Mission Advisory Councils Team

About The Animal Cause, Inc.

The Animal Cause, Inc. (TAC) is a Christian animal-welfare organization dedicated to saving shelter animals, strengthening the systems that serve them, and supporting animal-welfare organizations, advocates, volunteers, and communities through practical services, partnerships, transportation, rescue, visibility, education, and infrastructure.

As TAC develops programs, services, standards, partnerships, and national resources, the organization recognizes the importance of having qualified people who can look at developing work from outside the immediate execution team and ask the questions that others may overlook.

The Mission Advisory Councils Team is being established to provide that independent subject-matter perspective.

Mission Context

The Animal Cause is building an organization intended to serve animals and animal-welfare partners beyond a single community or individual program.

That requires more than enthusiasm. It requires competence, examination, accountability, appropriate standards, and wise counsel.

TAC is therefore recruiting qualified professionals, practitioners, academics, technical specialists, nonprofit leaders, licensed experts, and individuals with substantial relevant expertise who can help evaluate developing programs and infrastructure.

Advisors may be asked to identify risks, challenge assumptions, identify missing expertise, review standards, evaluate feasibility, recommend resources, and help TAC recognize issues that should be addressed before a program or initiative advances.

The objective is not to create another layer of management.

The objective is to ensure that important work receives appropriate expert examination before it becomes organizational practice.

Position Summary

The Mission Advisory Councils Team is a team-based advisory function consisting of subject-matter advisors who may serve on one or more specialized councils according to their expertise, conflicts of interest, availability, organizational need, and council readiness.

Advisors will review defined matters within their areas of competence and provide practical, evidence-informed recommendations to TAC leadership.

Governance & Authority Model

TAC maintains a clear distinction between advisory, working, governance, and execution functions:

Advisory Councils advise.

Working Groups produce defined deliverables.

The Board of Directors governs.

Authorized leadership and assigned volunteers execute.

Appointment to an advisory council does not confer board, officer, employee, spokesperson, program-director, supervisory, or organizational decision-making authority.

Recommendations remain recommendations unless accepted through the appropriate organizational authority.

Primary Responsibilities

Depending on council assignment, advisors may:

• Review plans, playbooks, policies, pilot designs, research questions, standards, procedures, or risk issues.
• Ask difficult questions that strengthen organizational thinking.
• Identify assumptions or gaps in proposed approaches.
• Distinguish current organizational capability from future vision.
• Recommend responsible next steps.
• Evaluate safety, legality, ethics, feasibility, public trust, funding readiness, measurement, and potential partner impact as applicable.
• Identify relevant professional standards and evidence.
• Identify professional resources and referral pathways.
• Identify potential collaborators or subject-matter resources.
• Review proposed infrastructure and program architecture.
• Participate in scheduled remote advisory meetings.
• Provide timely written comments when materials are circulated.
• Identify circumstances requiring licensed, legal, veterinary, financial, or other specialized professional advice.
• Disclose conflicts of interest and professional limitations.
• Protect confidential and proprietary organizational information.
• Create clear recommendations or review notes that remain useful after the meeting or assignment has ended.

Possible Advisory Councils

TAC may establish, combine, stage, or discontinue councils according to organizational readiness and need.

Potential councils include:

Animal Welfare, Shelter Systems & Rescue Operations Council

Advising on shelter operations, rescue systems, animal welfare standards, intake/outcome processes, organizational partnerships, and system-level animal-welfare challenges.

Veterinary Medicine, Medical Readiness, Disease Prevention & Biosecurity Council

Advising on veterinary considerations, preventative care, medical readiness, disease prevention, biosecurity, vaccination protocols, and appropriate veterinary referral pathways.

Animal Behavior, Training, Foster, Placement & Human-Animal Bond Council

Advising on behavior, rehabilitation, training, foster systems, placement readiness, adoption considerations, and human-animal relationships.

Transport, Fleet, Logistics, Receiving Partners & Emergency Response Council

Advising on animal transportation, fleet considerations, logistics, receiving organizations, transport standards, emergency response, safety, and operational continuity.

Nonprofit Governance, Legal, Compliance, Finance, Insurance & Risk Council

Advising on organizational governance, compliance, financial practices, insurance, risk management, policies, contracts, and areas requiring qualified professional or legal review.

Technology, Data, Website, Applications, Directory & Digital Infrastructure Council

Advising on technology architecture, data practices, websites, applications, directories, digital infrastructure, systems integration, cybersecurity considerations, and emerging technology.

Marketing, Public Trust, Communications, Fundraising & Donor Development Council

Advising on public trust, communications, fundraising strategy, donor development, messaging, reputation, visibility, and responsible public engagement.

Faith, Ethics, Biblical Stewardship, Churches & Community Partnerships Council

Advising on ethical questions, Christian stewardship, church relationships, community partnerships, mission alignment, and the organization's responsibility to conduct its work in a manner consistent with its Christian identity.

Human-Animal Crisis, Housing Instability, Pet Retention & Safety-Net Council

Advising on situations where human hardship directly affects animal safety, retention, surrender prevention, housing instability, crisis response, and appropriate referral or safety-net resources.

This council does not make TAC a general human-services organization. Its focus remains the protection and welfare of animals and the preservation of safe human-animal relationships.

Species-Specific & Specialized Pathways Council

Advising on specialized animal pathways and referral interfaces, including:

• Equine.
• Livestock.
• Small animals.
• Working animals.
• Service animals.
• Therapy animals.
• Other species-specific or specialized circumstances.

Additional councils may be established as TAC identifies legitimate needs and qualified advisors.

