Animal Care Assistant - Victoria Animal Hospital

Animal Care Assistant - Victoria Animal Hospital

Final date to receive applications: 19 February 2026

Department: Veterinary Services

Employment Type: Permanent - Part Time

Location: Victoria animal hospital

Reporting To: Deputy Nurse Manager

Compensation: £26,872 / year

Contract: Permanent, part time (34 hours over 4 days per week)

Salary: £26,872 plus £3,954 London Weighting Allowance per annum

Location: Victoria animal hospital, London SW1V 1QQ

Closing date: Thursday 19th February 2026

Interview date: 4th and 6th March 2026

Since June 1999, we've been a cornerstone of the Victoria community, delivering veterinary services to over 10,000 unique pets every year. From routine procedures like neutering to intricate surgeries and advanced diagnostics, our hospital offers a comprehensive range of treatments. Join us as an animal care assistant to make a difference to our community every day!

Blue Cross animal hospitals and pet care clinics play a vital role in providing veterinary treatment to sick and injured pets, particularly when their owners are unable to afford private veterinary fees. Our veterinary care services are accessible to pets whose owners receive certain means-tested benefits and reside within the catchment area of one of our animal hospitals or pet care clinics.

Our Animal Care Assistants have a key role in our fast-paced hospitals, providing a high standard of care to the pets in our hospitals and providing support to their owners. They do this by providing the highest level of animal care and customer service with empathy and a non-judgmental mindset in all situations.

Each day will see you providing care to the pets in our hospitals which includes cleaning, feeding, exercising, grooming, laundry and administering treatment, dealing with clients on our busy reception, dispensing medication and taking payments. You will be monitoring our patient’s health, wellbeing and behaviour as well as those recovering from anaesthetic.

Working closely with our Vets and Nurses, you will be assisting them with the preparation of patients and operating theatre for surgery.

This is a part time position working 34 hours per week with a one hour paid lunch break on a rota to include weekends and public holidays. Due to the nature of the work of Blue Cross, and this post, it may be necessary to exceed these hours when the workload demands.

The ideal candidate for this role is someone who has previous experience in a veterinary support role which may have been in a vet practice, or kennel setting. As well as the practical animal handling skills, we would ideally like someone who has experience working in a busy reception alongside their animal care role who feels confident in both animal facing and customer facing environments, however this is not essential.

With great communication skills they will be able to speak to a wide variety of people. Working in an animal hospital can involve supporting clients that are distressed, therefore, you will be able to work in an emotionally charged environment and have excellent bounce back ability and resilience, with ability to keep calm under pressure and re-prioritise tasks where needed. This person will be emotionally intelligent, showing empathy and knowing how to support clients and colleagues.

You will have a genuine desire to improve the lives of pets and their clients and be proactive in the promotion and delivery of Blue Cross aims.

Knowledge, skills, and experience:

• Experience working or volunteering in a veterinary practice or within a similar role
• Good communication skills, both written and verbal
• IT literate with MS Office and web-based databases and platforms

Although not essential, it would be great if you also had:

• Experience with in a reception or client care role
• Qualification in Animal Care or similar
• The ability to observe changes in animals health and wellbeing
• The ability to interact face to face with clients and visitors and communicate effectively with a range of people

Click the apply button below and complete the online application process before the closing date. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response.

Our people are the most important part of delivering our purpose. If it were not for their amazing efforts and commitment, we would not be able to make the difference that we do today.

In return, Blue Cross wants to ensure we provide you with the best working environment we can. We want you to be happy working for us and will do everything we can to make sure you are.

Our generous benefits package includes:

• Full time equivalent of 38 days holiday rising to 43 with service (including Bank Holidays)
• Programs for physical and mental wellbeing support
• Free access to GP via Met Life- 24/7 GP services, private prescriptions and more for you and your family
• Health cash plan
• Unlimited access to an employee assistance programme
• Pension scheme with enhanced employer…