Senior Director of Operations, Veterinary Services

About the Team

Pet Smart Veterinary Services (PVS) is an independent veterinary ownership model that is rapidly growing inside Pet Smart locations in the US and Puerto Rico. PVS provides a complete solution for veterinarians to open their own franchised veterinary practice. Launched in 2022, PVS hospitals connect pet parents with local, trusted veterinarians with convenient veterinarian hospital locations within Pet Smart stores. It’s a simple but powerful solution that gives veterinarians ownership and control of their practice while providing high-quality veterinary care.

At Pet Smart, teamwork and connection are core to how we thrive. This role is based at our Phoenix Home Office, with an expectation of working a minimum of four days in the office each week. In a standard work week, associates may work up to one remote “flex day” (with leader approval). Our hybrid approach is designed to foster strong collaboration while also supporting flexibility and individual success.

The Senior Director of Operations, Veterinary Services will lead the operational strategy and execution for veterinary services across locations nationwide. This role is responsible for ensuring clinical and operational excellence, fostering effective relationships with franchise partners, and delivering a consistent, high-quality client and pet experience. The ideal candidate possesses in-depth expertise in multi‑site healthcare or veterinary operations, experience supporting franchised and/or joint‑venture businesses, and a passion for delivering exceptional service in a mission‑driven environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Operational Leadership: Oversee the day‑to‑day operations of veterinary hospitals within locations, ensuring alignment with service, safety, compliance, and customer care standards.
• Franchise Consulting & Enablement: Serve as a strategic advisor to hospital operators, offering operational guidance and support related to hospital performance, staffing models, customer service, and adherence to brand and regulatory standards.
• Client & Customer
  
  Experience:
  
  Champion a pet‑ and client‑first culture by ensuring that all veterinary services deliver compassionate, consistent, and professional care—partner with internal teams to implement customer experience standards, client feedback loops, and service recovery models.
• Field Team Management: Lead a geographically dispersed team of field leaders, ensuring they are equipped to support both operational performance and customer satisfaction initiatives at the hospital level.
• Strategic Implementation: Partner with executive leadership on the rollout of strategic initiatives, including new hospital openings, service expansions, and brand‑aligned experience improvements.
• Financial Stewardship: Manage P&L performance for hospitals. Support hospital operators with operational benchmarking and business planning to drive sustainable growth and profitability.
• Regulatory & Clinical Compliance: Ensure all veterinary operations meet or exceed state, federal, and company standards for veterinary care, safety, and documentation.
• Cross‑Functional
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Collaborate with Store Operations, Real Estate, Marketing, HR, Legal, and Customer Experience teams to support the seamless integration of veterinary services into the broader retail environment.

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in operations, preferably within veterinary and/or healthcare services, multi‑site operations, or franchised consumer services.
• Demonstrated experience advising or supporting franchisees, joint‑venture operations and/or independent operators.
• Proven track record of driving customer experience initiatives in a clinical or retail environment.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Healthcare Administration, or related field; MBA or similar advanced degree preferred.
• Deep financial acumen, including P&L management and budget forecasting.
• Ability to lead and inspire cross‑functional and geographically distributed teams.
• In‑depth understanding of veterinary industry operations, clinical workflows, and regulatory standards.
• Exceptional…