Veterinary Surgeon

Veterinary Surgeon

Location: Village Vet Milton, Cambridge
Hours: Full-time, 40 hours per week
Salary: Up to £60,000 DOE
£5000 welcome bonus available for direct candidates. 

Looking for a role that offers clinical variety, opportunities to develop and a team you can genuinely rely on? Village Vet Milton is looking for a Veterinary Surgeon to join its daytime team, combining the variety of first-opinion practice with the clinical opportunities of a well-equipped 24-hour hospital. 

With an interesting and varied caseload, an experienced team of certificate holders, excellent diagnostic facilities and genuine encouragement to develop your own clinical interests, this is an opportunity to take ownership of your cases, grow as a clinician and enjoy a working pattern that recognizes the importance of life outside work.

Why join us?

• Clinical variety – enjoy a good mix of hospital work, consultations and mixed first-opinion surgery, with exposure to interesting internal medicine, dentistry and imaging cases.
• Develop your own clinical interests – work alongside multiple certificate holders, learn from their expertise and explore further qualifications in an area you're passionate about.
• Autonomy with support – manage your own cases and make clinical decisions, knowing there's an experienced, collaborative team around you whenever you need a second opinion or an extra pair of hands. No sole charge.
• A genuine work-life balance – benefit from structured handovers between the daytime, twilight and overnight teams, with a focus on allowing you to finish on time.
• Flexibility that works for you – 40 hours per week, with the option to spread your hours over four or five days.
• Excellent facilities and clinical expertise – access to digital radiography, ultrasound, endoscopy and in-house diagnostics, alongside colleagues with a wealth of additional clinical knowledge.
• A location with plenty to offer – enjoy working just outside Cambridge, with its historic city centre, independent shops, restaurants, cultural attractions and access to beautiful green spaces.

The practice & team.

Village Vet Milton is a well-equipped 24-hour hospital in Cambridge, providing a varied veterinary service with access to excellent diagnostic facilities and experienced clinical colleagues.

The hospital is equipped with digital radiography, ultrasound, endoscopy and comprehensive in-house diagnostic capabilities, supporting the team in investigating and managing a broad range of cases.

The daytime caseload offers a good balance of hospital work, consultations and mixed first-opinion surgery. The practice sees a particularly interesting range of internal medicine cases, alongside dentistry and diagnostic imaging, giving you the opportunity to develop your clinical experience beyond a traditional first-opinion setting.

One of the real strengths of Village Vet Milton is the depth of clinical knowledge and experience within the team. With multiple certificate holders across different disciplines, there is a fantastic opportunity to learn from colleagues, share knowledge and develop your own clinical interests.

We're keen to support our vets in pursuing further qualifications and certificates, and want to help you build on the areas of clinical practice you find most rewarding. Whether your interests lie in dentistry, diagnostic imaging, ECC or another clinical discipline, there is scope to develop your skills and explore further qualifications as part of your role.

You don't need to hold a certificate to join us, and previous ECC experience would be advantageous rather than essential. What matters most is your enthusiasm for learning, willingness to develop and interest in making the most of the clinical expertise available within the hospital.

We're also keen to continue developing the services we offer in-house, so there may be opportunities for someone with a particular interest or experience in areas such as ophthalmology or dermatology to help shape our future clinical offering.

Village Vet Milton strives to embody everything that makes a supportive environment with clinical autonomy. We want our vets to feel confident taking ownership of their cases, making clinical decisions and managing their patients independently. However, you'll never be expected to work in isolation. There is no sole-charge requirement, and you'll be part of a collaborative clinical team where colleagues are approachable, happy to discuss cases and ready to offer support, advice or an extra pair of hands when needed.

You'll have the freedom to manage your own caseload while benefiting from the experience and knowledge of the wider team. It's about having the confidence to work independently while knowing that support is always available when you need it.

Milton offers a working pattern that supports life outside work. One of the real advantages of working within Milton's 24-hour service is the structured approach to patient care and team handovers. The daytime team hands over to the dedicated twilight team, who subsequently hand over to the overnight team. This provides continuity of care for patients without the expectation that the daytime vet routinely stays late to manage ongoing cases. The focus is on effective communication between teams, allowing everyone to finish their working day on time.

The position is 40 hours per week, with flexibility to discuss working over four or five days, depending on what works best for you. The rota also includes weekend commitments (currently expected to be 1:4, subject to confirmation).

Life in Cambridge

Milton is a village just north of Cambridge, offering a quieter setting while keeping the city within easy reach. Cambridge has plenty to offer outside work, from its historic university colleges and independent shops to its restaurants, cafés, theatres and riverside walks. For those who enjoy the outdoors, Milton Country Park offers lakes, woodland, walking routes and cycling trails nearby. The area also benefits from access to the A14 and A10, making it a convenient location for commuting from across Cambridgeshire and the surrounding areas.

About you

We're looking for a confident and capable Veterinary Surgeon with a minimum of three years' UK small animal clinical experience, who enjoys the variety of first-opinion practice and is keen to make the most of the clinical opportunities available within a 24-hour hospital.

You'll ideally have:

• At least three years' UK small animal clinical experience.
• Confidence managing a varied first-opinion medical and surgical caseload.
• Good general medical and surgical skills, with the ability to take responsibility for your own cases and make independent clinical decisions.
• An enthusiasm for developing your clinical knowledge and pursuing further qualifications.
• A collaborative approach, enjoying working alongside colleagues, sharing knowledge and contributing to the wider team.
• A proactive attitude towards learning and continued professional development.

A certificate holder would be particularly welcome, and previous ECC experience would be advantageous, but neither is essential. We're equally interested in an experienced GP vet who is keen to develop a particular clinical interest and would value the opportunities available within our hospital. Above all, we're looking for someone who takes pride in delivering excellent patient care, enjoys working as part of a supportive team and wants to continue developing as a clinician while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. If this sounds like the next step you're looking for, we'd love to hear from you!

Benefits:

• 5 weeks holiday + bank holidays and birthday off (pro-rata for part-time)
• No out-of-hours (OOH)
• RCVS and VDS fees paid
• External CPD funded
• Extensive free online Linnaeus CPD program
• Career progression opportunities
• Staff discount schemes
• Enhanced sickness pay
• Enhanced equal family leave
• Wellness program including:
• Employee assistance program
• Eyecare voucher scheme
• Free annual flu jab
• Cycle to work scheme

Village Vet 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. 

If you would like to apply for the role or for an informal chat to discuss it further, please get in touch with Joanne in the recruitment team [email protected]

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Salary Value: Up to £60,000 per annum;
Salary Description: depending on experience;