Behaviour Officer in West Calder

Behaviour Officer

Application Deadline: 9 December 2025

Department: Rehoming

Employment Type: Permanent – Full Time

Location: West Calder

Compensation: £25,556 per year + benefits

Description

Want to help get tails wagging again? We are looking for someone who can assess, design and implement behavioural rehabilitation for our dogs joining us in our centres.

As Behaviour Officer, you\’ll take the lead, figuratively and literally, when it comes to the assessments of our dogs and their training programmes. You\’ll play a key role in supporting adopters, during the adoption process and after rehoming, to ensure that every dog has the best possible chance of successfully settling into their new life.

What does this role do?

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. Work 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, support and assessment colleagues.

Interviews for this role are provisionally scheduled for 21st December 2025 at our rehoming centre in West Calder.

Could this be you?

To be successful in this role, you\’ll have a thorough knowledge of dog behaviour and welfare, including understanding the principles underlying learning and the ability to write training and behaviour programs. You\’ll also have achieved ATBC competence at Animal Trainer level and have achieved specific competences from the Behaviour Technician standard. You\’ll have excellent communication skills with the ability to handle delicate situations sensitively and professionally and have the ability to and experience in handling difficult dogs. But above all, you\’ll be passionate and committed to the work of Dogs Trust.

What does this team do?

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.