Careers and Internships

Compassion in Action

Anti-Cruelty is looking for people who support our goal to protect and care for animals in need. As Chicago’s oldest and most comprehensive animal shelter, we have been helping Chicago’s pets since 1899. Our mission is to build a community of caring by helping pets and educating people and we are the only animal welfare organization in Chicago offering outreach and ongoing education. 

 

Current Job Openings:

Click here to visit our Career Center!

Anti-Cruelty President Position

Internships

HR Intern

If you’re interested in an internship, please send your resume and personal statement to resumes@anticruelty.org.

The Intern Program is open to all individuals who have completed a minimum of 2 years of college and have maintained a minimum GPA of 2.5. The internship may lead to academic credit from participating schools, or it may simply be a means for individuals to further their own skills and knowledge. Interns may contact Anti-Cruelty directly to inquire about internships or they may be referred by another source. Anti-Cruelty may publicize the internship program online, in college, university or Anti-Cruelty publications. Please note that intern positions are unpaid.

All internship application materials may be submitted electronically to resumes@anticruelty.org. In addition to the completed application form and personal statement, applicants will be expected to submit two confidential letters of recommendation and college transcripts.

These may be sent to:
Anti-Cruelty
Attn: Meshia Burrell
157 W. Grand Avenue,
Chicago, IL 60654.

Personal Statement: On a separate sheet of paper, please write a short proposal stating how an internship at Anti-Cruelty relates to your academic and career goals. Please keep the statements to one page.

About Working at Anti-Cruelty

Anti-Cruelty is looking for people who support our goal to protect and care for animals in need. As Chicago’s oldest and most comprehensive animal shelter, we have been caring for and protecting Chicago’s pets since 1899. Our mission is to build a community of caring by helping pets and educating people and we are the only animal welfare organization in Chicago offering outreach and ongoing education. 

As an organization, we are committed to the following: 

  • Providing compassionate care for any animal in need
  • Attempting to find a home for every healthy or rehabilitable cat and dog that comes to  us
  • Intervening to prevent cruelty to animals
  • Partnering with the community to educate on animal issues and inspire compassion and respect
  • Providing low or no cost spaying or neutering. 

As an employee of Anti-Cruelty, no matter what department you work in, you can take great pride in knowing that you are making a difference in the lives of the animals in our care.

Every day, we prove true to our values and provide the best possible care to any animal that comes through our doors. Our staff is comprised of compassionate people who are committed to furthering our mission of building a community of caring by helping pets educating people. 

At Anti-Cruelty, we value a culture revolved around respecting one another and encouraging each other to do our best work. We value each and every contribution our staff and volunteers make daily and celebrate all successes, both big and small.  All our staff and volunteers share a common passion for our mission, and we work hard to maintain that sense of enthusiasm and cheerfulness within the workplace. After all, work doesn’t always have to be serious, you just have to seriously love what you do. 

We provide the best quality animal care through our core values: 
Collaboration—only through partnerships and relationships can we achieve our mission
Excellence—we will strive to have a best practice model in all that we do
Professionalism—we will act with integrity and in an ethical manner
Leadership—we will plan for the next generation of issues that will impact our organization,
our community and pets
Communication—we will fearlessly outline and communicate our commitment
to being advocates for animals
Transparency—we support the Asilomar Accords and proudly and publicly report our statistics.
 

We offer competitive pay and benefits to our employees such as vacation and sick coverage, medical coverage, and much more. Pets of Society employees also benefit! All full-time employees are eligible for use of our Veterinary Clinic and are offered discounted rates with our partner VCA hospitals. Full-time employees may also enjoy discounts at our in-house retail store. 

Our workplace offers a compassionate and fun environment where staff members are able to interact with the animals in our care on a daily basis. Not an animal expert? Don’t worry. We offer professional hands-on training to all our employees before beginning their job. 

Benefits

Full-time employees of Anti-Cruelty are offered competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package. Our employee benefits and perks are designed to help ensure the overall health, productivity, and happiness of each of our full-time staff members. 

Regular full-time employees and their pets are given  access to many of Anti-Cruelty programs and services. This includes: 

  • Access to veterinary services 
  • Discounted dog training classes
  • Free Parking
  • Discounts at Anti-Cruelty retail shop

We are committed to the overall health, productivity, and happiness of our employees. We offer our full-time staff members the following benefits:

  • Medical, Dental, and Vision Plans
  • Short & Long Term Disability Insurance
  • Worker’s Compensation
  • Employee Assistance Program(EAP):
  • Paid Holidays, Paid Vacations, Personal Days, and sick leave.
  • Jury Duty/Election Official Pay
  • Bereavement Leave
  • AD&D Insurance
  • Voluntary Life Insurance
  • Retirement Benefits

Our comprehensive hands-on training program is designed to help new staff members learn a little more about the Society as well as how to properly care for animals in a shelter environment. 
We offer On-the Job Training with your department’s training supervisor to review the basic functions of your position through hands on experience and practical application.
Our module training is designed to introduce you to the organization, safety for your job, and other topics related to working at a shelter.

Employment FAQ

To make your application stand out, you must first satisfy all the requirements for the specified position. These requirements can be found within the job description. 
In your letter of interest, be sure to tell us how your specific skills and experiences align with this position, this includes any experience volunteering or working with animals. 
Letters of interest are important because they allow us to better get to know you beyond your application and resume. Your letter should represent your experiences as well as your professionalism, so be sure to proofread your letter and check for any typos.   

The application process should only take a couple of weeks. Once you send us your application materials, our Human Resources team will review the documents as soon as possible. If all requirements are met, someone from our Human Resources team will contact you regarding next steps. 

Yes. However, we encourage you to narrow down your search to the position(s) that best fit your personal skills and experiences. 

After sending us  your application materials, our Human Resources Manager will review the documents with relevant department managers. Chosen applicants will then be contacted regarding next steps.

Yes. You can reapply for either the same position or a different open position.
Be sure to include any additional experience you may have had in your application.

If you have any additional questions, comments, or concerns, please email us at resumes@anticruelty.org.