The Arizona Animal Welfare League (AAWL) is seeking an empathetic, highly adaptable and collaborative leader to serve as our Director of Community Engagement. They will be responsible for managing new and existing community programs in four key areas: Volunteers, Events, Shelter Intervention & Diversion, and Access to Veterinary Care. The Director will lead and support a growing seven-person team including the Volunteer & Events Manager, Access to Vet Care Manager, Adoption Support Manager, Adoption Support Specialist, and Events Coordinator. Fluency in both writing and speaking Spanish is required to effectively engage and serve our diverse community.
The Director oversees the partnership with the Arizona Pet Project (AZPP) and supervises the contracted part-time social worker supporting diversion and safety-net services. And works collaboratively with all internal departments—including Medical, Intake, Adoptions, Behavior, Marketing, and Operations—to ensure community programs are strategically aligned, responsive to shelter needs, and integrated with organizational priorities.
The Director of Community Engagement operationalizes AAWL’s core values (collaboration, integrity, empathy, and innovation) and advances a positive, inclusive workplace culture by incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles into all aspects of our community-facing work. This position carries a strategic and systems-level lens, ensuring programs are designed, implemented, evaluated, and adapted to meet community needs and long-term organizational goals.
The Director of Community Engagement reports to the VP of Operations and is a key member of AAWL’s Operations Team, linking community resources to shelter operations to ensure pets and the people who love them are supported from intake to adoptions and beyond.
This is a full-time position based in our shelter located near the Phoenix airport on 40th Street and Washington.