Veterinary Technician - Registered

Description

THE POSITION:

Under direction of the Managing Veterinarian, the Registered Veterinary Technician assists veterinarians with surgery and physical examinations, administers medications and immunizations, performs diagnostics such as blood work and radiographs, performs euthanasia, provides client education on animal care, treatment and follow-up veterinary care; assists in the training of Animal Services staff and externs; assists in ordering/inventory of medications and medical equipment; and may supervise subordinate staff assigned to the veterinary facility and performs related work as required. This position will also provide veterinary services to the community in our mobile Spay & Neuter trailer which may move throughout the County.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

This class differs from the Animal Care Technician and Animal Control Officer series in that the incumbents directly assist the-Veterinarians with all phases of animal treatment, including medication, vaccination, euthanasia, set-up/developing X-rays, monitoring anesthetic machines and I.V. drips, etc.

DEPARTMENT/AGENCY: Ventura County Animal Services (VCAS)

VCAS has adopted the Socially Conscious Sheltering (SCS) framework, which aligns with our core values of encouraging cooperation and collaboration with all stakeholders (elected officials, community members, private veterinarians, transfer/rescue partners, law enforcement, non-profit organizations, local businesses, volunteers, and other animal welfare agencies). We wish to promote a positive culture of mutual respect and support.

We offer a wide array of programs and services to the residents and animals of Ventura County. These services include animal sheltering, pet adoptions, lost & found, field services, cruelty investigations, pet licensing, TNR surgical services, low-cost vaccination clinics, volunteer/foster opportunities, and emergency disaster response. Each year, Ventura County Animal Services cares for more than 10,000 stray and surrendered animals. VCAS operates two amazing, open admission, life-saving shelters within the county: the main shelter in Camarillo has a 400-animal capacity, which can increase to over 900 during declared natural disasters and the Simi Valley Animal Shelter, which is a smaller facility offering many of the same services as the Camarillo Shelter. In 2014, VCAS became the largest Open Admission Municipal Animal Shelter in California with a Save Rate of over 90% and has maintained this rate since that time.
WHAT WE OFFER

• Educational Incentive - An educational incentive of 2.5% for completion of an associate's degree, 3.5% for completion of a bachelor's degree, OR 5% for completion of a graduate's degree.
• Bilingual Incentive - Incumbents may also be eligible for bilingual incentive depending upon operational needs and certification skills.
• Vacation Accrual - Minimum of fourteen (14) days earned per calendar year at time of hire and up to twenty-six (26) days earned per calendar year maximum.
• Deferred Compensation - Eligible to participate in the County's 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and/or the Section 457 Plan. This position is eligible for up to a 2% match on your 401(k) contributions.
• Health Plans - You are afforded a flexible credit allowance for purchasing medical, dental, and/or vision insurance from a group of authorized plans. Tier one for employee only is $502 per pay period, tier two for employee plus one is $730 per pay period and tier three for employee plus family is $905 per pay period.
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Choice of participation in the Flexible Spending Accounts which increase spending power through reimbursement of pre-tax dollars for IRS approved dependent care and health care expenses.
• Holidays - 12 paid days per year which includes an annual floating holiday.

Veterinary Technician - Registered is represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and is eligible for overtime compensation.

The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary and Fixed-term), Intermittent, and Extra Help vacancies with Animal Services. There is currently one (1) Fixed-termvacancy, ending 8/1/2028.
NOTE: A Fixed Term position is a position designated by the Director-Human Resources or Board of Supervisors to which persons may be appointed for fixed terms not to exceed three (3) years. Fixed Term employees are eligible for the same benefits and compensation as Regular employees.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
OPENING DATE: 6/5/25
CLOSING DATE: 6/24/25 at 5:00 p.m.

Examples Of Duties

Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Prepares animals for surgery and anesthesia, including clipping, scrubbing, setting up instruments, running anesthesia and monitoring reactions during and after surgical procedures, calculating drug doses and administering anesthetic drugs;
• Assists Veterinarians with impounding, quarantine, and restraint of animals; emergency treatment and care of injured or diseased animals; general examinations for surgery and other procedures;
• Responds to customer inquires/concerns as it relates to the veterinary hospital;
• Performs physical examinations on a variety of domestic and wild animals and records findings, evaluates animals to determine need for medical care, recommends further evaluations and treatments, including instituting Veterinarian's prescribed medical protocols;
• Performs euthanasia by injection and assists Veterinarians in euthanasia by injection training;
• Collects and properly processes specimens of blood, urine, sputum, feces, brain and other tissues for diagnostic testing, including rabies testing. Properly handles waste and disposes of it in accordance with all applicable laws and procedures in order to protect public safety;
• Performs diagnostic tests including but not limited to blood smears, complete blood count, blood chemistry and electrolytes, thyroid testing, fungal cultures, urinalysis, external and internal parasite examination, and radiographs;
• Maintains records of shelter operations, including impounds, quarantines, adoptions, treatments, euthanasia, vaccinations and disposals;
• Administers treatments, medications, injections, vaccinations and rendering emergency treatment as necessary;
• Orders hospital supplies including pharmaceuticals and/or hospital equipment;
• Assists in the determination of adoptability and suitability of animals and provide client education regarding the proper care, treatment, training and follow-up veterinary care of adopted and reclaimed animals; and
• Performs other duties as required.

