Operations Manager - Basildon

Pets at Home; Basildon; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading veterinary service provider in Basildon is seeking an Operations Manager to oversee day-to-day operations. The role requires ensuring smooth operations, managing resources, compliance, and developing staff. Ideal candidates will have strong operational leadership and communication skills, previous budget management experience, and a passion for excellence. This full-time role operates Monday through Friday, offering an attractive salary and various benefits, including private health insurance and a contributory pension scheme.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Private health insurance

Contributory pension scheme

Generous CPD allowance

Initial 5.6 weeks holiday

In-house career development

Paid membership fees

Colleague discounts

Qualifications

• Demonstrated operational excellence.
• Exceptional communication, influencing, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to build credibility through a hands-on approach.

Responsibilities

• Drive operational delivery of the business strategy.
• Lead and develop the practice management team.
• Manage team performance through meetings and one-to-ones.
• Oversee practice communications.

Skills

Operational leadership skills

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Interpersonal skills

IT proficiency

Budget management experience

People management experience

Adaptability

Proactive attitude

Job description

Operations Manager - Basildon

Operations Manager

Basildon Pipps Hill

Are you ready to lead the way in delivering exceptional veterinary care and services? We're seeking an Operations Manager to take responsibility and charge of the day-to-day at Basildon Pipps Hill.

Your role will be pivotal in ensuring the seamless operation of our practice, from managing resources to compliance and budgeting, all while contributing to our ambitious business strategy. If you're a dedicated leader with a passion for excellence, we want you on our team.

About us

You will be joining our current team of 2 Practice Owners, 5 Vets, 1 Head RVN, 1 Deputy Head RVN, 5 RVNs, 2 SVNs, 2 VCAs, 7 CCAs.

With such supportive front of house, this allows you to really focus on your role. We hold a variety of individual interests within the team and encourage these interests to be explored.

We are based inside Pets at Home on the busy Pipps Hill Retail Park, which is home to a variety of different shops, so always opportunity for a bit of lunch time retail therapy! There is free onsite parking and convenient access to major transport routes, we're under an hour away from London, and 20 minutes from Southend-On-Sea, which means you'll never be short of things to do on a day off.

We see a real variety of cases and perform lots of orthopaedic procedures in-house, including patella luxation, fracture repairs, cruciate surgeries with TPLO and a wide variety of soft tissue surgeries. We work in a purpose-built practice with state-of-the-art equipment including digital X-ray, flexible and rigid endoscopes and easy access to a 16 slice CT scanner.

Key Responsibilities

• Driving the operational delivery of our five-year business strategy
• Supporting company-wide initiatives in sustainability and diversity
• Leading and developing our practice management team
• Managing team performance through meetings and one-to-ones
• Overseeing practice communications
• Managing the practice's P & L and supporting budget delivery
• Handling practice procurement and equipment
• Being accountable for joint venture finance
• Supporting client service and clinical teams to optimise service, capacity and profitability
• Implementing health and safety policies
• Ensuring compliance reporting and record-keeping
• Liaising with Group Facilities for maintenance
• Supporting mandatory training compliance
• Prioritising customer satisfaction and the client journey
• Ensuring quality out-of-hours and referral services

About you

• Demonstrated operational excellence
• Strong operational leadership skills
• Exceptional communication, influencing, and negotiation skills
• Excellent organisational and time management abilities
• Strong interpersonal skills and a passion for people
• Proficiency in IT
• Previous budget management experience
• People management experience
• Ability to build credibility through a hands‑on approach
• Adaptability to new environments and industries
• Proactive with a can‑do attitude

This is a full-time on-site role working Monday - Friday for 40 hours per week (no weekends required).

We can offer you

• An attractive salary of circa £50,000 (dependent on experience)
• Access to private health insurance
• A contributory pension scheme
• A generous CPD allowance
• 5.6 weeks initial holiday, rising to 6.6 weeks after 2 years' service!
• In-house career development opportunity
• Paid membership fees
• Access to the reward hub which has colleague discounts and 20% discount at Vets for Pets, Pets at Home and the Groom Room

If you'd like any further information about this vacancy, the practice or our company please contact Laura from our Talent Acquisition team via email; [e-mail] for an informal and confidential conversation.

Alternatively, you can submit your application directly to us now and somebody will be in touch with you to discuss this further. We look forward to hearing from you!

Location

SS14 3AF

We are an Equal Opportunities Employer!

Pets just see people. They aren't biased and they don't discriminate. We take our inspiration from pets, and we value and respect difference in all its forms. Our aim is to reflect the diversity of the communities we operate in, and every colleague can help us achieve this. We encourage our people to be themselves so 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!