Veterinary Surgeon

Linnaeus; Ashford; On-site; GBP 59,000 - 72,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday entitlement

CPD allowance

Life assurance

Cycle to work

Job summary

Cinque Ports Vets, part of Linnaeus, is recruiting an experienced Veterinary Surgeon for Kingsnorth, Rye, Tenterden and Hawkhurst. You'll work across a hospital base with branch days, delivering hospital, consulting and surgical services.

We offer a varied caseload, modern facilities including laparoscopy, endoscopy and bronchoscopy, and a supportive team. Expect a 40-hour week with options for four 10s or five 8s, plus Saturdays 1 in 5 and no OOH.

Qualifications

• Five years UK small animal practice experience.
• Confident first-opinion clinician with interest in consulting, medicine and surgery.
• Desire and ability to work hands-on with cases and procedures.
• Willingness to undertake occasional sole-charge work and support colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Rotational mix of hospital work, consulting and surgery.
• Develop and pursue clinical interests within the team.
• Provide continuity of care across Kingsnorth and branch practices.

Skills

Hands-on clinical

Teamwork

Client communication

Tools

Laparoscopic equipment

Endoscopy

Bronchoscopy

Job description

Location: Kingsnorth, Rye, Tenterden & Hawkhurst (Kent & East Sussex)

Hours: Full time - 40 hours per week, 4 x 10 or 5 x 8. No OOH. 1:5 Saturdays.

Practice: Cinque Ports Vets

Salary: Up to £65,000 DOE

A veterinary role with clinical variety, continuity and room to develop

Looking for a veterinary role where you can enjoy a varied caseload without constantly being moved from practice to practice?

At Cinque Ports Vets, we're looking for an experienced Veterinary Surgeon to join our team across Kingsnorth, Rye, Tenterden and Hawkhurst.

You’ll be predominantly based at our RCVS-accredited veterinary hospital in Kingsnorth, with a regular day at one of our branch practices. This gives you the opportunity to become a familiar face to your team, build relationships with clients and patients, and provide genuine continuity of care.

Your week could include hospital work, consulting and surgery, giving you plenty of variety. If surgery is your passion, there’s lots to get excited about, with laparoscopic equipment, endoscopy and bronchoscopy available across the group.

There’s also plenty of scope to develop your own clinical interests, whether that’s surgery, medicine, imaging, mentoring or another area you’d like to pursue.

And when you’re not at work? You’ll have a genuinely attractive working pattern: 40 hours across either four 10-hour days or five 8-hour days, 1 in 5 Saturdays and no out-of-hours.

WHY JOIN US?

• Clinical variety without the chaos - a planned mix of hospital, consulting and surgery
• Continuity of care - a regular branch and team, allowing you to build lasting client and patient relationships
• A hospital base with real clinical depth - Kingsnorth is an RCVS-accredited veterinary hospital with advanced diagnostics and surgical facilities
• Room to develop your interests - whether that’s surgery, medicine, imaging or another area of clinical interest
• Excellent facilities - including laparoscopic equipment, endoscopy, bronchoscopy, digital radiography, dental radiography and in-house laboratory facilities
• A supportive clinical team - experienced vets and nurses who enjoy sharing knowledge and working together
• Strong feline focus - Kingsnorth is a Gold Cat Friendly Clinic, with Rye, Tenterden and Hawkhurst all Silver
• A great work-life balance - 4 x 10 or 5 x 8-hour days, 1 in 5 Saturdays and no OOH
• The wider support and development opportunities of being part of Linnaeus and Mars Veterinary Health

THE PRACTICE & TEAM

Cinque Ports Vets is a well-established group serving pets and their owners across Kent and East Sussex. Each practice has its own character and local client base, while sharing clinical expertise, facilities and support across the group.

Your main base will be Kingsnorth, home to our RCVS-accredited veterinary hospital. It provides a larger clinical team and facilities supporting everything from routine first-opinion work through to more complex medical, surgical and diagnostic cases.

