Animal Care Assistant - Part Time - Fixed Term

Vets Now; Chesterfield; On-site; GBP 17,000 - 19,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave

Birthday day off

Health plan

Staff discounts

CPD allowance

Pension

Job summary

Vets Now in Chesterfield is recruiting a Part Time Animal Care Assistant to support our clinical teams in a busy emergency clinic, ensuring a calm, stress-free in-patient environment during late shifts.

You will work under Vet Nurses and Surgeons, help with basic procedures, assist with diagnostics and theatre setup, and maintain welfare of admitted animals. Benefits include annual leave, birthday day off, health plan, and staff discounts.

Qualifications

• Experience in animal care or veterinary assistance preferred.
• Ability to work under veterinary staff.
• Willingness to work shift pattern including evenings and bank holidays.

Responsibilities

• Handling patients for basic procedures and assisting with running diagnostic tests.
• Assisting in setting up and clearing down theatres for surgical procedures.
• Ensuring all in-pats have their basic husbandry needs attended to.

Skills

Patient handling

Assisting with diagnostics

Theatre support

Team coordination

Job description

Part Time Animal Care Assistant

£13.45ph plus benefits

12 months Fixed Term Contract from December 2026

About Vets Now

Vets Now is the UK's leading provider of emergency pet care, serving over 1700 veterinary practices through 60 plus dedicated out-of-hours clinics and two 24/7 pet emergency hospitals. Join our clinic team in Chesterfield and contribute to the vital emergency and critical care service we provide.

Role and Responsibilities

As an Animal Care Assistant at Vets Now, you will play a crucial role in assisting our clinical teams with providing a comfortable and stress-free in-patient environment whilst negotiating busy shifts in an emergency clinic. Your responsibilities will include:

• Working under the guidance of Vet Nurses and Vet Surgeons.
• Handling patients for basic procedures and assisting with running diagnostic tests.
• Assisting in setting up and clearing down theatres for surgical procedures.
• Ensuring all in-pats have their basic husbandry needs attended to.

Working pattern

Week 1: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 18:30 to 23:30

Week 2: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 18:30 to 23:30

Plus, a fair share of bank holidays.

What we offer?

• 7 weeks pro rata annual leave
• Your birthday as a paid day off
• Cash Health Plan provided by Simply Health
• Vets Now For You - reward gateway giving discounts and cashback with 100's of retailers
• £780 CPD allowance pro-rata
• 10 hours paid CPD hours annually pro-rata
• Family-friendly policies including sick, maternity, paternity and adoption pay schemes
• UK Standard Pension contributions - 5% Employee/3% Employer
• Up to 50% discounted staff pet care
• Paid volunteering days
• Death in service of two times annual salary

We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, including those from diverse and minority groups. As a Disability Confident Employer, we encourage candidates with disabilities and health conditions to apply and are committed to providing reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.