Lead Veterinary Surgeon

Lead Veterinary Surgeon

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: £75,000 - £80,000 DOE

What if your next leadership role didn't mean stepping away from the clinical work you enjoy?

At Cinque Ports Vets, we're looking for an experienced veterinary surgeon to become our new Lead Veterinary Surgeon, working across our four practices in Kingsnorth, Rye, Tenterden and Hawkhurst.

This is a role built around clinical variety without sacrificing continuity. You'll be predominantly based at our RCVS-accredited veterinary hospital in Kingsnorth, with a regular day at one of our branch practices. So rather than constantly moving around to fill gaps, you'll have the opportunity to become a familiar face to a particular team, build relationships with clients and patients, and provide genuine continuity of care.

Your week could look something like one day of hospital work, two days consulting and one day surgery, giving you a really satisfying mix of clinical work. If surgery is your passion, there's plenty here to get your teeth into, with laparoscopic equipment, endoscopy and bronchoscopy available across the group.

Alongside the clinical work, there's room to make the role your own. We're keen to support someone who wants to develop medicine, clinical training, mentoring or other areas of clinical leadership across the group. Then there is the lifestyle piece: 40 hours, either four 10-hour days or five 8-hour days, 1 in 5 Saturdays, no out-of-hours and Fridays off.

It's a senior role, but it doesn't have to mean giving up the parts of being a vet that you actually enjoy.

• Clinical variety without the chaos - a planned mix of hospital, consulting and surgery rather than being pulled from branch to branch
• Continuity matters - you'll have a regular branch and regular day, so you can genuinely become part of that team and follow your patients' care
• A hospital base with real clinical depth
  - Kingsnorth is an RCVS-accredited veterinary hospital with access to more advanced diagnostics and surgical facilities
• Room to build your own niche - there is scope to take ownership of medicine, training, mentoring or another area that interests you
• A team that values experience - you'll have plenty of opportunity to share what you know, while learning from colleagues with different clinical interests and expertise
• Leadership without losing your clinical identity - this is about influencing and developing the clinical team while remaining firmly part of it
• A genuinely attractive working pattern - choose between 4 x 10-hour or 5 x 8-hour days, with Fridays off, 1 in 5 Saturdays and no OOH
• Four practices, four personalities - from the hospital environment at Kingsnorth to the character of Rye, the Weald of Kent around Tenterden and the Kent/East Sussex border around Hawkhurst
• A group that takes clinical standards seriously - all four practices are RCVS accredited, with Kingsnorth holding hospital status
• A strong feline focus
  - Kingsnorth is a Gold Cat Friendly Clinic, while Rye, Tenterden and Hawkhurst are Silver Cat Friendly Clinics
• The wider support, development opportunities and clinical network that come with being part of Linnaeus and Mars Veterinary Health

Cinque Ports Vets is a well-established group serving pets and their owners across Kent and East Sussex. Each practice in the group has its own character and local client base, but they work closely together and share access to the wider group's clinical expertise and facilities.

Your main base will be Kingsnorth, home to our RCVS-accredited veterinary hospital. This is the clinical hub of the group, with a…