Lead Veterinary Surgeon

Linnaeus; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday entitlement

OOH-free

RCVS/VDS fees paid

CPD funded

Career progression

Staff discount

Wellness program

Cycle to work

Free flu jabs

Job summary

Maven Veterinary Care, part of Linnaeus, is seeking an experienced Veterinary Surgeon to lead a four-vet team while shaping hospital services and influencing practice development. You will balance clinical work with people development, supported by senior leadership.

You will help advance imaging, inpatient care and clinical facilities, with dedicated time for leadership and administration, and opportunities to grow your clinical interests.

Qualifications

• RCVS registration and UK veterinary registration experience.
• 5+ years UK veterinary experience with strong clinical credibility.
• Proven leadership and ability to mentor and develop colleagues.
• Strong communication skills and team-building abilities.
• Interests in imaging, hospital medicine or developing clinical services.

Responsibilities

• Lead four vets and take on line management alongside clinical work.
• Develop imaging and inpatient care, expanding hospital services.
• Balance clinical duties with leadership responsibilities and CPD.
• Collaborate with Group Lead Vet for ongoing guidance and support.

Skills

RCVS registration

5+ years UK veterinary experience

Clinical leadership

Mentoring & development

Imaging interest

Job description

Job Title: Lead Veterinary Surgeon
Location: North Cheam, Sutton
Hours: Full-time, 40 hours per week, with a maximum of 1 in 5 weekends and TOIL
Practice: Maven Veterinary Care, part of Linnaeus
Salary: Around £65,000 - £70,000 per annum, dependent on experience

More clinical influence. More opportunity. A team you can help shape.

Ready to take the next step in your veterinary career? At Maven Veterinary Care, we’re looking for an experienced Veterinary Surgeon who wants to combine clinical work with developing people, advancing hospital services and influencing how a practice evolves. You don’t need to have held a Lead Vet title before; what matters is your clinical credibility, enthusiasm for supporting others and ambition to make a genuine difference.

Why join us?

• Shape the future of our hospital: Help develop our imaging capabilities and inpatient care, building on established facilities and clinical expertise.
• Lead a team and help people grow: Take responsibility for leading four vets, supporting their development and helping colleagues build confidence and clinical skills.
• Keep your clinical interests moving forward: Enjoy a varied working week across consultations, surgery, imaging and inpatient care, alongside your leadership responsibilities.
• Protected time to lead: Benefit from dedicated leadership and senior administrative time within the rota, separate from your clinical duties.
• Support from experienced leadership: Work alongside Kate Plant, our Group Lead Vet, who will provide ongoing guidance and support.
• Invest in your development: Receive a £2,000 annual CPD allowance and five days of CPD leave, with opportunities to develop your clinical interests.
• Make more of excellent facilities: Work with ultrasound, X-ray and endoscopy equipment, two large operating theatres and dedicated inpatient facilities.
• Join a recognised, award-winning hospital: Maven holds five Outstanding RCVS Practice Standards Awards across Consults, Inpatients, Clients, Team and Environment.
• Be part of a practice that cares beyond clinical outcomes: We’re a Gold Standard Cat Friendly Clinic, a Dog Friendly practice and an RWAF Silver Standard practice, with Silver iiE Accreditation recognising our environmental commitment.
• Enjoy a manageable OOH commitment: With Vets Now providing on-site out-of-hours care, there is no overnight or OOH commitment for our daytime veterinary team.

The practice & team.

Maven Veterinary Care is an established small animal hospital in North Cheam, with a collaborative team, excellent facilities and a commitment to delivering high standards of patient care. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, but we’re equally interested in what we can do next.

As Lead Veterinary Surgeon, you’ll lead four vets and take on line management responsibilities alongside your clinical work. You’ll help colleagues develop, encourage knowledge sharing and create an environment where people feel confident asking questions, discussing cases and contributing ideas. You’ll also work with Kate Plant, our Group Lead Vet, who will provide ongoing support and guidance.

