Lead Veterinary Surgeon - supportive and passionate team - diverse caseload

Vets for Pets; Leicester Forest East; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

RCVS fees paid

VDS fees paid

CPD funding

Contributory pension

Staff discounts

Job summary

Vets for Pets in Leicester is seeking a Lead Vet to oversee consultations, surgeries and inpatient management. You will guide the clinical team, shape treatment pathways and help refine protocols, working closely with the practice management and colleagues.

The role offers a 40-hour week over 4–5 days with a 1 in 3 Saturdays, and a salary of £70,000–£80,000 depending on experience and rota. Benefits include CPD funding, RCVS/VDS fees paid, and a contributory pension, with a busy, supportive team

Qualifications

• Well rounded vet with solid experience across consultations, surgeries and inpatient management.
• Certificate holder in medicine or surgery desired to lead clinical standards.
• Ability to guide colleagues and refine clinical protocols.

Responsibilities

• Lead Vet as first point of contact for clinical queries and decisions.
• Guide the clinical team, develop skills and promote best practice.
• Contribute to protocol review and rota planning for the team.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Surgical skills

Inpatient management

Mentoring teammates

Case discussions

Education

Certificate in medicine or surgery

Tools

X-ray

Dental X-ray

Ultrasound machine

Job description

About us

We are a first opinion small animal practice, consisting of 3 Vets, Head RVN, 3 RVNs, 2 SVNs, 1VCA, Head receptionist, 4 receptionists, and Clinical practice manager. We are an RCVS Accredited practice, and Dogs Trust dog friendly.

We are situated inside a Pets at Home store, based at the Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre. We are striving to establish a passionate team, all working towards the same goals of patient care and offering a wide range of medical and surgical options.

Our practice is not the largest, but consult rooms are spacious, with plenty of storage for your favourite tools of the trade, and all have their own scales, sinks, vaccine fridges and heater/air con!

Our routine appointments are 15 minutes, and for more complicated cases or euthanasia, we allow for double appointments. Our reception/Nurse teams are very experienced and are able to triage calls effectively.

Our surgical cases include routine neutering’s, lumpectomies, and dentals but we also have a diverse range that includes orthopaedics (at our sister clinic), splenectomies, foreign body surgeries, caesareans, etc. We are open to expanding on this further, dependant on our vets’ surgical skills!

We are well equipped to support thorough case work ups, with a range of high quality diagnostic tools including a x-ray, handheld dental X ray, and a brand new ultrasound machine all utilising AI to support with diagnosis.

Our laboratory suite includes the latest Idexx analysers, covering haematology, biochemistry, and SNAP testing, and microscope enabling us to manage the vast majority of cases within the practice

About you and the role

As a first opinion practice, we are looking for a well rounded vet with solid experience across consultations, surgeries, and inpatient management - all of which are shared amongst the veterinary team on a rota. A certificate holder, particularly in medicine or surgery, would be highly desirable.

We aim to work up cases to a high clinical standard, keeping the majority of investigations and treatments in house wherever appropriate. While our other vets and JVPs are always available for case discussions and support, we are seeking someone confident in guiding the clinical team, helping them develop their skills, and encouraging best practice decision making.

As Lead Vet, you will be the team’s first point of contact for clinical queries. We do not expect you to have every answer, but you should be comfortable supporting colleagues in identifying the most appropriate diagnostic or treatment pathway. We regularly review and refine our clinical protocols, and we would value your input and leadership in shaping these standards.

Although our Practice Manager handles complaints and client concerns, there will be occasions where your clinical insight is needed to advise on specific situations and help ensure consistent, high quality outcomes.

What we can offer

The position is for a 40-hour week, over 4 or 5 days, with a 1 in 3 Saturdays. We are open Monday-Friday 8am-7pm, and Saturdays 9am-5pm. We do open on Bank Holidays, 9am-5pm, which are shared on a rota.

We do not do any OOH work, as this is covered by our local OOH service provider. We are keen to find the right person to join our team, so we are more than happy to discuss rotas and individual needs.

We do provide the usual ‘pizza lunches’ etc. for when we want to celebrate something, but we would rather show our appreciation with a fair and competitive salary, open discussions and job satisfaction.

Our standard holiday allowance is 224 hours per year, including bank holidays, and this increases to 264 hours after being with us for 2 years.

RCVS and VDS fees are paid for by ourselves, and CPD funding is also available on top of the in-practice sessions, with both monetary contributions and allocated days.

As well as a contributory pension scheme, there are additional benefits including high street discounts and colleague discounts for both within the practice and with Pets at Home.

The salary for this position is £70,000-£80,000, dependent on experience and eventual rota needs.

We are an equal opportunities employer.

Location: LE4 1DE

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!