Office Manager
Remote
Part Time
Mid Level
Office Manager
On-site & Remote — Eastern Time Zone
Part Time
Experienced
CTO Dog Training operates with an individualized approach and a belief that each dog and dog/owner team deserves the best tools available for all levels of training. Every dog and situation are different and a realistic custom approach to in-home structure and communication is vital.
Company Overview:
CTO Dog Training is the highest-rated and fastest-growing, non-franchise dog training company in the NJ, NY, PA tri-state area – but what actually keeps people here is our culture. We’re a small team by design, which means you’ll never be a number, your ideas get heard the same week you have them, and there’s no layer of management between you and the decisions that shape your success. We invest in our people through hands-on mentorship from some of the best trainers and business owners in the industry, real career progression as we grow, and the kind of skill development you can’t get anywhere else. We’re also building something bigger! A purpose-built facility in Berlin, NJ and our luxury boarding and training brand, Collar & Crown, and the people who join us now will help define what we become. If you want to work hard alongside people who care as much as you do, love animals, and want a job that actually goes somewhere, we’d love to meet you.
Job Summary:
The Office Manager is the operational center of CTO Dog Training and Collar & Crown. You are the person who makes sure the right dog is on the right trainer’s schedule at the right time, that the client knows exactly what to expect and hears back quickly, that every booking is confirmed and paid, and that our HR and compliance records are accurate and current. This is a fully remote role, but it is not a passive one — you will be in constant contact with our clients, our trainers, and our Master Trainer throughout the day.
Our business runs on two systems: Rippling (HR, payroll, onboarding, and employee records) and Paw Partners (client accounts, bookings, packages, payments, and training and boarding notes). You will own both. We are looking for someone who is genuinely organized — not "keeps up," but builds the system that keeps everyone else up — and who is comfortable working with HR, legal, and compliance documents with discretion and precision.
Reliable high-speed internet and a quiet, professional workspace are required.
Base Salary/Pay: $20–$30/hour, commensurate with experience
Responsibilities and Duties:
Client Communication & Experience
- Serve as the first point of contact for clients by phone, text, and email — responding promptly, warmly, and in a way that reflects the standard of a premium training and boarding brand.
- Confirm all upcoming appointments, lessons, evaluations, and boarding reservations in advance, and proactively resolve conflicts before they become schedule problems.
- Manage intake for new inquiries: capture complete client and dog information, route leads to the right program, and follow up on anything left open.
- Distribute training and boarding notes, report cards, and photo updates to clients on schedule, and route client questions and feedback back to the appropriate trainer.
- Handle scheduling changes, cancellations, and rescheduling requests in line with company policy, and escalate exceptions rather than improvising them.
Scheduling & Trainer Support
- Build and maintain the staff schedule across training, boarding, and daycare coverage, accounting for full-time rotations, part-time availability, time-off requests, and facility coverage requirements.
- Assist the Master Trainer with daily itineraries and route optimization for in-home and field sessions — sequencing appointments geographically, building in realistic drive time, and rebuilding the day quickly when something changes.
- Publish daily itineraries to trainers each evening or morning so every trainer starts the day knowing exactly where they are going and what each session requires.
- Track session completion, no-shows, and follow-up items, and make sure nothing falls out of the system.
Bookings, Payments & Records (Paw Partners)
- Own the Paw Partners platform: client accounts, package balances, vaccination and record requirements, reservations, and service history.
- Ensure every booking is complete and every payment is captured, applied correctly, and reconciled — including deposits, packages, and outstanding balances.
- Follow up on unpaid invoices and expiring packages professionally and persistently.
- Verify that required documents — service agreements, waivers, vaccination records, and boarding authorizations — are signed and on file before service is delivered.
- Maintain photo and note workflows so that what clients receive is consistent, timely, and correctly attached to the right dog and the right stay.
HR, Compliance & Employee Records (Rippling)
- Administer employee lifecycle processes in Rippling: onboarding and offboarding, I-9 and W-4 completion, employee file maintenance, benefits enrollment, and PTO tracking.
- Maintain accurate, audit-ready personnel records and handbook acknowledgments, and keep policy documentation current as it is revised.
- Track compliance deadlines and renewals — required postings, certifications, licensing, insurance certificates, and state-mandated training — and flag them before they lapse.
- Support payroll preparation by verifying hours, time-off usage, and schedule changes ahead of each cycle.
- Handle confidential employee, legal, and client information with complete discretion.
Office & Data Management
- Own data hygiene across both systems: consistent naming, complete records, no duplicates, no orphaned accounts, no stale information.
- Build and document repeatable processes and checklists so the office runs the same way whether or not any one person is available that day.
- Produce simple recurring reports on bookings, revenue capture, outstanding balances, and schedule utilization for ownership.
- Identify friction in daily operations and propose fixes — we expect this role to make the business run better, not just keep it running.
Qualifications and Skills Requirement:
- 3+ years in an office management, operations coordinator, or senior administrative role, ideally in a service business with field staff or scheduled appointments.
- Demonstrated experience with HR administration — onboarding, employee files, benefits enrollment, PTO tracking, and payroll support.
- Comfort working with legal and compliance documents: service agreements, waivers, contracts, certificates of insurance, and licensing or renewal filings.
- Strong systems aptitude. You should be able to learn a new platform quickly, use it fully rather than superficially, and teach others how to use it correctly.
- Exceptional written communication. A meaningful share of this job is text and email with clients, and every message represents the brand.
- Genuine organizational discipline — comfortable managing many moving parts at once, with a system for making sure nothing is dropped.
- Proven ability to work independently in a remote environment: self-directed, responsive, and accountable without daily supervision.
- Proficiency with Google Workspace and/or Microsoft 365, and general comfort with spreadsheets.
- Reliable high-speed internet, a quiet and professional home workspace, and consistent availability during Eastern business hours.
- Discretion and sound judgment with confidential employee and client information.
- Comfort with and appreciation for dogs — you will be talking about them all day.
Preferred Qualifications (not required):
- Hands-on experience with Rippling, or with a comparable HRIS such as Gusto, ADP, Paylocity, or TriNet.
- Hands-on experience with Paw Partners, or with a comparable pet-care platform such as Gingr, PetExec, Kennel Connection, or Time To Pet.
- Background in boarding, daycare, grooming, veterinary, or another animal-care operation.
- Experience with route planning or dispatch tools (Google Maps, Circuit, Routific, or similar).
- Familiarity with New Jersey employment law and multi-state compliance considerations.
- HR coursework or certification (SHRM-CP, aPHR, or PHR).
- Bookkeeping or payment reconciliation experience (QuickBooks or similar).
- Experience supporting a business through a period of rapid growth or a facility expansion.
Benefits and Perks:
The right candidate will have access to benefits such as:
- Medical
- Dental
- 401k
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