Our veterinary team brings together a range of experience and clinical interests, including two medicine certificate holders. There is enthusiasm within the team for further development in medicine and imaging, giving you an opportunity to support colleagues as they build their expertise and confidence.

Maven also presents a real opportunity to develop imaging and inpatient care.

We’re particularly keen to build on our existing imaging capabilities and strengthen our inpatient services as a hospital. Scans already take place daily, and we have excellent ultrasound and X-ray facilities, alongside endoscopy equipment and in-house experience of cardiac scanning.

This creates an opportunity for someone with a strong interest in imaging to help develop the service, encourage knowledge sharing and support colleagues in building their clinical skills. There is also scope to make greater use of our endoscopy equipment and explore how we can continue to develop our inpatient care.

Your clinical week will offer variety across consultations, surgery, imaging and inpatient care, with a full operating day, a dedicated inpatient or hospital day and a mix of other clinical duties. Consulting shifts include regular breaks to allow time to catch up, and the rota includes protected leadership and senior administrative time to help you balance clinical work with your responsibilities as Lead Vet.

Excellent facilities and recognised standards.

Our hospital includes two large operating theatres, dedicated ultrasound, X-ray and dentistry facilities, endoscopy equipment, separate dog and cat waiting areas and wards, and on-site inpatient facilities. Daily inpatient rounds and collaborative case discussions encourage shared learning and help the team deliver consistent, high-quality care.

Maven has achieved five Outstanding RCVS Practice Standards Awards across Consults, Inpatients, Clients, Team and Environment. We’re also a Gold Standard Cat Friendly Clinic, a Dog Friendly practice and an RWAF Silver Standard practice. In addition, our Silver iiE Accreditation recognises our commitment to environmental responsibility.

These achievements reflect our commitment to excellent patient and client care, high clinical standards, animal welfare, a positive team environment and continually improving how we work.

You’ll be joining a wider practice team that includes experienced veterinary nurses, patient care colleagues, client care assistants and practice management support. We want to continue building an environment where people feel valued, listened to, challenged and encouraged to develop.

A working week that supports your responsibilities

Weekend shifts currently run from 8am to 4pm on Saturdays and 10am to 2pm on Sundays, followed by two days off in lieu the following week. As the veterinary team grows, the weekend commitment is expected to reduce.

There is no overnight or out-of-hours commitment, with Vets Now providing our OOH service on site.

Maven is based in North Cheam, offering access to both London and the Surrey countryside, with cultural attractions, transport links and green spaces within reach.

What we’re looking for

You might already be a Lead Vet, or you may be an experienced Veterinary Surgeon ready to take your first formal step into leadership. We’re looking for someone who brings clinical credibility, a genuine interest in developing people and the drive to help a team and its services progress.

• RCVS registered with at least 5 years UK veterinary experience
• Strong clinical judgement and a commitment to high standards of patient care.
• A passion for supporting, mentoring and developing colleagues.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to build trust across a team.
• An interest in imaging, hospital medicine or developing clinical services.
• The confidence to question established ways of working and find practical improvements.
• A collaborative approach, openness to feedback and the ability to bring people with you through change.

A certificate in medicine or imaging would be an advantage, but it isn’t essential. We’re particularly interested in someone who combines clinical expertise with the ambition to develop our services and help colleagues thrive.

If you’re looking for a Lead Vet role where you can stay clinically involved, make a difference to your team and help shape the future of a busy small animal hospital, we’d love to hear from you.

Benefits:

• 5 weeks holiday + bank holidays and birthday off (pro-rata for part-time)
• No out-of-hours (OOH)
• RCVS and VDS fees paid
• External CPD funded
• Extensive free online Linnaeus CPD program
• Career progression opportunities
• Staff discount schemes
• Enhanced sickness pay
• Enhanced equal family leave
• Wellness program including:
• Employee assistance program
• Eyecare voucher scheme
• Free annual flu jab
• Cycle to work scheme

Cromwell 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’llhave access toa huge networkof 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.

#LI-JG1 #LI-Onsite

Salary Value: £70,000 per annum;
Salary Description: depending on experience;