At the Lost Dogs’ Home, we are a foundation of Victoria's animal welfare landscape, celebrated for our compassionate care of around 18,000 lost and abandoned dogs and cats every year. Beyond caring for animals, we provide diverse services including veterinary medicine, behaviour, advocacy and community education programs, all aimed at giving animals the best chance of a happy and healthy life. Our mission is upheld by passionate individuals who embody a profound affinity for animals, community and advocacy.

About the Role

This newly created role presents an exciting prospect to lead the transformation of sheltering and animal welfare at the Lost Dogs’ Home. Overseeing our Shelter Veterinary Services, Operations, Behaviour and Service Delivery teams, the COO is responsible for shaping cohesive, contemporary and high-performing shelter operations across both our Cranbourne and North Melbourne locations.

With a welfare-first philosophy and a transformational leadership approach,



this role will deliver a strategic plan for sustainable growth and best-practice contemporary sheltering. Leading all core shelter functions, the COO will oversee a robust operational planning process to drive efficiency, improve cohesion and collaboration between departments, and ultimately deliver exceptional animal welfare and people-leadership outcomes.

A key member of the Executive Team, this role will work closely with the CEO and Executives to define the strategic direction of the Lost Dogs’ Home.

The key responsibilities of this role include:

- Providing executive leadership and strategic direction for Shelter Operations across all sites in alignment with broader LDH strategic objectives.
- Ensuring Shelter Operations operate within a robust governance and compliance framework, meeting all obligations under relevant legislation and regulatory requirements.
- Championing innovative methods of improving animal welf

📌 Chief Operating Officer (Melbourne)
🏢 The Lost Dogs Home
📍 Melbourne