Assistance Dog Instructor Maternity Cover in Milton Keynes

LOCATION: Based at our Centre in Milton Keynes, with travel up to 3 hours.

SALARY BAND: £26K - £32K per annum, depending on experience. Line management experience desirable.

JOB TYPE: Full time and Part time applicants considered. Fixed Term of 12-18 months.

REPORTS TO: Interim Head of Assistance Dog Programme.

Medical Detection Dogs trains dogs to save lives. We train specialist dogs to detect the odour of human disease, providing life-saving alert assistance dogs to people with complex health problems across the UK and collaborating with NHS Trusts and other researchers and Universities both in the UK and internationally to advance the early diagnosis of disease.

The Role: We are looking for a passionate and driven person who has previous proven experience and skills working as an Instructor within an Assistance Dog organisation, who has worked with clients and partnerships. The role includes supporting both clients who have had a MDD dog placed with them and also our own dog applicants with their puppies and young dogs to ensure they receive the highest standard of socialisation and early training in terms of obedience, public access and developing an alert to the applicant’s condition, with the aim to reach an accreditable assistance dog partnership status.

Duties that encompass the role of an Instructor include:

• Be the first point of contact for the allocated partnerships in your area.
• Provide guidance and instruction to applicants who have applied to the charity to have their own dogs considered for the training programme.
• Run puppy classes, public access training, recall sessions in small groups for applicant own dogs that are in line with the charity’s quality standards.
• Carry out support visits and home interviews for applicants and clients that have been allocated to you.
• Regularly monitor progress of any young dogs and partnerships in training in your area and provide detailed, evidenced feedback to Interim Head of Assistance Dog Programme.
• Carry out client specific training with any MDD owned dogs that have been matched, including the required odour scent training.
• Instructing, guiding and supporting new assistance dog clients in managing and handling a Medical Alert Assistance Dog effectively.
• Support partnerships in training in successfully reaching an accreditation standard and in maintaining this standard throughout the life of the partnership.
• Provide clients with appropriate aftercare services at regular intervals in their own homes.

Responsibilities:

• Escalate issues and problems to the Interim Head of Assistance Dog Programme as appropriate.
• Plan, organise and deliver practical and theoretical training to clients, meeting their individual needs.
• Assess the team dynamics of the family and balancing the needs of all family members as well as those of the dog.
• Monitor the correct and false alerting percentages of allocated partnerships via data analysis.
• Complete comprehensive reports and paperwork for any time spent with applicants or partnerships in training or established.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• High level of preparation, organisational and co-ordination skills.
• Strong and clear teaching and instructing skills.
• Experience of running puppy classes, carrying out public access training and recall sessions.
• Able to develop training plans for any dogs in training under your care.
• High level of self-motivation and planning.
• Approachable, calm and empathetic to children and adults with debilitating and life-threatening conditions.
• Happy to travel alone within the UK to visit any clients as necessary.

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE:

• Previous Assistance Dog Instructing and Dog Training experience.
• Knowledge of AD(UK) and ADI regulations.
• Knowledge of medical conditions relevant to puppies between 8 weeks and 2 years of age.
• Proven evidence and experience of dog handling and training skills.
• IT literacy and report writing skills.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:

• Strong and clear teaching and instructing skills.
• Approachable, calm and empathetic to children and adults with debilitating and life-threatening conditions.
• Supportive of the charitable aims of Medical Detection Dogs and capable of working as part of a team.
• Adaptable and positively embrace change.

DIVERSITY, EQUALITY & INCLUSION: We are a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive Charity. Medical Detection Dogs thrives when everyone feels comfortable bringing their best self to work.

Charity Values: All employees are expected to uphold the charity’s core values in their daily work.

Finally, the successful candidate will also be expected to:

• Hold a full UK Driving Licence.
• Provide proof of identity and eligibility to work in the UK.
• Undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
• Work some evenings and weekends.
• Be willing to travel to the Centre based near Milton Keynes.