure the dogs have the best possible life. Dealing with thousands of visitors each month, our rehoming centres are the face of Dogs Trust and we pride ourselves on our staff providing the very best in customer service.