Head Registered Veterinary Nurse

Vets for Pets; St Albans; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Contributory pension

CPD allowance

Conference attendance

Holiday entitlement 5.6 weeks rising

Birthday leave

Career development

RCVS, BVA, VDS fees covered

Wellbeing support

Cycle to work

Staff discount (20% at Vets for Pets)

Colleague Assistance Programme

Job summary

Vets for Pets in St Albans is seeking a confident Head Veterinary Nurse to lead our nursing team in a well-equipped, purpose-built practice. You will oversee clinical nursing, surgeries, and client communications while fostering a supportive culture for staff.

The role is full-time, 40 hours per week across 5 days with no weekends or OOH. Join a friendly team at Abbey View Retail Park with good transport links and a strong growth mindset.

Qualifications

• RVN with a minimum of 3 years post-qualification experience
• Leadership or senior nurse experience desirable
• Strong leadership and organisational skills with client and collegial engagement
• Confident in all nursing areas including surgery, patient care and diagnostics

Responsibilities

• Lead nursing team to deliver high standard patient care
• Manage rostering and stock control
• Support colleagues to maintain smooth practice operations

Skills

Leadership

Team management

Communication

Nursing

Surgery

Diagnostics

Stock management

Roster planning

Education

Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN)

Job description

Are you an experienced and driven Veterinary Nurse looking for your next leadership opportunity? We are seeking a confident and compassionate Head Veterinary Nurse to join and lead our nursing team in a thriving practice located in St Albans.

This is a Full Time role working 40 hours per week across 5 days. No weekends or OOH required!

You’ll be working in a practice purpose built to industry leading standards which has state of the art equipment including full operating theatre, in house Idexx lab machines, microscopy, ultrasound, digital x-ray, modern dental machine, tonopen, rhinoscope, endoscopy, multi-parameter unit, isoflurane and sevoflurane. We are a first opinion clinic with a young client base and we also complete orthopedic surgeries in practice.

Based on the Abbey View Retail Park, our location provides great travel links in and out of the town centre as well as the M1 and M25.

James, Partner and Veterinary Surgeon, studied at the RVC and qualified in 2009. He has a strong rescue background and an interest in orthopaedics and general surgery. He's supported by 2.5 vets, 2 RVN's, 1 Head RVN, 2 SVN's, 1 VCA's and 3 Receptionists.

Our aim is to maintain our level of growth and uphold our reputation as a friendly and progressive local veterinary surgery.

What we are looking for in you

• Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN) with a minimum of 3 years post qualification experience, previous experience in a leadership or senior nurse role would be desirable
• Strong leadership and organisational skills, with the ability to manage a team and delegate effectively
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage with clients and colleagues at all levels
• Confident in all areas of nursing, including surgery, patient care, and diagnostics
• A positive attitude, passion for animal welfare, and commitment to delivering exceptional care
• Comfortable with handling administrative duties, including rostering and stock management
• You will assist all colleagues with duties to support the smooth running of the practice and provide the best standard of patient care

This a great opportunity to shape this role and bring support to the team. We would love to welcome a nurse with a keen interest in clinical coaching, we also see orthopaedic caseloads so this might be of benefit to you too.

As nurses at St Albans, we routinely get involved with schedule three procedures expanding your skill set and often get together for social events like birthdays and Christmas.

We can offer you

• An attractive salary from £38,000 up to £42,000 (Dependant on experience/full time equivalent)
• This is a full-time tole for 40hrs per week, working 5 days per week.
• No Weekends or OOHs!
• A contributory pension scheme
• A generous CPD allowance (Plus funding towards certificates)
• Ability to attend conferences such as LVS and BVNA
• 5.6 weeks initial holiday, rising to 6.6 weeks after 2 years’ service!
• A generous extra days’ leave for your birthday
• In-house career development opportunity
• Paid membership fees (RCVS, BVA, VDS)
• Access to the reward hub including wellbeing support and pastoral care
• Cycle to work scheme
• 20% discount at Vets for Pets, Pets at Home and the Groom Room
• Access to Colleague Assistance Programmes - Retail Trust, Port of Call and MHFA

Location

AL1 2RJ

We are an Equal Opportunities Employer!

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!