Are you a vet looking for truly flexible working, a practice that makes as much room for your outside commitments as it does for your career progression and training? With a fun, friendly, and open-minded team?

If so, come and join our wonderful team at Harrogate Vets4Pets.

"My team and I make sure that everyone who works at the practice feels like a friend as well as a colleague. 

You’re always surrounded by people who are ready to help and are proud of the work you all do together.’

Leigh-Anne, JVP

At Harrogate Vets4Pets we pride ourselves on our kindness, compassion and respect for each other and our clients.  We have worked to foster a calm, collaborative culture so all the team can look forward to going to work and feel supported even on those inevitable more challenging days. 

We see the great variety of cases you would expect in an established general practice and can work-up and treat most of these in-house.  If you are a certificate holder, we are busy enough to keep you entertained; if you are less experienced, we can provide the structure and support you need to progress.  Welcoming peripatetic practitioners in imaging, cardiology, orthopaedics and ophthalmology means we refer very little and our visiting vets are very happy to mentor if you have a specific interest in one of their disciplines. We offer finance to owners and have a good rate of insured pets so we can minimise financial constraints on cases.  We are a silver accredited cat and rabbit friendly practice and our nurses also run de-sensitisation clinics.

This role can be full or part time.  We can cater to someone wishing to work compressed hours or unconventional shift patterns and any surgical or consult bias you may have. Our Saturday rota will be 1 in 4 and you get a day off in the week for working on Saturday from 9am-6pm.  We close on Sundays.  Our rota is arranged well in advance to ensure it works the best it can and whether you’re in a choir, do evening classes, play sports, or have childcare commitments, we want you to be able to do what’s important to you.

I like it here so much I’m prepared to travel an hour each way! – Lil, Senior RVN

You will be joining 3 other vets including Leigh-Anne our JVP, 3 RVNs, 1 SVN, an experienced clinical care team including a Mental Health First Aider and Hatty, our top office dog.  Our practice manager Sue, known as ‘Super Sue’, manages the diary so that we all have the time to think, eat, have longer consults for complex cases, report results and (almost always) leave on time.  If you finish late, you will get time off in lieu or paid overtime. 

As a team, we spend time together outside of work enjoying pub quizzes, dog walks, pottery painting and, in the summer, have the odd post work social in a ‘pop-up’ pub close to the practice.  Last year a group of us completed the Macmillan mighty hike half marathon and this year have started training and fund-raising ready to take on the full marathon. 

It’s the most supportive team I’ve ever worked with - Sue, Practice Manager

We are always looking to improve using the skills and knowledge of all our colleagues.  We hold regular team and practice meetings as well as monthly individual 1 to 1s to ensure everyone has what they need, is progressing as they want to and that we are keeping as up to date as possible.  We foster a ‘no-blame’ culture, implementing learnings from human factors to continuously develop this and are open to any CPD or certification requests.  We welcome students from schools, colleges and universities which is rewarding in itself and has often led to permanent team members.

We are subscribed to Vet CT, send x-rays to our orthopaedic surgeon for a second opinion when needed, have advanced practitioners in a number of disciplines available on a Whatsapp group and Leigh-Anne is always contactable: advice on cases or how to do things is never far away.

‘The practice feels like home- I’ve felt well supported during and after the Grad scheme and have the right balance of challenges and friendliness’- Lucy, Vet

You will find our practice in Harrogate, a beautiful spa town in North Yorkshire.  There is are two great theatres, a vibrant literary scene and the town is really close to the Yorkshire dales for those who enjoy outdoor pursuits. Proximity to Leeds and York allows for excellent transport links for travel by road, rail and to airports. We’re a ten-minute walk away from Starbeck train station.

The practice itself is based in its own building and is large and spacious with windows letting in natural light.  We have air-conditioning for those long, hot days in summer and are situated opposite a beautiful park and next to a supermarket.  We have ‘bean to cup’ coffee and a vast selection of teas. There’s a sandwich van who comes daily if you forget lunch and we have a pantry of food to share. We doubt anyone chooses a job because they sometimes have cake, but just in case you would, ours is often from Bettys bakery as we have many clients who work for them.  And several locums have complimented us on the cleanliness of our toilets!

Our practice is wheelchair accessible; we have a hearing loop and a digital stethoscope and would welcome a discussion about what accessibility means to you.  We are an inclusive practice and believe everyone should be able to be their full selves at work.

When you’re with a team who respect, trust and support each other, you can be at your best. – Leigh-Anne, JVP

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package including:

• Salary between £32K- £70K FTE, dependent on experience and post-graduate qualifications
• 5.6 weeks holiday plus your birthday off (or time off in lieu if it falls on a weekend or bank holiday)
• AXA private health insurance
• RCVS, BVA, VDS membership plus another membership of your choice
• Income protection after 1 year of service
• Relocation allowance
• Funded CPD, including certificates
• First Aid training (human)
• MHFA in practice
• Counselling service
• Discount at Vets4Pets, Pet at Home and the groom and plus exclusive discounts through Our Reward Hub
• And more

We are looking for a team member that shares our values of trust, empathy, respect and openness and who will enjoy being part of a really close, fun and vibrant team.  We would love to meet anyone interested in the role and would welcome them to come and visit us.  Contact Sue to find out more at sue.unsworth@vets4pets.com or call the practice on 01423 886666.