Time-Limited Advisory Working Groups

The council structure may also support temporary working groups formed around a defined objective, such as:

• A white paper.
• A program standard.
• A pilot evaluation.
• A toolkit.
• A case study.
• A resource map.
• A national framework.
• A policy review.
• A specialized research question.

These groups should have a defined purpose, scope, expected deliverable, timeframe, and responsible organizational authority.

TAC leadership determines whether, when, and how recommendations are implemented.

Operating Boundaries

• Advisory councils advise.
• Working groups produce defined deliverables.
• The Board of Directors governs.
• Authorized leadership and assigned volunteers execute.
• Council membership does not create organizational authority.
• Professional advice must remain within the advisor's competence, licensing, ethical duties, and applicable law.
• Advisors must disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest.
• Recommendations may be accepted, modified, deferred, or declined based on organizational authority, capacity, legal review, funding, mission priorities, and other relevant considerations.
• Council names, membership, meeting frequency, scope, and assignments may be staged or modified as TAC develops.
• Access to organizational information will be limited to the advisor's approved scope.

First 90-Day Priorities

Because advisory work is inherently different from an execution pilot, the initial period will focus on fit, usefulness, and disciplined counsel.

During an introductory period, an advisor may be asked to:

1. Complete TAC's orientation and review the organization's mission, vision, programs, and current priorities.
2. Identify the council area or areas in which the advisor can provide meaningful expertise.
3. Disclose relevant conflicts, limitations, and professional boundaries.
4. Review selected organizational materials within the advisor's approved scope.
5. Participate in an initial advisory discussion or review assignment.
6. Identify significant risks, assumptions, gaps, or missing expertise.
7. Provide practical recommendations supported by relevant evidence, standards, or professional resources.
8. Identify questions that require another specialist or licensed professional.
9. Help establish useful advisory practices for the assigned council.
10. Demonstrate reliability, discretion, judgment, and constructive candor.

The introductory period may be used to determine whether the advisor should continue, which council is the best fit, and what level of participation is appropriate.

Skills & Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• At least 21 years of age.
• Located within the United States.
• Substantial professional, academic, technical, nonprofit, public-sector, licensed, industry, or lived expertise relevant to at least one council area.
• Ability to distinguish advice from governance, supervision, execution, and public representation.
• Sound judgment and willingness to ask difficult questions respectfully.
• Candor and intellectual honesty.
• Discretion and confidentiality.
• Collaborative communication.
• Ability to review written material critically.
• Ability to provide practical, evidence-informed recommendations.
• Willingness to disclose conflicts of interest.
• Respect for the Christian mission of The Animal Cause.
• Respect for TAC's responsibility to animals, volunteers, partners, donors, and the public.

Preferred Experience

• Five or more years of relevant experience.
• Advanced education.
• Professional licensure or certification where applicable.
• Board or advisory experience.
• Published professional or academic work.
• Recognized expertise within a relevant field.
• Experience reviewing early-stage programs.
• Experience establishing standards.
• Risk assessment experience.
• Coalition or partnership development.
• Experience advising mission-driven organizations.
• National, regional, rural, municipal, shelter, rescue, veterinary, corporate, church, academic, or community perspectives.
• Professional contacts or referral pathways that could appropriately broaden TAC's access to expertise.

Professional contacts may be shared as appropriate, but council membership does not authorize an advisor to make commitments on behalf of TAC or create relationships in TAC's name without authorization.

Team Model

This opportunity is intentionally structured as a team model.

TAC does not expect one advisor to be an expert in every subject.

Instead, the organization intends to develop a distributed network of qualified advisors whose combined knowledge can strengthen the organization's decision-making.

An advisor may participate in:

• One specialized council.
• Multiple councils where appropriate.
• A temporary working group.
• A specific review assignment.
• A time-limited research or standards project.

Assignments will be based on:

• Expertise.
• Organizational need.
• Current readiness.
• Availability.
• Conflicts of interest.
• Scope of the question.
• Required professional qualifications.

Volunteer Service Terms

• This is an unpaid volunteer opportunity and does not create an employment relationship.
• Applicants must be at least 21 years old, currently based in and a citizen of the United States.
• Volunteers must be able to work respectfully within a Christian animal-welfare mission.
• A 90-day introductory period may be used to evaluate reliability, communication, judgment, discretion, and assignment fit.
• Volunteers may be asked to sign TAC's Volunteer Service Agreement and applicable confidentiality, intellectual-property, and public-communications documents.
• Volunteers may not speak, publish, contact organizations, make commitments, or otherwise represent The Animal Cause without written authorization for the specific role, channel, and activity.
• Officially published organizational content may be shared as directed; independent statements on behalf of the organization are prohibited unless authorized.
• Organizational files, source files, credentials, research, work product, and records must remain in approved organizational systems and must be returned or transferred at the conclusion of service.
• AI tools may be used only within approved boundaries.
• Confidential information may not be entered into external AI systems.
• AI-generated material must be reviewed for accuracy, rights, safety, confidentiality, and mission alignment before use.
• At this time, The Animal Cause does not accept or verify court-ordered, probation, parole, diversion, judgment-related, school-required, employer-required, or otherwise mandated community-service hours.

Biblical Foundation

Proverbs 15:22

“Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.”

The Animal Cause believes that wise counsel is not a sign of organizational weakness. It is a means of exercising humility, diligence, stewardship, and sound judgment.

The purpose of these councils is therefore not to create unnecessary bureaucracy or to substitute advisors for leadership. It is to create a disciplined place where qualified people can examine important work, identify what others may not see, and help TAC pursue its mission responsibly.

We seek counsel because the work entrusted to us is too important to approach carelessly.

“In the multitude of counsellors they are established.” — Proverbs 15:22

How to Apply: Send resume to hr@animalcause.org