Dog Daycare & Animal Care Assistant – Opening Soon
Paws & Explore, Barth Farm, Scraptoft, Leicester
Paws & Explore is opening soon and we are looking for enthusiastic, reliable and proactive people to join our growing animal-care team.
This is a genuinely hands-on role for someone who loves animals and wants to help create a safe, happy and enriching environment for dogs and our on-site animals. As a new and growing business, we need people who are adaptable, take pride in their work and are willing to get involved wherever needed.
This is not a role for someone looking to do only one narrow task. We are looking for people with drive, initiative and a willingness to go the extra mile for the animals, clients and wider team.
We expect to have a mixture of part-time and full-time opportunities, including roles for people able to work two or more days per week.
Your role will include
- Supporting the day-to-day care, welfare and wellbeing of dogs in our daycare
- Supervising safe play, rest, enrichment and social interaction
- Walking dogs and supporting outdoor activities
- Feeding, checking and caring for our on-site petting animals, including goats, sheep, ducks and chickens
- Maintaining excellent hygiene, cleaning and safe working practices throughout the day
- Preparing dog areas, animal areas, equipment, food and enrichment activities
- Helping with dog arrivals, departures and friendly client handovers
- Monitoring animals closely and reporting any welfare, behaviour or health concerns
- Taking photos and videos of the dogs and animals for our social media channels
- Helping create engaging, positive content for Instagram, Facebook and short-form video
- Supporting management with wider day-to-day tasks as the business grows
- Helping us develop a local dog-walking service as part of Paws & Explore
- Supporting regular dog walks for existing and new clients in the local area
If you already have dog-walking experience, regular clients or strong knowledge of local demand in your area, we would be particularly interested to hear from you. There may be opportunities to help build this part of the business as it develops.
We are looking for someone who is
- Genuinely passionate about animal welfare and working with dogs
- Confident, calm and comfortable around dogs of different breeds, sizes and personalities
- Happy caring for a range of animals, including goats, sheep, ducks and chickens
- Adaptable, proactive and willing to turn their hand to whatever needs doing
- Happy with the less glamorous parts of animal care, including cleaning and hygiene
- Reliable, punctual and able to work well as part of a team
- Observant, responsible and able to follow welfare and safety procedures
- Friendly and confident communicating with clients
- Comfortable using social media, particularly Instagram, Facebook and short-form video
- Keen to learn, take responsibility and develop with a new business
Previous dog-care, animal-care or dog-walking experience is helpful, but the right attitude, work ethic and willingness to learn are just as important. Training will be provided for the right candidates.
As the farm is in a rural location with limited public transport, applicants should ideally have their own reliable transport, be able to drive, or live close enough to travel reliably for early and late shifts.
Hours & Pay
We expect to offer a combination of part-time and full-time shifts as we build towards opening and grow our daycare numbers. Applicants should have flexibility around weekdays; outdoor work will be involved in all seasons.
Pay will meet or exceed the applicable National Minimum Wage rate and will depend on age and experience:
- Aged 18–20: from £10.85 per hour
- Aged 21 and over: from £12.71 per hour
To apply
Please send your CV and a short message to [email protected] explaining:
- 1. Why you would like to work at Paws & Explore
- 2. Your experience with dogs, dog walking or other animals
- 3. Your availability each week
- 4. Any experience or interest you have in social media content
- 5. Whether you have previous dog-walking experience, regular walking clients, or knowledge of demand in your local area
We welcome applications from people at the start of their career as well as applicants with previous animal-care experience.
Please apply by 11th September 2026. We may close applications early if we receive a strong level of interest, so early applications are encouraged
Pay: From £12.71 per hour
Expected hours: 1.0 – 40.0 per week
Benefits:
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Work Location: In person
