IMPORTANT PLEASE READ BEFORE APPLYING

This position is NOT for everyone.

Sarvoham is looking for a Senior Veterinary Compassion Officer (Shelter Medicine and Animal Welfare) who genuinely believes in compassion, animal welfare, animal rights, and providing animals a compassionate life while it is in our care.

This position is not limited to clinical operations only. The Senior Veterinary Compassion Officer (Shelter Medicine and Animal Welfare) must be well versed with the realities of working in an animal shelter and be willing to step onto ground operations whenever required pro-actively.

We are looking for someone who:

- Is vegan or open to transitioning to veganism, and genuinely understands the ethical principles behind welfare of the animals.
- Genuinely cares about all animals and all species, not only dogs, and believes animals deserve compassion, dignity, freedom from cruelty, and protection from exploitation.
- Is willing to actively advocate for animal rights and welfare, both within and outside the organization.
- Is willing to be hands-on with shelter operations and participate in or support activities such as animal rescues, animal handling, bathing, feeding, walking, cleaning kennels, maintaining hygiene, enrichment, transportation, and basic shelter upkeep.
- Is willing to work alongside animal caretakers, rescuers, volunteers, and frontline teams, and understands and respects the challenges they face.
- Can respond calmly and responsibly during animal emergencies, rescue situations, difficult cases, injuries, conflicts, and other high-pressure shelter situations.
- Is proficient in the complete animal-care cycle, from rescue and admission to treatment, rehabilitation, enrichment, adoption, foster care, and end-of-life care where necessary.
- Believes employees working in animal welfare deserve empathy, dignity, fairness, psychological safety, accountability, and strong leadership, while being capable of holding people accountable without losing compassion and humanity.
- Is willing to lead by example rather than expect others to do work they are unwilling to do themselves.
- Understands that working for an animal welfare organization is fundamentally different from working in conventional veterinary clinical operations.

Please DO NOT apply if: You are not compassionate towards animals, care only about dogs, are unwilling to support ground-level shelter operations, or are uncomfortable with cleaning, handling, feeding, walking, bathing, rescuing, or caring for animals when required.

Please also do not apply if you believe veterinary clinical operations should remain completely separate from shelter operations, are unwilling to stand up against animal cruelty and advocate for animal rights, or are looking only for a conventional private clinical practice.

At Sarvoham, Veterinary Operations is not simply about clinical procedures, It is about building a culture around a shared purpose: creating a kinder world for animals while building an organization where the people serving that mission can thrive.

If this resonates with you, please read the complete JD carefully before applying.

If it does not, we respectfully request that you do not apply.

Position: Senior Veterinary Compassion Officer (Shelter Medicine and Animal Welfare)

Department: Veterinary

Reports To: Head Veterinary Care & Rehabilitation Officer (Shelter Medicine)

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka (On-site)

Employment Type: Full-Time

ABOUT SARVOHAM:

Sarvoham is an animal welfare organization dedicated to rescuing, medical treatment, rehabilitation, welfare and protection of injured, abandoned, abused and neglected animals living on the streets of Bangalore, India. Sarvoham was established in April 2017 by co-founders Haris Ali & Madhusmita Sahu with a vision to create an inclusive eco-system that co-exists with animals providing them a respectable life that contributes to the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) frameworks and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the planet.

In the past 9 years, Sarvoham has grown from a small charity effort to a well-established animal welfare organization which has rescued more than 3500 street animals, and homes more than 200 dogs at its shelter. Our work extends beyond just rescue, we strive to build a compassionate society through ethical leadership, animal welfare education, community outreach and engagement in addition to advocacy.

Sarvoham means the harmony between all elements of nature, both human and non-human animals, and the organization is guided by the spirit of harmonious coexistence.

ROLE PURPOSE:

Sarvoham stands at a defining moment in its journey to create a more compassionate world for animals and seeks to expand its impact by building a sustainable ecosystem of partnerships and philanthropy, while strengthening the clinical backbone of its shelter medicine practice, so that many more voiceless lives can be saved, treated, and rehabilitated with dignity.

We are looking for an experienced, compassionate and organized Senior Veterinary Compassion Officer (Shelter Medicine and Animal Welfare) who can independently lead complex medical and surgical cases for the animals in our care most of whom are rescued strays, injured, abandoned, or recovering from trauma while upholding the highest standards of anaesthesia, emergency care, and clinical governance. This is a hands-on clinical role for a veterinarian who combines robust shelter-medicine expertise with deep compassion for animal welfare, and who is comfortable making sound medical judgment calls in a high-volume, resource-conscious shelter environment.

