Cats Protection
At Cats Protection we’re making a better life for cats, because life is better with cats
Many of us share our lives with cats. They bring happiness to millions of us every day. Yet too many cats don’t get the care and kindness they deserve. At Cats Protection we stand up for every cat. As the UK’s largest cat welfare charity, we help an average of 157,000 cats and kittens in a variety of ways. We offer cat adoption, rehoming, and neutering assistance, and give help and advice to cat owners and cat lovers. At the forefront of research on cat welfare, we use our decades of experience to help all cats and support owners to keep their pets happy and healthy. Our campaigns change laws to give cats more protection and we continue to call for a better deal for cats. In every corner of the country our passionate volunteers, employees, and supporters are using their kindness and expertise to make life better for millions of cats and the people who care for them.
Our Vision
Our vision is a society where every cat has their best possible life because they are protected, cared for and understood by everyone.
We have a clear definition of what we all do in Cats Protection: We are a movement of people championing the welfare of cats. We lead society in a richer understanding of all cats and care for those that need our help. This can be summed up by our purpose. If we can help everyone to better understand cats and their needs, we can help them to behave differently towards them, to care for them in the best way and to ensure the world appreciates and protects cats.
That is why our purpose is:
“To help people see the world through cats’ eyes”
Our Values
At Cats Protection, we are a movement of people. We all share a common set of principles that influence the way we do things. Our shared values act as a guiding compass to shape our behaviour and the decisions we make.
Our values are deep rooted within our charity. They are:
- We put cats first
- We are courageous
- We are knowledgeable
- We are compassionate
- We work as one
Working for Cats Protection
There are many reasons why Cats Protection is a great place to work, and we recognise those reasons are important to you too.
Working for us is challenging, rewarding and fun. More importantly, you’ll be helping to make a real difference to cats across the UK.
Working for Cats Protection is not only about looking after the cats in our care. We have a diverse range of roles providing exciting careers in areas such as retail, fundraising, advocacy, veterinary, digital and IT as well as other specialist support functions.
Many of our roles offer the opportunity to work remotely and flexibly from home.
Cats Protection is committed to safeguarding children and adults at risk and protecting anyone that comes into contact with us from harm. As a socially responsible organisation, we will not tolerate abuse, neglect and/or exploitation wherever it occurs or whoever is responsible. We recognise that safeguarding is a priority and we’ll adopt the highest standards of safeguarding practice across all areas of our work.
Our directorates, teams and jobs
Our Feline Welfare & Operations directorate leads all cat care activity. They are responsible for making sure every cat that enters our care is healthy, happy, and finds their perfect home. We have 34 adoption and homing centres that range in size from 20 pens to 202. Often, these include specialist wings for admission, maternity and isolation. A lot of Operations employees support volunteers, who carry out the majority of our cat welfare work.
Several other key services sit in this directorate. This includes Lifeline, our specialised cat fostering service aiding those fleeing domestic abuse. Another focus for this directorate is neutering, which we champion as the only effective way to reduce the number of unwanted cats in the UK.
Some of the roles in this directorate include: Rehoming & Welfare Assistant, Behaviour Officer, Field Vet Officer, Community Neutering Assistant, Volunteer Team Leader, Territory Operations Manager, and Lifeline Caseworker.
Our Advocacy & Influence directorate is dedicated to enhancing cat welfare through awareness, advocacy and education. They form a unified voice that speaks out for cats in several ways. These include educating people on cats, their needs and how to care for them. Our Advocacy team campaigns to influence politicians and decision makers to create a better world for cats. Our Communications team ensures our websites and social media channels stay up to date with news and information. They also collaborate with the media, crafting stories that promote our work and cat welfare as a whole. Additionally, our Research team are dedicated to conducting ongoing research and staying abreast of the latest feline welfare best practices.
Some of the roles in this directorate include: Media Officer, Advocacy & Government Relations Officer, Community Education Officer, Internal Communications & Engagement Partner, Digital Content Manager, and Feline Welfare Scientist.
Our Marketing & Income Generation directorate is responsible for our brand, marketing, communications and fundraising. They create the financial and community support needed to achieve our mission. They deliver diverse fundraising activities, from challenge events, direct mailings and gifts in Wills, to corporate partnerships and supporting major donors. Charity shops are a vital part of our fundraising work, and they help us to promote the charity’s work across the UK. We do manage these in collaboration with volunteers.
Beyond fundraising, the team also oversees the Contact Centre and customer experience. They ensure that every interaction leaves a lasting impression, inspiring support and a desire to do more for cats.
Some of the roles in this directorate include: Brand Project Manager, Creative Designer, Marketing Officer, Data Analyst, Contact Centre Advisor, Fundraising Events Officer, Prospect Research Officer, and Shop Manager.
Our People & Culture directorate brings our people together in ways that make the most of everyone’s time and talents. They equip, empower and engage people to have the best impact for cats, to feel included and be themselves.
