Lead Veterinary Surgeon

Linnaeus; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

5 weeks' holiday

CPD allowance

RCVS fees paid

Life assurance

Employee assistance

Pension

Staff discount

Job summary

Maven Veterinary Care in Sutton, part of Linnaeus, seeks a Lead Veterinary Surgeon to lead our clinical and people development efforts. You will shape the team culture, mentor vets at all levels and drive improvements across the practice while maintaining excellent patient care.

You will work in a busy, well-equipped small animal hospital with support from a strong network of specialists and a clear focus on development and staff wellbeing.

Qualifications

• Qualified veterinary surgeon with leadership experience.
• Proven ability to develop teams and coach veterinary staff.
• Strong clinical standards with a commitment to learning and improvement.

Responsibilities

• Build a positive, inclusive culture and mentor vets.
• Hold regular 1:1s and meaningful development conversations.
• Lead the veterinary team and drive improvements in practice operations.
• Maintain high clinical standards while encouraging learning and collaboration.
• Collaborate with the leadership team to implement changes across the site.

Skills

Leadership

People development

Communication

Empathy

Change management

Job description

• On-site inpatient facilities

If you are a current Linnaeus Associate, you will need to apply internally. In order to do this, please contact our Talent Acquisition team (details can be found via The Link) and someone will be in touch to discuss and progress your application.

Job Title: Lead Veterinary Surgeon

Salary: Up to £65,000 (Dependent upon experience)

Location: Maven Veterinary Care - Sutton

Job Type: Permanent

Hours: Full-time includes 40 hours per week & 1 in 5 weekends (TOIL). Working days/patterns are open to discuss.

Ready to lead, inspire and shape what comes next?

We’re looking for an experienced Veterinary Surgeon to join Maven Veterinary Care in North Cheam as our Lead Veterinary Surgeon.

This is much more than a senior clinical role. We’re looking for someone who genuinely enjoys developing people, building great teams and finding better ways of working.

You’ll have the support and freedom to bring ideas to the table, develop our team and help shape the future of Maven.

Your Role

Alongside your clinical work, you’ll play a key role in leading and developing our veterinary team.

• Build a positive, inclusive and supportive culture
• Coach, mentor and develop vets at all career stages
• Hold regular 1:1s and meaningful development conversations
• Encourage collaboration, learning and case discussion
• Support colleagues through challenges and celebrate success
• Help create an environment where people feel confident to speak up and share ideas
• Work with the wider leadership team to improve how the practice operates

We don’t expect you to have all the answers. We want someone who is curious, approachable, empathetic and open to new ideas.

Clinical Leadership

You’ll remain an important part of our clinical team, helping maintain high standards while encouraging an open learning culture.

Maven offers

• Daily inpatient rounds and collaborative case discussion
• Dedicated ultrasound, radiography and dentistry facilities
• Two large operating theatres
• Separate dog and cat waiting areas and wards
• On-site inpatient facilities
• A highly skilled nursing and patient care team
• A certificate-holder Group Lead Vet with a strong ethos of knowledge sharing
• Vets Now on site for out-of-hours care, meaning no overnight or OOH commitment for our daytime veterinary team

We’re particularly interested in vets with an interest in hospital medicine, imaging or developing services — but your passion for developing people is just as important.

Why Maven?

Maven is a busy, established small animal hospital with an incredible team and excellent facilities. We’re a multiple award-winning practice, with four Outstanding RCVS Practice Standards Awards across Consults, Inpatients, Clients and Team.

We’re also a Gold Standard Cat Friendly Clinic, Dog Friendly practice and RWAF Silver Standard practice.

Most importantly, we want to create a workplace where people feel supported, listened to, developed and excited about coming to work.

Who are we looking for?

You might already be a Lead Vet, or you may be an experienced Veterinary Surgeon who has discovered that one of the things you enjoy most is helping others succeed.

You’ll likely be someone who:

• Enjoys developing and supporting people
• Communicates openly and builds trust
• Leads with empathy and confidence
• Embraces change and continuous improvement
• Looks for solutions rather than accepting "that’s how we've always done it"
• Values teamwork over hierarchy
• Can bring people with them through change
• Maintains high clinical standards while encouraging learning
• Is self-aware and open to feedback
• Wants to genuinely influence the direction of their practice

Your working week

Our rota offers variety across consultations, surgery, inpatient care, imaging and leadership.

• 15-minute consultations
• Protected breaks and administrative time
• Protected leadership time
• Approximately 1 in 5 full weekends, shared fairly, with time off in lieu
• No overnight or OOH commitment

Benefits include

• 5 weeks' holiday plus bank holidays
• Additional day off for your birthday
• £2,000 CPD allowance + 5 CPD days
• Certificates actively encouraged and supported
• Linnaeus Veterinary Careers Framework
• Extensive internal CPD and learning resources
• RCVS and VDS fees paid
• Employer pension contribution
• 60% staff discount
• Life assurance and enhanced sick/family leave
• Mental Health First Aiders and Employee Assistance Programme
• PureGym, eyecare, flu vaccination and cycle-to-work benefits
• Electric car salary sacrifice scheme
• No overnight or OOH commitment

Come and shape the next chapter at Maven

If you’re looking for a Lead Vet role where you can make a genuine difference to people, influence how a practice operates and help build an exceptional team, we’d love to hear from you.

Bring your experience. Bring your ideas. Bring your personality.

We’ll give you the support and space to lead.

Maven Vets is part of Linnaeus and Mars Veterinary Health, the largest family-owned veterinary company in the world. Being privately owned, we can truly be driven by our purpose, to create a better world, and think long-term as opposed to being focused solely on short-term profits.

At Linnaeus, A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS starts with a better world for our people. Our Associates are over 6000 strong and empowered to speak up, step up and deliver quality services. You’ll have access to a huge network of specialists, worldwide development opportunities and an easily accessible, comprehensive wellbeing package that prioritises your physical and mental health, allowing you to focus on what you do best - care for pets.

We are committed to fostering a culture that is inclusive and diverse, we care about you and want you to be authentic, with everything you need to perform at your best. We are all individual but two important things bring us together: a commitment to excellence and our passion to achieve our purpose.