Typical Qualifications

These are entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process or placement on an eligible list.

EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE:

Must possess a valid Certificate of Registration as a Veterinary Technician issued by the California State Board of Examiners in Veterinary Medicine at time of hire. This certificate must be maintained throughout employment.

Necessary Special Requirements:

• Possession and maintenance of a valid California driver license at the time of hire
• Incumbents are required to wear a uniform
• Must be willing and able to work in a mobile Spay/Neuter that works in various locations throughout the County
• Must be willing and able to work rotating shifts, including nights, weekends and holidays
• Must be willing and able to perform moderate to heavy physical activities of lifting and carrying up to 50 lbs. and frequent exposure to dangerous and/or diseased animals

Desired:

• One (1) year or more of experience working in a veterinary hospital in a municipal shelter environment or two (2) years of experience working in a private veterinary hospital
• Successful completion of a Registered Veterinary Technician college or trade school program

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Working knowledge of:

• Species and breed identification
• Proper husbandry and disease symptoms of various species
• State and county regulations for specimen handling, transport, and waste disposal
• Infection control and cleaning protocols
• Preparation and administration of medications and vaccinations (oral, injectable, topical)
• Common diagnostic tools and procedures used in veterinary medicine
• Operation and maintenance of laboratory and imaging equipment (e.g., microscope, centrifuge, refractometer, analyzers, digital radiography, ultrasound)
• Dental procedures and aseptic surgical preparation
• Anesthesia and anesthetic equipment use and monitoring
• Administration of euthanasia and verification of death
• Basic arithmetic for drug dosage and fluid rate calculations
• Common infectious diseases in companion animals

Working skills to:

• Assess severity of injury or illness and triage emergencies
• Perform basic medical procedures (e.g., IV catheter placement, blood and urine collection, intubation, syringe pump operation)
• Position animals and obtain digital radiographs
• Assist with surgical preparation and monitor anesthesia stages
• Administer medications and vaccinations
• Maintain hospital cleanliness and sanitation

Working Ability to:

• Identify disease symptoms and assess injury severity in animals
• Safely restrain animals
• Cope with the emotional challenges of euthanizing healthy animals
• Learn and follow procedures for impounding, releasing, and disposing of animals
• Communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing
• Perform physically demanding tasks

Working Conditions:
Duties are performed primarily indoors and involve moderate to heavy physical activities. There is frequent exposure to dangerous and/or diseased animals. Incumbent will be required to work rotating shifts, including nights, weekends and holidays.

Recruitment Process

FINAL FILING DATE: Applications must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources, Health Care Agency in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.

To apply on-line, please refer to our website at www.ventura.org/jobs . If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 677-5184 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources- Health Care Agency, 646 County Square Drive, Ventura, CA 93003.
Note to Applicants: It is essential that you complete all sections of your application and supplemental questionnaire thoroughly and accurately to demonstrate your qualifications. A resume and/or other related documents may be attached to supplement the information in your application and supplemental questionnaire; however, it/they may not be submitted in lieu of the application.

LATERAL TRANSFER OPTION: If presently permanently employed in another "merit" or "civil service" public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a "merit" or "civil service" style examination, then appointment by "Lateral Transfer" may be possible. If interested, please click here for additional information.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE - Qualifying: All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this exam at the time of filing. The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the exam process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire may result in the application being removed from consideration.

APPLICATION EVALUATION - Qualifying: All applications will be reviewed to determine whether the stated requirements are met. Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to the written examination.
TRAINING & EXPERIENCE EVALUATION - 100%:
A Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate, including the written responses to the supplemental questionnaire. The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather, the T&E is one method for determining who are the better qualified among those who have shown that they meet the stated requirements. In a T&E, applications are either scored or rank ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the department. Candidates are typically scored/ranked in relation to one another; consequently, when the pool of candidates is exceptionally strong, many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.

ORAL EXAMINATION: A job-related oral examination may be conducted to evaluate and compare participating examinees' knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation to those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job. Examinees must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

Applicants successfully completing the exam process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A thorough pre-employment, post offer background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, and driving record may be required for this position.

For further information about this recruitment, please contact Nathan Wood by e-mail at nathan.wood@ventura.org or by telephone at (805) 677-5232.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
The County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

YOUR BENEFITS AS A COUNTY OF VENTURA EMPLOYEE

Service Employees International Union (LOCAL 721)

(SEIU)

To learn more about Benefits, Retirement, and the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), see links below.

• Benefits website or you may call (805) 654-2570.
• Retirement FAQ's
• Memorandum of Agreement

Union Codes: UPA, UPC, UPE, UPH, UPI, UPJ,UPT, UWS

Closing Date/Time: 6/24/2025 5:00 PM Pacific

• 

• County of Ventura

Show more