As an individual contributor, you will be a senior clinical voice in the Veterinary department trusted to independently manage the toughest cases, mentor on best practice informally, and help strengthen the clinical backbone of the shelter.

WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS

- To actualize Sarvohams vision of a world without animal suffering and raise the clinical bar for shelter medicine in Bangalore: Sarvoham has built a reliable and credible rescue and rehabilitation model since 2017. We are looking for an experienced senior clinician to join us as the Senior Veterinary Compassion Officer (Shelter Medicine and Animal Welfare) and independently set up, strengthen, and lead the veterinary and clinical operations at our animal shelter. The role is responsible for translating complex and high-risk cases into consistently good clinical outcomes, even within the practical constraints of shelter medicine, while establishing high standards of veterinary care, clinical systems, and animal welfare practices.

The ideal candidate will combine strong clinical expertise with compassion, sound judgement, operational ownership, and a deep commitment to reducing animal suffering.

- Be the Ethical Guardian of Welfare for Animals and build trust through clinical governance: Working closely with the CEO, Board, leadership team, civil society organizations, veterinary leadership and shelter teams, the Senior Veterinary Compassion Officer (Shelter Medicine and Animal Welfare) will establish treatment plans for rescued, injured and recovering animals, applying the core ethical principles of Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics as defined by the Veterinary Council of India (VCI)



and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), while helping embed clinical protocols, infection control, and quality assurance practices that protect both animal welfare and the shelter's clinical credibility.
- Champion the virtue of Compassion for Animals at Sarvoham and give every difficult case a genuine chance: Work closely with the team at our shelter with a sense of purpose and commitment to contribute positively to perpetuity of Sarvoham's veterinary and sanctuary missions by formally strengthening clinical and operational procedures that are recorded and measured for reliability, repeatability and reproducibility and uphold the The 6 Freedoms of Animal Welfare”. From triage through treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery, this role ensures that Sarvoham's most complex and vulnerable cases — not just the straightforward ones — receive expert, compassionate clinical attention.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO: Veterinary Care and Clinical Case Management

- Provide timely, high-quality veterinary care to animals, in accordance with medical protocols laid down by the Veterinary Council of India (VCI) and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), shelter medicine principles and best practices at shelters.
- Ensure that all clinical decisions are grounded in sound veterinary principles and are periodically reviewed for appropriateness, prioritising animal welfare.
- Lead complex medical and surgical cases from diagnosis through recovery, exercising independent clinical judgment, including but not limited to sterilization surgeries, other common soft tissue surgeries, and dental extractions.
- Take ownership of the shelter's most difficult, high-risk, or ambiguous cases where prognosis and history are often incomplete.
- Make sound, timely clinical decisions in a high-volume, resource-conscious shelter environment.
- Mentor junior vets and paravets informally through case discussions and shared decision-making.

Anaesthesia, Emergency & Critical Care

- Oversee anaesthesia protocols and administer/monitor anaesthesia for surgical and diagnostic procedures.
- Manage emergency and critical care cases, including triage, stabilization, and crisis decision-making.
- Adjust anaesthesia and emergency protocols for compromised, malnourished, geriatric, or severely traumatized animals.
- Respond calmly and effectively when multiple critical cases arrive simultaneously and resources are limited.

Treatment Planning & Case Review

- Develop individualized treatment plans tailored to each animal's condition, temperament, and prognosis.
- Review case outcomes regularly to assess treatment efficacy and refine future clinical approaches.
- Revise treatment plans when initial approaches do not produce the expected outcome, and document the clinical reasoning.

Rehabilitation & Recovery

- Establish rehabilitation and recovery plans for animals recovering from surgery, trauma, chronic illness, or disability.
- Design realistic recovery pathways for animals with long-term conditions (amputees, paralysis, chronic wounds) given the shelter's monitoring capacity.
- Coordinate with caretakers and paravets to ensure rehabilitation plans are followed through consistently after handover.

