Small Animal Veterinary Surgeon

Are you looking for clinical freedom, real support and a 3.5-day week?

Bishop’s Stortford Vets, an independent, 16-vet small animal hospital in beautiful Hertfordshire, has been part of the community for over 120 years. We achieved RCVS-accredited status in 1985 and continually invest in the latest equipment and training to provide the highest standards of patient and client care.

Our friendly, close-knit team has many years of experience, enabling us to handle and manage the majority of cases in-house, including most soft-tissue surgeries and orthopaedics. We also have exciting plans ahead, with an extensive refurbishment on the way.

We have a wide range of interests within the team. Neil is passionate about both orthopaedic and soft tissue surgery and is always happy to help with unusual or tricky cases. Ruth has a small animal internal medicine certificate and enjoys cardiac ultrasound. Poppy has completed her surgery certificate and is also leading our drive to become more sustainable. Rachael holds an ECC certificate, bringing valuable expertise in emergency and critical care to the team.

Suzie is currently working towards her surgery certificate, while Henry is pursuing a medicine certificate. Rosemary is interested in behaviour and is our go‑to person for these sometimes‑tricky cases. Freya is exploring a certificate in hospice and palliative care, and Sarah, Olly, Chloe, Kate, Ruth, Sam and Aphra complete our clinical team along with Lauren, our VetGDP advisor, who is supporting our new graduate, Georgia.

We have a superb nursing team of 29 RVNs, SVNs, and ACAs and an excellent admin team who keep everything running smoothly. We are also fortunate to have the expertise of our in‑house laboratory manager and a qualified Canine Hydrotherapist, enabling us to offer hydrotherapy onsite. On the rare occasion we need to refer, we benefit from having multiple referral hospitals within a 40‑minute drive of the practice.

You’ll have access to everything you’d expect in a well‑equipped hospital:

• Digital x‑ray
• Doppler and high‑spec ultrasound
• Dental suite with dental X‑ray
• Flexible video‑endoscopy
• Laparoscopy (being introduced)
• Operating microscope & slit lamp
• ASIF kit
• Full in‑house lab
• Laser therapy & hydrotherapy

If there’s something you need, we’re open to investing in it. Our independence means we have the flexibility to make decisions based on clinical needs.

If you are a surgeon who has perhaps finished your Vet GDP but doesn’t want to lose support while you grow, this role could be exactly what you’re looking for. If there’s an area of veterinary medicine you’re already passionate about, or one you’re curious to explore, we’ve got the right mix of interesting cases, hands‑on support, and funding to help you take that next step, including starting a certificate if that’s where you’re headed.

You’ll be working alongside a great bunch of people in a practice where sharing knowledge and supporting each other is just part of daily life. Our partners are hands‑on clinicians, always available for a second opinion, to scrub in with you, or to talk through a tricky case. There is always someone to support you both clinically and practically.

Our daily schedule is designed with support in mind, with a minimum of three vets for consultations and two on ops each day, so you’re never without a second opinion (or a spare pair of hands). We also have an active clinical Whats App group for vets and hold regular in‑house CPD sessions, so there’s always something new to learn and someone to learn it with.

Full‑time for this role is a 3.5‑day week.

For seven weeks out of nine, you’ll finish at 1 pm once a week — effectively giving you a 3.5‑day week. The remaining two weeks have a 5 pm early finish.

We provide our own out‑of‑hours care, which means:

• You follow your cases through
• You build confidence faster
• You’re never left without backup
• An RVN is on‑site 24/7 for inpatient care.

We’ve split the OOH weekends so nobody works a full weekend on call (equivalent to 1:9). This approach has significantly improved work‑life balance across the team.

There is accommodation available in a separate flat…