Deputy Head Veterinary Nurse

Deputy Head Veterinary Nurse

Ashleigh Vets, Chorlton and Sale

Up to £37,500 depending on experience

Would you like to join our fantastic Ashleigh Team? WE’RE HIRING! Manchester, UK. This is a very exciting, rare opportunity for a full‑time Deputy Head Nurse to join our amazing small animal and exotics team.

Duties for this role will include working with the management team to aid the smooth running of the practice, administrative duties to support and assist the head nurse, assisting/training and caring for nurses and other staff, helping manage the team, including appraisals, holiday requests, RTW interviews and daily rotas. The ideal candidate should be able to act as a mentor, teacher and role model to the staff, leading by example with a positive attitude, high work standard and strong work ethic.

You should have good attention to detail and the ability to delegate fairly where necessary, and be able to liaise between all teams and the management.

On top of the management work there is also the day‑to‑day inpatient care, admits, discharges, anaesthetics, nurse clinics, consult team, pharmacy, ward nurse, recoveries, records and of course client care. This is a great opportunity to work with a variety of species, to a high standard and to help lead a very friendly and supportive practice.

The rota is designed to give a great work life balance, based on 40 hours and a 4 day week (averaged over a 5 week rota period, with 1:5 Saturday and Sunday mornings). Should a 5 day week be preferred to suit your lifestyle better we would happily accommodate this.

Current weekly shifts consist of:

• 8am-7.45pm
• 8am-4:30pm
• 8am-7.45pm
• 8am-4pm

Then a weekday off each week on rotation, giving a long 4 day weekend (Friday to Monday inclusive) 1 in 5 weekends. Any overtime can be claimed as pay or TOIL.

1 in 5 weekends:

• Saturday 8am-12pm
• Sunday 9am-11am

We also work our share of 2 bank holidays each year (mornings only).

Our team consists of 11 vets, including 1 exotic diploma holder, 2 exotic cert holders, and other vets working towards various certificates. We also have 9 RVNs, many of which have the exotic nursing certificate or are studying towards completing this. We are the largest exotic referral practice in the Northwest, in addition to our bustling cat and dog caseload.

With easy access to airports, motorways and the city centre it’s an ideal location, with the lake district, peak district and beaches a short drive away. We are based at two sites:
Chorlton – our main branch has our Small animal work & our Avian and Exotic Referral Clinic. Here we see both first opinion and referral exotic patients as well as cat and dog patients. Sale is our Cat only Clinic where we provide consults and routine surgeries.

We are seeking a friendly, organised, adaptable, and dependable individual who thrives in a fast‑paced environment and can work and lead within a large supportive team as well as independently. What matters most to us is your attitude and your commitment to delivering the highest standards of patient care and championing our values. Any leadership experience you have would be beneficial but is not essential, however a desire to motivate and develop your team through leading is a must.

Exotic animal training in‑house and other courses are encouraged and funded, including the exotic nursing certificate should you wish to pursue this.

Ashleigh vets has been very proudly caring for the pets of south Manchester for the last 50 years and is fortunate to have a lovely client base and good reputation. We are lucky enough to have a wonderful cohesive team. We are looking for someone who has the same values as we do - is this you? We are a supportive, caring, busy practice with fantastic teamwork.

We have great clients and a wide variety of patients! Our aim is to provide a high standard of veterinary care, and we have a great local reputation. We pride ourselves on giving honest advice and we don’t work to targets.

We are RCVS silver accredited, and rabbit welfare silver…