Clinical Protocols, Infection Control & Quality Assurance

- Support and help strengthen clinical protocols, infection control practices, and quality assurance standards across the shelter.
- Uphold non-negotiable infection control practices given the high animal density and variable health status of incoming animals.
- Contribute to auditing and improving existing clinical protocols, and help embed a culture of consistent clinical documentation.
- Ensure that all veterinary activities are carried out with the highest regard to human and animal health and safety by ensuring protocols and policies are in place, are followed and reporting of observed health and safety incidents are reported in a timely manner following established protocols.

Skilled Relationships, Advisory & Organisational Responsibilities

- Maintain strong and referenceable relationships with specialist veterinarians, allied institutions to facilitate their involvement in complex cases and animal care programs when appropriate and feasible.
- Act as the key veterinary technical advisor to the ground operations team at the shelter and the leadership team at Sarvoham.
- Provide budgetary forecasting and advice for a range of administrative tasks including strategic planning and progress reporting to the Leadership team regarding veterinary needs, goals and outcomes.
- Promote the work done at Sarvoham via presentations, seminars, outreach and demonstration to a range of audiences, both at the sanctuary and offsite.
- Participate in on-call and out-of-hours care when required.

Animal Welfare and Preventive Care

- Monitor the health and welfare of the shelter population, identify potential disease outbreaks, and implement appropriate mitigation measures. Ensure appropriate use of quarantine and isolation spaces to manage individual patient needs and protect population health effectively.
- Support and help strengthen clinical protocols, infection control practices, and quality assurance standards across the shelter.
- Direct and manage the treatment of in-house intensive care patients including infectious diseases.
- Perform humane euthanasia following disposition decisions and/or in the event of urgent medical need, sometimes for a large number of animals at a time.
- Practice and model low-stress handling techniques to minimize animal fear, anxiety and stress.

Collaboration and Administration

- Provide skilled and efficient diagnosis and treatment of patients with timely recognition of medical conditions requiring care through outside veterinary partners. Work with partner veterinary hospitals as needed, including referring animals for advanced workups and specialty care. Ensure animals receive medical exams upon admission and are provided with ongoing care as appropriate, whether on-site, in foster homes, boarding facilities, or other off-site locations; ensure veterinary care provided is aligned with, and contributes to, timely decisions and efficient outcomes for animals.
- Complete certificates of veterinary inspection, as appropriate, for transfer of animals between facilities and/or placement of animals released from care.
- Maintain accurate and thorough medical documentation in accordance with principles of medical record-keeping, document all exam findings, test results, and treatments. Produce administrative reports and communicate animal status updates as needed.
- Support the shelter staff with identifying inventory and ordering needs.
- Assist in staff training in all areas of sheltering best practices including preventive care, disease outbreak management.

Collaboration & Shelter Operations





- Collaborate with the broader veterinary and shelter team, and animal care staff, to ensure continuity of care.
- Work alongside rescuers, caretakers, and volunteers with varying levels of formal training, respecting the ground realities they operate in.
- Be willing to step in hands-on — handling, restraining, or supporting animals directly — whenever the situation requires it.

SUCCESS MEASURES Uphold the Freedoms of Animal Welfare & Clinical Excellence and Case Outcomes:

The Senior Veterinary Compassion Officer (Shelter Medicine and Animal Welfare) will ensure that every animal under Sarvoham's care experiences the highest reasonably achievable standard of physical health, emotional well-being, dignity, comfort and opportunity for positive engagement, and to ensure that the Six Freedoms are embedded in clinical decisions, animal-care practices, rehabilitation, shelter design and organisational culture.

Consistently lead complex medical and surgical cases to the best achievable outcome, with sound clinical documentation and case review that improves decision-making over time.

Veterinary Care that reduces Animal Suffering & Governance with Compassion:

The Senior Veterinary Compassion Officer (Shelter Medicine and Animal Welfare) should institutionalise suffering reduction by turning compassion from an individual attitude into a repeatable shelter-wide management system. Every avoidable source of pain, fear, distress, disease, discomfort or prolonged poor quality of life should have an owner, a protocol, a measurement and a corrective-action mechanism.

Help embed clinical protocols, infection control, and quality assurance practices that are consistently followed across the shelter, strengthening Sarvoham's credibility as a clinically rigorous, compassionate animal welfare organization.

SOP driven Continuous Improvement in Clinical Quality & Audit Scores & Sustainable Recovery & Rehabilitation Outcomes:

The Senior Veterinary Compassion Officer (Shelter Medicine and Animal Welfare) will make continuous improvement a formal management discipline at Sarvoham that is consistent with the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) framework. Wherein shelter protocols are documented, kept current, accessible to personnel, and routinely monitored for compliance; oversight and accuracy.

