Veterinary Clinic Manager

Socket.dev; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) with employer contribution

Paid time off and holidays

Job summary

The ARL Afford-a-Care Pet Clinics in Iowa are seeking an experienced Clinic Manager to lead daily operations, oversee staff, scheduling, inventory, and patient flow to deliver affordable veterinary care. You will partner with veterinarians and leadership on pricing, clinic workflows, and service quality, while ensuring compliance with regulations and safety standards.

This full-time role offers a mission-driven environment, opportunities to coach teams, improve processes, and support access to

Qualifications

• Experience in a management or leadership role.
• Veterinary practice management, healthcare administration, clinic operations, or related experience preferred.
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to coach staff, resolve concerns, and support a positive, accountable team environment.

Responsibilities

• Manage daily clinical and staff operations across ARL Afford-a-Care Pet Clinics.
• Support hiring, onboarding, coaching, performance management, and employee development for clinic team members.
• Create staff schedules using Sling and ensure appropriate coverage for clinic operations.
• Oversee client scheduling processes to support efficient patient flow, staffing needs, and organizational goals.
• Coordinate with veterinarians and leadership on pricing setup, service consistency, and clinic workflows.
• Coordinate patient accounts with Finance to support payments and grant funding.
• Manage clinic inventory, order supplies, and track inventory status.
• Serve as final escalation point for complex client concerns outside medical care.
• Identify training needs and coordinate training for medical and client relations teams.
• Review clinic processes and oversee changes implementation.
• Provide daily oversight of clinic systems and collaborate on system needs.

Skills

Leadership

Clinic management

Staff scheduling

Healthcare administration

Communication

Problem solving

Tools

Sling

Practice management software

Job description

Clinic Manager

Lead clinic operations that help pets access affordable, compassionate care.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa is seeking an experienced and organized Clinic Manager to lead the daily operations of the ARL Afford-a-Care Pet Clinics. This role oversees clinic workflows, staff scheduling, inventory, client service operations, process improvement, and coordination across medical and reception teams.

This is a great opportunity for someone with veterinary practice management, healthcare administration, clinic operations, team leadership, or related management experience who enjoys leading people, improving processes, solving problems, and supporting access to veterinary care in a mission-driven environment.

Schedule

• Full-time, salaried position
• Typical schedule is Monday through Friday during clinic hours with occasional Saturdays based on clinic and operational needs

About the ARL Afford-a-Care Pet Clinics

The ARL Afford-a-Care Pet Clinics are part of the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, Iowa's largest nonprofit animal welfare organization. Through the clinics, the ARL extends its mission into the community by helping pet owners access trusted, affordable veterinary care for the animals they love.

There are two clinic locations that provide pets with quality, affordable, compassionate care. Services include preventative care, on-site blood work, radiographs, surgery, and other essential veterinary services at a more affordable rate to help pets stay in loving homes.

What You’ll Do

• Manage daily clinical and staff operations across the ARL Afford-a-Care Pet Clinics.
• Support hiring, onboarding, coaching, performance management, and employee development for clinic team members.
• Create staff schedules using Sling and help ensure appropriate coverage for clinic operations.
• Oversee client scheduling processes to support efficient patient flow, staffing needs, and organizational goals.
• Partner with veterinarians and leadership on pricing setup, service consistency, and clinic workflows.
• Coordinate patient accounts with Finance to support payments, billing, and applicable grant funding.
• Manage clinic inventory, order supplies, and ensure inventory is tracked, secured, and up to date.
• Serve as the final escalation point for complex client concerns outside of medical care.
• Identify training needs and coordinate training completion for medical and client relations team members.
• Review clinic processes, recommend improvements, and oversee implementation of approved changes.
• Provide daily oversight of clinic systems and collaborate with Finance, IT, and leadership on system needs.
• Support revenue, profitability, and service-growth strategies as directed.
• Ensure compliance with veterinary regulations, drug control requirements, OSHA standards, safety procedures, and ARL policies.
• Promote positive client relations through professional, courteous, and educational communication.

What We’re Looking For

• Previous experience in a management or leadership role required.
• Previous veterinary practice management, healthcare administration, clinic operations, or related experience preferred.
• Ability to communicate basic veterinary concepts to clients and reinforce information provided by veterinarians.
• Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and supervisory skills.
• Ability to coach staff, resolve concerns, and support a positive, accountable team environment.
• Knowledge of veterinary medical terminology, procedures, and operations preferred.
• Proficiency with veterinary practice management software, or ability to learn quickly.
• Ability to multitask, prioritize, and make sound decisions in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with clients, staff, veterinarians, leadership, and community partners.

Benefits for Full-Time Employees

The ARL is proud to offer competitive, market-driven compensation and a mission-focused culture. In addition, a variety of benefits are available to full-time employees including:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Employer-paid long-term disability and basic life insurance
• Supplemental insurances, including short-term disability, supplemental life insurance, accident, and critical illness insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan with an employer contribution
• Work-life balance through our expansive holiday and paid time off policies

Physical and Work Environment Requirements

This position works in an active veterinary clinic environment and may require regular standing, walking, moving throughout the clinic, computer-based work, and occasional lifting up to 50 pounds.The role may involve exposure to animal odors, animal waste, moderate noise, contagious or zoonotic diseases, cleaning products, and the possibility of bites or scratches while following established safety procedures.Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Why Join the ARL?

As the Clinic Manager, your work helps support the people, systems, and daily operations that make affordable veterinary care possible. You will play an important role in helping clinic teams provide organized, compassionate, and accessible care to pets and the people who love them.

If you are a strong leader who enjoys improving operations, supporting teams, and making a meaningful impact through veterinary care, we would love to have you join our team.

Employment in this position is at-will, meaning either the employee or the ARL may end the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause or notice, as permitted by law.

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state law. Applicants and employees are encouraged to discuss potential accommodations as needed.