Veterinary Team Leader Wanted for Fun, Friendly SA Practice, London.
Are you a generally positive vet who plays well with others, is enjoying their career, but is now considering what comes next?
Are you curious about leading and running a practice and have been thinking for a while that if you had your own practice you’d do things differently?
Would you like to take your first steps in leadership supported by a highly experienced (and available) mentor so you avoid problems and get it right?
Do you have at least five years of experience and have mastered the basics of surgery, medicine, dentistry and diagnostics?
Would you like to affordably own a share in an independent practice at some point that is committed to being an example of how to do it better in vet med?
Are you a bit of a self-improvement junkie; open to learning new things and bettering yourself?
Have you experienced a few failures that have helped you become a better person?
If so, please read on, we're looking for a new team leader to help continue the journey we began four years ago at Roundwood Vets.
About You
You’ll be a veterinarian with at least five years of experience in veterinary practice, the most recent three of which have been spent as a companion animal vet. You’ll be at the stage where you still get a thrill from new cases and problem-solving. You can now confidently cut a foreign body, perform a tricky dental, or manage a “finicky” diabetic case (you know the ones!).
People are as much a part of your passion as pets - put another way, you quite like humans! This is super important, if you connect with everything else in this job advert but not people, then it’s really not worth reading on. Lots of people are in vet med because they don’t like people. But I’m not looking to work with anyone in this role who thinks that way because good culture can’t exist where good relationships don’t develop.
Speaking of people, your colleagues like and respect you as much for the way you treat them as the medical skills you possess. You are kind, definitely not a pushover, but respectful and have control over your emotions so when conflicts arise, you are able to work through the moment and find a way for everyone to get what they need.
You’ll be starting to get twitchy about things you might do differently if you were in charge and had the freedom to make changes. You’re probably having ideas about how to market the practice using newer methods or invest in more modern equipment, telemedicine or any one of the exciting new things that are happening in our sector. In fact, you might even be at the point of thinking, screw it, let’s tear up the manual and start over!
You’ll have begun an exploration of topics beyond veterinary medicine and be an avid reader and attendee of conferences. Your friends think you’re a bit of a learning junkie and information sponge. You’re hungry to learn from others but perhaps haven’t found the right people or networks to help you succeed.
Your values matter a lot and you live by them, they are things like, honesty, humility, working hard and playing soft, caring for others, loyalty, conscientiousness, fun and openness.
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About Roundwood Vets
Four years ago we took over a single vet, slightly broken practice. In that time, we’ve seen it grow to five times the size, changed our client base and purchased all the equipment you’d expect in a modern vet hospital. Plus we’ve slowly developed the building so it is a pleasant place you can be proud of coming to work.
We have grown by focussing on looking after clients, each other and pets. We’re a tight-knit team. And now we have an opening to take on a new clinical director with experience to lead the team.
When you join us you can expect great development and growth opportunities - particularly in your leadership skills.
We also work to a high standard. So, for example, to perform our anaesthetics, we use the best drugs and everything gets fluids. We use anaesthetic monitors, we use safe heating blankets, we train, we record incidents and we review our practices and processes in a no-blame way. So it’s the safest it can be for our patients.
With our dentals (we do a lot of these), we take radiographs and photos of everything. We use the best, well-maintained equipment. We have access to brilliant online training materials. We practice our skills on cadavers.
This is the way we try to approach our work, and we’re a long way from getting it perfect every day. But we try, and a lot of days we get close. Which makes us happy, because safe happy, healthy pets are why we get out of bed.
You can also expect a friendly, welcoming and open culture from top to bottom. Ego isn’t a welcome guest here. We want humble team-mates. But that doesn’t mean meek, our team are great fun and have a good laugh. None of us is the finished article, we’re all learning, growing and moving forward. And we want a leader to work with us who thinks the same way. Someone who wants to get better, who call us out when we might be wrong, who gently steer us back in the right direction. With compassion, kindness and love. And someone who can receive feedback as well as take it.
Again, do we get this right each day? Of course not, but when we get it wrong we are smart enough to say sorry and fix any issues fast. Because team harmony and great culture are what help us to stand out from the rest.
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About The Opportunity
We are now looking for a vet to take over the reins as the clinical director and team leader in Roundwood Vets.
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The plan is that when you join you will have the opportunity, after a probationary period where we get to know each other (and if you want this), to buy into the business and also earn a larger share in the practice in return for your work. At a time when practice ownership is so expensive that many vets cannot afford, this is a great opportunity to take your first steps as an owner without having to break the bank.
Don't worry if you do not yet feel like a great leader, we are all about growing together. And you will be getting training and mentoring from super-experienced vet and leadership expert Dr Dave Nicol.
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Ok, so let’s talk about the role in a bit more detail. At its simplest you’ll be expected to do the following (This is not an exhaustive list):
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Be responsible for day-to-day management of the business - making sure the team, clients and pets are happy and get what they need.
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Making clinical decisions and developing/implementing standards of care that work for everyone.
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Your clinical caseload.
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Team training and development.
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Culture curation and daily team leadership.
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Plan (together) what the next evolution of the practice will look like and how it will run.
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Driving innovation and change as we try out new things to improve the practice.
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Working with the practice manager to deliver the strategy.
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Invest some capital in the business - when you feel comfortable to do so.
In return you’ll receive:
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One-to-one leadership development coaching and membership of the VetX:Leaders community.
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A great working relationship with a good partner and also to be a pivotal part of a wider project to do good in veterinary medicine.
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A fair basic salary dependent on skillset.
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A performance-related bonus.
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The chance to receive equity in return for results.
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The option to purchase shares at a significant discount.
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A dividend payment in proportion to your shareholding.
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Greater control of your own destiny.
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The freedom to do things differently while learning new skills.
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Generous CPD allowance.
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Health insurance.
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Perkbox membership.
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RCVS fees paid.
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Because 13 feels like a bad number to end a bullet list on!
What’s Next?
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If you are ready to move beyond being a vet and want to become part of a team with genuine partnership prospects then I’d be grateful to hear from you. The first step is to express your interest by completing the form below.
Your application will be treated and held in the strictest confidence.
Meet Dr Hannah Parkin our practice owner.
Meet Becky one of our veterinary nurses.
Meet Janice one of our veterinary care assistants
ACE BEAN
"The treatment that we got for Ace was brilliant. The team kept us informed at all times and the friendly atmosphere of the practice also gave us a lot of confidence that we made the right choice"
LOKI O'BRIEN
“Everyone in the lovely Roundwood Vets team is so warm and conscientious. I’m so impressed with the care and treatment they’ve provided for my nervous rescue dog”
Whiskey benjamin
"Dr Hannah and her team are the most caring professionals, my pets cannot be in better hands."