There is also a 24-hour emergency service provided by Vets Now at the hospital, meaning our daytime veterinary team has access to dedicated OOH support without carrying an overnight rota themselves.

Across the practices you'll have access to:

• Digital radiography
• Dental radiography
• In-house laboratory facilities
• Laparoscopic surgery equipment
• Endoscopy and bronchoscopy
• Two practices with laparoscopic equipment

All four practices are RCVS accredited, with Kingsnorth holding hospital status.

There's also a strong focus on feline-friendly care, with Kingsnorth a Gold Cat Friendly Clinic and Rye, Tenterden and Hawkhurst Silver Cat Friendly Clinics.

Each branch has a Clinical Nursing Manager, providing strong nursing leadership and support. Kingsnorth has the largest clinical team, while the smaller branches offer close-knit teams, strong client relationships and the opportunity to become a trusted local clinician.

The team is friendly, down to earth and supportive, with plenty of experience to learn from. We want someone who will get stuck in, share their knowledge, ask questions, support colleagues and bring their own ideas to the team.

YOUR ROLE

The role is deliberately varied. Your working week is likely to include:

• Around one day of hospital work at Kingsnorth
• Two days of consulting
• One day dedicated to surgery

At the branch practices, consultations generally sit at the beginning and end of the day, with surgery and medical cases in the middle.

Your regular branch day means you'll get to know the patients coming through your door and follow cases through rather than simply providing one-off cover.

There will be some sole-charge work, but it won't dominate the role. You'll have the support of the wider group and the opportunity to work alongside experienced vets and nurses.

If you enjoy developing your clinical skills or have an area you'd particularly like to grow, we'll support you. We also value vets who enjoy sharing knowledge and helping colleagues develop.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

We're looking for an experienced Veterinary Surgeon who:

• Has at least 5 years' UK small animal practice experience
• Is a confident first-opinion clinician who enjoys consulting, medicine and surgery
• Ideally holds a surgical certificate, or has a strong surgical interest and substantial surgical caseload
• Enjoys being hands on clinically
• Is comfortable working independently and undertaking occasional sole-charge work
• Has good clinical judgement and high standards of patient care
• Enjoys sharing knowledge and supporting colleagues
• Is interested in developing their own clinical interests
• Is approachable, pragmatic and straightforward in their communication
• Values teamwork and enjoys being part of a supportive clinical environment

Most importantly, we’re looking for someone who wants to enjoy being a vet - seeing interesting cases, developing their skills, building relationships with clients and patients, and working alongside a great team.

LIFE IN KENT & EAST SUSSEX

With four locations, there’s plenty to explore outside the consulting room too.

Kingsnorth sits just outside Ashford and is well connected to the Kent countryside. Tenterden is surrounded by the beautiful Weald of Kent, while Hawkhurst sits on the Kent/East Sussex border close to the High Weald.

Rye offers the character of a historic East Sussex town, with the coast and countryside on its doorstep.

All four practices are well connected, with excellent transport links and easy access to Gatwick Airport.

COME AND JOIN CINQUE PORTS VETS

If you’re looking for a veterinary role that offers clinical variety, excellent facilities, continuity of care and a genuinely good work-life balance, we’d love to hear from you.

Bring your experience, your clinical interests and your personality.

We’ll give you the support, facilities and freedom to be the vet you want to be.

Benefits

• 5 weeks holiday + bank holidays + Birthday Leave
• RCVS & VDS fees paid
• CPD allowance and 4 days each year to attend events plus Linnaeus CPD Programme (including certificate holder level CPD)
• Extensive free online Linnaeus CPD program
• Career progression opportunities
• Staff discount schemes
• Life Assurance
• Enhanced sickness pay
• Enhanced equal family leave
• E-car salary sacrifice scheme
• Wellness program including:
  • Employee assistance program
  • Eyecare voucher scheme
  • Free annual Flu jab
  • Cycle to work scheme
• Recruitment referral reward scheme

Cinque Ports 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’ll have access to a huge network of 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.