This directorate is comprised of several specialist teams. Human Resources and Volunteering look after our 1,000+ employees and 9,000+ volunteers respectively. Our Reward team ensures competitive compensation and manages our comprehensive benefits. Learning & Development guarantees top-notch training and skill development at every career stage. Talent Acquisition ensures a positive experience for job applicants, fair assessments, and attracts the best talent to join our cause. Finally, the team look after safeguarding, as well as equity, diversity and inclusion. They support us in our aims to become as diverse and inclusive as we can, striving to foster an environment where everyone feels safe and can be their authentic selves.
Some of the roles in this directorate include: HR Officer, HR Business Partner, Cat Welfare Learning Officer, Reward & Benefits Advisor, Talent Acquisition Partner, Safeguarding & Wellbeing Manager, and Strategic Volunteering Lead.
The Financial & Shared Services directorate brings together knowledge that helps our charity run effectively and smoothly. It encompasses multiple teams. Legal & Estates provides crucial legal advice, legacy donation administration and real estate expertise. Procurement ensures judicious spending to maximise the impact of donated funds. Strategy Planning and Insight drive the charity’s 10-year growth strategy. Digital Transformation supports technology needs and drives innovation. Finance support our mission through budgeting, reporting and analysis.
Together, they form the backbone of our operational efficiency. This directorate plays a pivotal role in actualising the organisation’s vision for cats. It ensures effective resource utilisation and a seamless experience for everyone.
Some of the roles in this directorate include: IT Project Manager, Power BI Developer, Business Analyst, Finance Supervisor, Procurement Officer, and Legal Officer.
Playlist
Rewards and benefits
We know our success can’t happen without the collective effort of our people. That’s why we’ll make sure you are fairly rewarded for your hard work, both financially and through our range of benefits
At Cats Protection, your wellbeing is as important to us as it is to you. As a movement of people championing the welfare of cats, making sure we look after the welfare of our people, and ensuring they are protected and cared for, is equally important.
Our benefits are here to support you and your family and to show our appreciation for the work you do. They enable you to lead the life you want and protect what’s important to you
Equity, diversity and inclusion
We believe being an inclusive, diverse charity is crucial if we’re to help more cats. We welcome diversity of thought, value individuals’ experience, and aim to reach and partner all areas of society.
We are one charity, but we represent many ideas, experiences and backgrounds. We’re on a journey to make sure our charity is diverse and inclusive. This will help us to reach our full potential as an organisation and support our people to reach theirs.
One of the key ways we encourage diversity in our charity is through our bias-free hiring process. This reduces the possibility of bias affecting decision making so that candidates are judged more fairly on their suitability.
We are a disability confident employer. This means we guarantee an interview to disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria and provide reasonable adjustments where required. We support existing employees who acquire a disability or long-term health condition, enabling them to stay in work.
We partner with a variety of diverse job boards including Evenbreak, BMEjobs, LGBTjobs, DisabilityJob, and JobOppO to encourage more diversity in our applications.
We have various affinity groups including our Pride network, for members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies.
We are a disability-confident employer and an inclusive partner of:
- JobOppO.co.uk
- Evenbreak.co.uk
- BMEjobs.co.uk
- LGBTjobs.co.uk
- DisabilityJob.co.uk
Starting your career at Cats Protection...
Work experience
If you’d like to enquire about work experience placements, please contact your local centre
Volunteering
You may decide to start your working relationship with Cats Protection by volunteering.
We welcome volunteers with open arms, no matter how much time you can give, there’s a place for you with us!
We help thousands of cats and kittens each year and many of our success stories are thanks to the dedication of our 10,000 volunteers across the UK.
Our application process
It is quick and easy to submit your application.
We use an applicant tracking system called Talos to manage our vacancies. Depending on the role you’re interested in, your application process may require you to submit a redacted CV and/or answer screening questions. We’re not able to accept applications or CVs emailed to us directly. This is because we operate a bias-free application process in our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
If your perfect job isn’t currently available, you can upload a speculative CV and we will be in touch when a suitable role becomes vacant.
Our interview process is usually completed virtually, using Microsoft Teams. Some customer-facing roles, like those based in our centres, may involve a face-to-face interview.
Our Talent Acquisition team supports candidates through both face-to-face and online processes. We will provide tips and advice on preparing for all types of interviews and/or assessments.
Career progression
When you join Cats Protection, we want to ensure you have room to grow and feel inspired to develop.
We’ll support you and give you all the tools you need to continually challenge yourself, take pride in what you do, and enjoy your career with us. Whatever your career plans, we want to make sure your time with us is successful and that you’re able to play a proactive role in your own development.
You’ll have access to a wide variety of learning and development tools and resources to support you in your role. We recognise learning happens every day, much of it from each other, and in many ways.
We offer a range of opportunities to develop knowledge and skills, including our comprehensive cat welfare learning programme. We have a management and people skills programme, and our award-winning Volunteer Champions Programme. We are always developing new and innovative ways to learn and develop.
Learning is part of our culture and we’re proud of the place it has in everything we do.
