Animal Rescue Officer

Overview

As an Animal Rescue Officer (ARO) with the RSPCA, you'll respond to reports of cruelty, neglect, or injury and play a vital role in preventing animal suffering through education, advice, and, where necessary, intervention. If you are motivated by animal welfare and want to make a meaningful difference, a career as an ARO could be perfect for you.

• This work can be physically and emotionally demanding, but it is also deeply meaningful and highly rewarding. You ll see the direct impact of your decisions and actions on animals  lives and the people connected to them. The organisation recognises the emotional demands of animal rescue work, and you ll have access to mental health resources, inclusive policies, and ongoing development opportunities to support both your personal resilience and long-term career progression.
• Much of the role involves working independently and travelling long distances, including frequent motorway driving and visits to remote rural locations. You ll often be out on your own, but you ll remain closely connected to a supportive and experienced team. The organisation provides comprehensive training, equipment, and guidance to help you work safely and confidently.
• You will regularly engage with members of the public in emotionally charged situations. People may be distressed, angry, anxious, or defensive, and effective communication is essential. You ll need to ask the right questions quickly, gather accurate information under pressure, and use calm, confident influencing skills to de-escalate heightened emotions while remaining professional and empathetic. These skills are critical in enabling you to make accountable decisions without immediate supervision, often with real consequences for animal welfare and public safety.

There are not many careers that allow you to pursue your passion while making a real difference in the world. As an ARO, you ll help improve animals  lives every day. We recognise that people bring different strengths, backgrounds, and experiences. If you are resilient, reflective, committed to learning, and motivated by making a difference even if you don t meet every requirement perfectly but share our values we encourage you to apply.

We think this role is going to be popular and are expecting to attract high interest, so we strongly encourage early applications to avoid missing out. We may close the advert early if we receive sufficient applications before the closing date.

• Mandatory online awareness sessions: w/c 9 February.
• Online assessments: slots offered between 23 February and 6 March.
• Online interviews: slots offered between 16 March and 27 March.

To be considered, you must live within one of the postcodes specified in the document attached to this advert titled "Thames Valley - Postcodes". Unfortunately, we are not currently considering applications from candidates who wish to relocate.

We welcome applications from people with a wide range of backgrounds. You do not need previous animal welfare experience to apply, many of the skills needed for this role can be gained through other careers, caring roles, volunteering, or community-facing work.

• Aged 17 or over at application and 18 by the course start date
• Resilience, good judgement, and strong communication skills, with the ability to handle sensitive conversations
• Ability to work independently, with the support of a wider team
• Willingness to work varied shifts between 8am and 9pm, including bank holidays and weekends
• Availability to start on 18 May 2026 and commit to a continuous, intensive 26-week training programme (annual leave cannot be taken during this period)
• Flexibility to travel for training at locations across the country, with occasional overnight stays
• Full manual driving licence, with recent experience and confidence driving long distances (up to 150 miles per day)
• Comfortable with lone working
• Confident swimmer: able to swim 50 metres fully clothed within 2.5 minutes by the point of assessment during training

For more information on the…