Registered Veterinary Nurse - Dusk

The University of Edinburgh; Easter Howgate; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Staff benefits

Flexible work options

Job summary

The University of Edinburgh is seeking three RCVS registered Veterinary Nurses to join the Out of Hours Nursing Team at the Hospital for Small Animals. The role covers 12-hour night shifts in our wards and surgical suites, with a rolling pattern and paid overtime beyond contracted hours.

You will work across wards including Intensive Care and Surgery, gaining experience with diverse cases, while benefiting from a comprehensive staff benefits package and generous annual leave.

Qualifications

• Must be a registered Veterinary Nurse with the RCVS.
• Experience with night shifts in a veterinary hospital is desirable.
• Willingness to work a 12-hour night pattern on a rolling rota.

Responsibilities

• Provide out-of-hours nursing care across wards and surgical suites.
• Support emergency and critical care scenarios during night shifts.
• Ensure high standards of patient welfare and handover during shifts.

Skills

RCVS registered RVN

Education

RCVS registered Veterinary Nurse

Job description

Grade UE06: £34,610 to £39,906 per annum, pro rata (based on 35 hours work week)

Averaging 28 hours per week, plus 30 % premium band bonus on salaried hours

Twelve-hour shifts, initially between 18.00 and 06.00(but with flexibility to work shifts within the period 16.00 to 08.00 as needed) working 3 shifts on and 6 shifts off in a rolling pattern.As part of this role, you will be expected to cover an equal share of the annual leave in your pod of Dusk RVNs, accruing paid overtime for all additional hours worked.

Fixed term: for 12 months

3 posts available

Be part of something bigger, there’s a career for everyone at the University of Edinburgh.

Our technical staff are essential to supporting teaching, research, and the smooth operation of our facilities. Whether you’re maintaining cutting‑edge lab equipment, facilitating ground‑breaking research, developing new techniques, or enhancing student and staff experience with top‑notch facilities, your work will have a lasting impact that stretches far beyond our academic community.

The Opportunity:

We have an exciting new opportunity for three RCVS registered veterinary nurse to join our dedicated out of hours nursing team at the Hospital for Small Animals. This role will see you working in all of our wards, including Intermediate Care and Intensive Care as well as in our surgical suites as required.

Our dedicated night team covers 365 days a year, ensuring that we provide round‑the‑clock care to our patients. As part of this team, you’ll handle a wide variety of cases, from ward‑based patients—including felines, canines, and exotics—to those requiring intermediate and emergency critical care.

Our Specialist Services at HfSA include:

• Anaesthesia
• Cardiology Service
• Dermatology
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Dick Vet Rabbit and Exotic Practice
• Emergency & Critical Care
• The Feline Clinic
• The Internal Medicine Service
• Neurology and Neurosurgery
• Ophthalmology Service
• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Soft Tissue Surgery
• REPAIR Centre
• The Riddell-Swan Veterinary Cancer Centre
• The Behaviour Clinic

Our hospital is equipped with:

• Three canine wards
• Four exotics wards
• One feline ward
• Purpose‑built isolation units
• A fully equipped emergency room
• Dedicated Intermediate Care and Intensive Care Wards
• Four theatre suites
• MRI and CT imaging
• Vital Beam linear accelerator

Training & Support

We offer a comprehensive training programme to help you settle into the role and build your confidence and skills. Any hours worked beyond your contracted weekly hours during training will be paid as overtime according to university guidelines.

We welcome applications from all RCVS qualified Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN) candidates. ContactSenior OOH Nurse, Nicola Cochrane [e-mail] for more details.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

• A competitive salary.
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community.
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, including generous annual leave entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, a wide range of staff discounts, family‑friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page (opens in a new tab) and use our reward calculator to discover the value of your pay and benefits.

Championing equality, diversity, and inclusion

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education.We are members of the Race Equality Charter, and we are also a Stonewall Proud Employer, actively promoting LGBTQ+ equality.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University, you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages (opens new browser tab)

On this occasion the University will not consider applicants requiring sponsorship for this role. International workers will therefore only be able to take up this role if they can demonstrate an alternative right to work in the UK.

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 22 September 2026.

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm UK time. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.

Interview dates to be confirmed.