Build rehabilitation and recovery pathways that are realistic and sustainable within shelter constraints, improving long-term quality of life for animals with chronic or complex conditions.

CANDIDATE PROFILE:

The ideal candidate is a purpose-driven veterinarian who genuinely cares about animal welfare and shelter medicine. Combines strong veterinary sciences, clinical judgment and clinical operations with compassion, resilience, hands-on ownership of outcomes, influence, and execution, while inspiring internal teams and communities around a shared purpose that is aligned with the organizational objectives. The candidate should be comfortable operating independently in a high-caseload, resource-conscious environment.

- Work Experience: 7–10 years of clinical veterinary experience, with strong interest in shelter medicine and meaningful exposure to shelter medicine, stray animal care, or high-volume rescue settings.
- Qualification: Bachelor's degree in Veterinary Science (BVSc) or equivalent; relevant registration/license to practice in India. Willing to register with Karnataka Veterinary Council (KVC), if not from the state of Karnataka.
- Proven Track Record: Proven resilience, sound clinical judgement, and ability to bounce back from difficult and disappointing situations quickly.
- Operational Skills: Proven ability to independently manage complex medical/surgical cases, anaesthesia, and emergency care in a high-volume setting. Proven ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds; able to work standing for 8 or more hours and bend, crouch, kneel and move freely to perform responsibilities that include handling potentially dangerous and/or medically compromised animals in stressful conditions.

Able to work in physically challenging conditions and able to wear appropriate protective gear. Job responsibilities may entail exposure to chemical and biological hazards, such as feces and blood, exposure to sharp objects, working in noisy environments and working in areas with uneven, wet and slippery surfaces. Proficient computer skills, including familiarity with shelter software systems a plus.
- Personality blends: Sets a high standard by modeling transparency, integrity, honesty, and strong ethical principles. Compassion that does not compromise clinical rigor; rewards solution-driven case management; practices that are sustainable and protocol-driven; behaviors that align with organizational values; has a blended mindset of a clinician, mentor and calm decision-maker under pressure; high emotional resilience that balances empathy and clinical objectivity; builds trust that is powered by consistency and clinical excellence.

Views conflict as an opportunity to improve communication, clarify and articulate values, and build stronger relationships. Builds solid work relationships based on trust, respect, and listening to understand. Fosters collaboration by creating strong connections with colleagues at all levels and in all areas. Demonstrates genuine interest in the thoughts, ideas, and expertise of others.

Ability to work on a team as well as independently; ability to lead as well as follow instructions. Able to set a clear direction and inspire others to work towards shared goals.

PREFERRED BACKGROUNDS

- Prior experience working in an animal shelter, NGO, or high-volume stray/rescue veterinary setting.
- Strong working knowledge of anaesthesia protocols, emergency/critical care, and surgical procedures common to shelter settings (spay-neuter, wound management, orthopedic and soft-tissue cases, etc.).
- Sound understanding of infection control and quality assurance practices in a clinical setting.
- Comfortable working with fearful, aggressive, feral, or severely traumatized animals with patience and low-stress handling techniques; experience in low-stress handling techniques for fearful, feral, or aggressive animals.
- Exposure to ABC (Animal Birth Control) / ARV programs or community animal welfare work.
- High degree of compassion, resilience, and emotional steadiness — this role involves working with animals in pain, difficult prognoses, and end-of-life decisions.
- Ability to work independently, take ownership of clinical outcomes, and exercise sound judgment under pressure.
- Ability to make quick, sound clinical decisions in a fast-paced environment where every minute matters for a life.
- Genuine alignment with Sarvoham's mission of compassionate, community-driven care for stray and abandoned animals.
- Practices and promotes a personal lifestyle that is animal-friendly and supports Sarvoham’s mission of compassion towards all animals.

WHY JOIN SARVOHAM: We are on a mission to establish equity, inclusion, and compassion for animals in society, so that they can lead a fulfilling and respectable life. We are looking for a clinician who resonates with this mission and believes that their experience, skills, and judgment can genuinely change outcomes for the animals who need it most — leading by example, and helping build a shelter medicine practice that will sustain for generations to come.

📌 Senior Veterinary Compassion Officer (Shelter Medicine) (Bengaluru)
🏢 Sarvoham Animal Foundation
📍 Bengaluru