Senior Veterinary Surgeon - Emergency Out of Hours

Inspiring Vet Care; Chester; On-site; GBP 77,000 - 94,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 7 wks (pro-rata)

CPD allowance

VECCS membership

VDS cover

Private medical insurance

Family-friendly policies

Leadership development programme

AdvantEdge training

Job summary

Vets Now Chesterfield, part of Inspiring Vet Care, seeks a Senior Veterinary Surgeon to lead the ECC team on a full-time basis. You will drive clinical excellence, mentor staff, and shape service development in a busy out-of-hours setting.

The role offers leadership duties, competitive salary up to £85,000 DOE, and a comprehensive package including CPD and relocation assistance. Flexible arrangements may be considered to support work-life balance.

Qualifications

• Leadership and mentoring skills for a senior clinical team.
• Ability to drive clinical standards and service improvement.
• Experience in Emergency & Critical Care (ECC) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead by example to uphold clinical standards across the clinic.
• Support growth, training and wellbeing of veterinary team.
• Identify clinical development opportunities and shape team progression.
• Champion innovation and service improvement within the clinic.
• Lead ECC operations with a collaborative and high-performing team.

Job description

Vets Now Chesterfield are welcoming applications from Out of Hours (OOH) Veterinary Surgeons with a passion for Emergency & Critical Care to lead their team on a full-time basis. Vets Now is the UK’s leading provider of emergency veterinary care, with a nationwide network of out of hours clinics and 24/7 emergency hospitals. As part of Inspiring Vet Care, our teams make a difference to pets and their owners when they need us most.

At Vets Now, we believe that when your purpose is to make a difference, you deserve a team that shares your passion. We want to find someone who can lead from the front, inspiring clinical excellence and guiding a high-performing and collaborative team that supports pets and people when they need it most. In return, we can offer a £10,000 recognition bonus (pro-rata) and up to £5000 relocation allowance for the right candidate.

Chesterfield is a vibrant, family-friendly market town that offers an affordable lifestyle right on the edge of the Peak District National Park. Ranked as one of the most affordable market towns in England for people stepping onto the property ladder, Chesterfield is centrally located for road and rail access across the UK.

Lead with Clinical Excellence

As Senior Vet, you’ll lead by example by blending clinical expertise with mentorship and collaboration. You’ll set the tone for quality care, lead in emergency situations, and support the development of your fellow clinicians. You'll have responsibility for:

• Driving and upholding clinical standards across the clinic
• Supporting the growth, training and wellbeing of your veterinary team
• Identifying clinical development opportunities and shaping team progression
• Championing innovation and service improvement within the clinic
• This is more than a job. This is a vital leadership role with real impact where your guidance helps shape the future of ECC, while making a difference to patients, clients, and colleagues every day.

Work-Life Balance That Works for You

This full-time role averages 40 hours per week, including:

• Nightshifts 1830-0900, Saturday dayshift 1200-1930 and Sunday dayshift 0830-1930
• 1:2 weekends (mix of nights and days)
• No more than three consecutive nights
• Shared bank holidays
• Protected time for leadership duties and meetings

We understand that life outside of work matters too. That's why we offer flexibility and can explore part-time arrangements, depending on clinic requirements because your balance is our priority.

Rewarding Work, Your Way

We look after you, so you can look after them, by offering a highly competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Seven weeks' pro-rata annual leave
• £1,875 CPD allowance + 35 paid CPD hours (pro-rata)
• RCVS fees, VECCS membership, and VDS cover
• Private medical insurance
• Family-friendly policies - enhanced maternity, paternity & adoption pay
• Leadership Development Programme
• Access to our AdvantEdge clinical training platform
• Standard pension contributions (5% employee / 3% employer)
• Up to 50% discounted pet care

Collaborative Spirit

You're never alone at Vets Now: on-shift you'll work alongside a registered vet nurse, an animal care assistant and a receptionist, and you can contact any of our clinics or referral centers across the UK at anytime, day or night, if needing to discuss a particular case or share ideas.

You’ll also be supported by our Support Office in Dunfermline, where our teams work behind the scenes to help you thrive. Our Call Handlers and Customer Care Advisors ensure you can focus on what matters most - your patients.

Ready to Lead with Purpose?

We're committed to supporting our people through career development opportunities, wellbeing initiatives and access to world-class learning resources.

Whether you're just starting out or looking to take the next step in your career, inspiring vet care offers the support, opportunity and community to help you grow.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

Salary up to £85,000 DOE