Experienced Veterinary Surgeon

Vets for Pets; Tendring; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Four-day week

No out-of-hours

1:3 Saturday rota

Certificate funding

Visa sponsorship

Lead clinical area

CPD allowance

Pension plan

Company benefits

Job summary

Vets for Pets in Clacton-on-Sea is seeking an experienced GP veterinary surgeon to join a growing practice. You will share in a four-day week with a 1:3 Saturday rota and be involved in developing a certificate pathway.

The role offers competitive salary up to £70,000, visa sponsorship for eligible candidates, and the opportunity to lead a clinical area within a supportive team of vets and nurses.

Qualifications

• Experienced GP vet with solid small-animal practice.
• Comfortable managing routine consultations and procedures independently.
• Strong clinical interest with potential to develop into a specialty pathway.

Responsibilities

• Manage a varied caseload of first-opinion small animals.
• Provide high-quality clinical care with a focus on patient welfare.
• Collaborate with nurses and reception staff to maintain smooth clinic operations.
• Contribute to the development of the practice and clinical services.

Skills

General practice

Small-animal GP

Clinical communication

Team collaboration

Job description

Four-day week | No OOH | 1:3 Saturday | Certificate pathway | Visa sponsorship

We are looking for an experienced GP veterinary surgeon to become the third vet in our young, ambitious and rapidly developing practice in Clacton-on-Sea.

This is not a vacancy created simply to fill an empty consulting column. We are building a clinically capable, sustainable practice for the whole Tendring area, and we are looking for a vet who wants to help shape what it becomes.

Since opening in March 2025, the practice has grown quickly, attracting clients from across Clacton and the wider Tendring district. Our caseload already extends well beyond routine first-opinion work, and we continue to invest in the people, equipment and services needed to develop the practice further.

The opportunity

We are particularly interested in an experienced GP vet who has a strong clinical interest they would like to develop into a recognised role within the practice.

Those interests could be medicine, diagnostic imaging, surgery, dentistry, endoscopy or another area that complements the needs of our clients and team.

We can offer a genuine pathway towards further development, including certificate funding for the right candidate. More importantly, you would have the caseload, equipment and influence required to turn that qualification into a real clinical service rather than simply a line on your CV.

You would work alongside the practice owner and Clinical Director, who has a strong interest in advanced soft-tissue surgery, orthopaedics, emergency work and the continued development of GP-level procedural capability.

Our aim is not to imitate a referral hospital. It is to build an excellent general practice capable of managing a broader and more interesting range of cases locally.

What the role Offers

• Competitive salary of up to £70,000, depending on experience.
• A four-day working week
• No out-of-hours requirement
• A 1:3 Saturday Rota
• Certificate funding and a structured development pathway
• Visa sponsorship for eligible candidates
• The opportunity to build and lead your own clinical area
• Genuine involvement in shaping a young and growing practice
• A varied and increasingly complex first-opinion caseload
• Direct access to the practice owner for clinical discussion and development
• A nursing team with strong involvement in anaesthesia, patient care and clinical standards
• Modern equipment with further investment planned as the practice develops
• CPD allowance and professional fees
• Workplace pension and standard company benefits

The practice

We are a busy, independently led Vets for Pets joint venture with a growing reputation for combining the accessibility of a friendly local practice with the clinical ambition of a much larger centre.

Current and developing capabilities include:

• Advanced soft-tissue surgery
• BOAS surgery
• Orthopaedic procedures
• Emergency abdominal surgery
• Diagnostic ultrasound
• Dental radiography and surgical dentistry
• Endoscopy development
• Strong anaesthetic and analgesia standards
• In-house diagnostics and laboratory support

We believe good veterinary medicine should be thoughtful, contextual and transparent. Clients should understand their options, colleagues should be trusted with meaningful responsibility, and investment should follow genuine clinical need.

The practice is still young enough for a new vet to have a visible influence on its culture, systems and clinical direction.

Who we are looking for

You will ideally be an experienced small-animal GP vet who is comfortable managing routine consultations and procedures independently.

You do not need to arrive as a finished specialist. We are more interested in someone who has:

• Sound general-practice foundations
• A strong clinical interest they genuinely want to develop
• Good judgement and clear communication
• The confidence to manage a varied caseload
• A collaborative approach to vets, nurses and reception colleagues
• An interest in contributing to the growth of a developing practice
• The ability to remain calm and constructive when the day becomes unpredictable

We are not looking for someone who wants to process cases as quickly as possible and go home unchanged. We are looking for someone who wants to become more capable, build something recognisable and have a meaningful place within the practice.

Why Clacton?

We understand that relocating to a smaller seaside town is a real consideration.

Clacton offers comparatively accessible housing, the Essex coast and easy access to Colchester and the wider Tendring area. Living in Clacton itself is not essential, and the practice is commutable from several surrounding towns.

For the right person, we are open to discussing practical support with relocation and the transition into the role.

About us

We are proud of what the practice has achieved in a short period, but we are equally aware that growth must be sustainable.

The next stage is not about asking a small team to work harder. It is about building enough clinical depth and resilience to serve a growing client base well while giving each vet the time and support to develop.

For an experienced vet who wants autonomy, clinical variety and the opportunity to shape a practice rather than simply join one, this could be an unusually rewarding role.

Location

CO15 3TP

We take our inspiration from pets in embracing people from all walks of life, and we value, respect and celebrate difference. We encourage our people to be their best selves so that we can create a better world for Pets, our Planet, and People. Our ambition is to reflect the diversity of the communities we operate in, and we are intentional in addressing and removing barriers to create opportunities for the exceptional talent and potential in our communities. Even if your skills and experience don’t perfectly align, if you think you can make a unique contribution through your values and behaviours, we want to hear from you!