Area Director - South West England

At IVC Evidensia, we’re proud to be shaping the future of veterinary care — and we’re continuing to invest heavily in the people, leadership and infrastructure that underpin our practices. As part of this continued growth, we’re looking for an exceptional Area Director to join our Southwest leadership team, with a specific focus on Cornwall.

This is a home-based leadership role requiring extensive travel across the region, working closely with practices to inspire, support and lead high-performing teams.

IVC Evidensia is the UK’s largest veterinary group, united by a commitment to local leadership, clinical freedom and outstanding patient care. Our success is built on empowering practices while providing the right support at the right time.

The Area Director role is pivotal, acting as the strategic bridge between our practices and Central Support, and serving as the visible, trusted face of IVC Evidensia across the region. You’ll lead with authenticity, champion our culture, and create the conditions for our teams to thrive.

Working closely with the Regional Director and Area Support Manager, you’ll provide strategic, operational and commercial leadership across your area. Your focus will be on delivering exceptional clinical quality and client care, while developing sustainable, high-performing teams.

You’ll collaborate with Central Support functions to embed our values — We Care, We Dare, We Share — and play a key role in recruiting, developing and retaining outstanding veterinary talent.

This is a leadership role for someone who enjoys variety, influence and impact, and who thrives on building strong relationships across multiple sites.

You’ll be a confident, emotionally intelligent leader with a passion for people and performance. You’ll bring:

• At least 5 years’ leadership experience, with proven coaching and mentoring capability
• A strong track record of maximising clinical and financial performance
• Deep understanding of clinical and financial KPIs, with the ability to identify and drive improvement
• Excellent people skills — able to engage, motivate, inspire and unite diverse teams
• A collaborative leadership style, comfortable operating with high challenge and high support
• Well-developed emotional intelligence, adapting your approach to what people need, when they need it
• Vision, resilience and agility to lead through change and deliver results
• The confidence to influence, challenge constructively and champion continuous improvement
• Outstanding communication skills, able to clearly articulate strategy with a strong emphasis on the “why” as well as the “what”

• Act as an ambassador for IVC Evidensia values, embedding culture across your area
• Mobilise UK strategy locally by enabling best-practice sharing and strong communication between practices
• Oversee operational and commercial performance across the area
• Drive attraction, engagement and retention of clinical and non-clinical talent
• Line manage Clinical Directors, supporting their development and success
• Work in close partnership with the Area Support Manager, ensuring aligned priorities and delivery
• Support future network planning and growth through insight, analysis and strategic input

• Full and valid UK driving licence
• Willingness to travel extensively across Cornwall and the wider Southwest
• Ability to work up to 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday

• Home-based working with regional autonomy
• A senior leadership role with real influence and visibility
• The opportunity to shape the future of veterinary care within a values-led organisation
• Strong support from a collaborative regional and central leadership team

IVC Evidensia, The Chocolate Factory, Keynsham, BS31 2AU
, United Kingdom

At IVC Evidensia we are a committed to Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Belonging, we are keen to hear from candidates from all minority and diverse groups. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are keen to hear from candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions and would be happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments needed during the recruitment process.

Speak to Margaret Bryson from our recruitment team who would be happy to help you with any questions you have before applying for this role.