Job Description

Closing Date: May 10, 2024

Customer Service Representative

This Animal Services Customer Service Representative position is assigned to the Office of Animal Services (OAS) located at the Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center in Derwood, Maryland, 20855. The Animal Services Customer Service Representative is responsible for delivering quality communication to the public, in person, online, and on the telephone, as well as providing accurate and timely support to Animal Services Officers. The Customer Service Representative has a unique responsibility in a fast-paced environment that requires careful attention to detail, multi-tasking, and good communication skills. Major duties include answering calls from residents, providing information on services requested such as adoption counseling sessions, pet licensing, scheduling appointments to surrender animals, returning lost pets to owners, and euthanasia of animals. In addition, the Customer Service Representative welcomes volunteers and fosters and attends to their customer service needs, as well as those of residents who visit the shelter. Other duties assigned will be producing statistical information for services rendered, including accounting for each service delivered to each customer served.

The Customer Service Representative will collaborate with all other areas of the shelter including Adoption Counselors, Admissions Specialists, and Animal Services Officers to complete daily duties. The Animal Customer Service Representatives are Non-Essential Employees. However, they may be deemed essential during a General Emergency or other unique situations.

Applicants must have the ability to:

• Perform work assignments in a loud, fast-paced setting at the customer service desks at the Admissions Center and the Adoption Center.
• Work weekends and shifts during days and evenings.
• Work under close supervision, undergoing evaluation of performance, especially during training.
• Demonstrate strong reading and writing comprehension and abilities.
• Adhere to scripts, and follow policies and procedures, as required.
• Demonstrate good customer service skills including dealing calmly and respectfully with irate and angry customers over the phone and in person.
• Work under constant electronic surveillance as all public areas are monitored by cameras and the telephone conversations at the Admissions Center are recorded.
• Knowledge of basic operations of a multi-button telephone, personal computer, photocopier, language line, and other office automation equipment appropriate to the requirements of the position.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Ability to collect and organize information.

Multilingual candidates are strongly desired but not required.

Customer Service Representatives are exposed to hazardous conditions, such as working with animals that could be ill, aggressive, injured, or rabid requiring the use of special equipment and/or adherence to special precautions. This requires the ability to work with animals, some of which are ill, aggressive, injured, rabid, or unwieldy.

The individual selected for this position will be considered a "Non-Essential Employee." Non-Essential Employees can be deemed essential during periods of a General Emergency and will be required to report to work.

Additional Employment Information

OHR reviews the minimum qualifications of all applicants, irrespective of whether the candidate has previously been found to have met the minimum requirements for the job or been temporarily promoted to the same position. This evaluation is based solely on the information contained in the application/resume submitted for this specific position/IRC.

Montgomery County Government is an equal opportunity employer, committed to workforce diversity. Accordingly, as it relates to employment opportunities, the County will provide reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, in accordance with the law. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the Office of Human Resources via email to OHR@montgomerycountymd.gov . Individual determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made in accordance with all applicable laws.

Montgomery County Government also provides hiring preference to certain categories of veterans and veterans/persons with a disability. For more information and to claim employment preference, please refer to the Careers webpage on Hiring Preference .

All applicants will respond to a series of questions related to their education, relevant experience, knowledge, skills and abilities required to minimally perform the job. The applicant's responses in conjunction with their resume and all other information provided in the employment application process will be evaluated to determine the minimum qualifications and preferred criteria status. Based on the results, the highest qualified applicants will be placed on an Eligible List and may be considered for an interview. Employees meeting minimum qualifications who are the same grade will be placed on Eligible List as a "Lateral Transfer" candidate and may be considered for interview.

If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.

Montgomery County Ethics Law: Except as provided by law or regulation, the County's "Public Employees" (which does not include employees of the Sheriff's office) are subject to the County's ethics law including the requirements to obtain advanced approval of any outside employment and the prohibitions on certain outside employment. The outside employment requirements of the ethics law can be found at 19A-12 of the County Code . Additional information about outside employment can be obtained from the Ethics Commission website.

Minimum Qualifications

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

If filled as a Customer Service Representative II, Grade 16:

Experience: Requires t hree (3) years of increasingly responsible experience performing a wide variety of general clerical, reception, public contact, and public service work, providing information and/or directing requests over the telephone and at a public counter, including at least one (1) year working in an animal care environment.

If filled as a Customer Service Representative, I Grade 13 :

Experience: Requires t wo (2) years of office support experience dealing with administrative matters, customer accounts, and experience in the use of computers and general office equipment.

For All Levels:

This position requires the completion of high school or high school certificate of completion recognized in the State of Maryland. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted.

Medical & Background: The selected candidate will be required to complete a medical evaluation. After the appointment to the position, the rabies vaccine series will be required. A background check will be conducted on the selected candidate before appointment and will be a significant factor in the hiring decision.

Preferred Criteria

PREFERRED CRITERIA:

The applications of those individuals meeting the minimum qualifications will be reviewed to determine the extent, relevancy of training, and experience in the following areas:

1. Providing customer service in an animal care environment, such as a veterinary clinic, animal shelter, or boarding facility.
2. Demonstrated ability to communicate orally in a variety of professional situations.
3. The ability to work together with the team, demonstrating strong communication, collaboration, active listening, and problem-solving skills to improve customer service.
4. The ability to multitask, such as managing numerous customer inquiries or updating customer records while on a phone call.
5. History of using Microsoft Office, entering data, scheduling appointments, and communicating via email.

If selected for consideration for this position, you may be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities indicated on your resume.

Minimum Salary

Maximum Salary

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