Lead Veterinary Surgeon

Lead Veterinary Surgeon – Emergency and Critical Care (ECC)

Location: Middlesbrough
Salary: Up to £90,000 DOE
Bonus: £10,000 Welcome Bonus plus up to £5,000 Relocation Allowance
Contract Type: Full-time or Part-Time, Permanent

Collaborate, thrive, and save pets’ lives

Vets Now Middlesbrough are welcoming applications from Out of Hours (OOH) Veterinary Surgeons with a passion for Emergency and Critical Care to join their team on a full-time or part-time basis. Vets Now is the UK’s leading provider of emergency veterinary care, with a nationwide network of out of hours clinics and 24/7 emergency hospitals. As part of Inspiring Vet Care, our teams make a difference to pets and their owners when they need us most.

At Vets Now, we believe that when your purpose is to make a difference, you deserve a team that shares your passion. In our Middlesbrough clinic, we’re looking for a Head/Lead Veterinary Surgeon to lead from the front, inspiring clinical excellence and guiding a collaborative team.

Working within a well-established service, you'll collaborate with an experienced multidisciplinary team dedicated to delivering exceptional patient care. As part of the wider Vets Now network, the clinic plays a vital role in providing trusted emergency care to pets across Middlesbrough and the surrounding communities.

Lead with Clinical Excellence

As Lead Vet, you'll lead by example by blending clinical expertise with mentorship and collaboration. You'll set the tone for quality care, lead in emergency situations, and support the development of your fellow clinicians.

You'll have responsibility for:

• Driving and upholding clinical standards across the clinic
• Supporting the growth, training and wellbeing of your veterinary team
• Identifying clinical development opportunities and shaping team progression
• Championing innovation and service improvement within the clinic

This is more than a job. This is a vital leadership role with real impact where your guidance helps shape the future of ECC, while making a difference to patients, clients, and colleagues every day.

Work-Life Balance That Works For You

This full-time role averages 40 hours per week, including:

• Weekday and weekend night shifts: 19:00 – 09:00 (Monday–Sunday)
• Saturday day shifts: 12:00 – 19:30
• Sunday day shifts: 08:30 – 19:30
• Saturday back shifts: 15:00 – 21:00
• Sunday back shifts: 11:00 – 21:00
• Shared bank holidays
• No more than three consecutive night
• Protected time for leadership duties and meetings

We understand that life outside of work matters too. That’s why we offer flexibility and can explore part-time arrangements, depending on clinic requirements because your balance is our priority.

Rewarding Work, Your Way

We look after you, so you can look after them, by offering a highly competitive salary and a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Up to £90,000 salary DOE
• £10,000 Recognition Bonus
• Up to £5,000 Relocation Allowance
• Seven weeks pro rata annual leave
• £1,875 CPD allowance + 35 paid CPD hours (pro rata)
• RCVS fees, VECCS membership, and VDS cover
• Private medical insurance
• Family-friendly policies - enhanced maternity, paternity & adoption pay
• Leadership Development Programme
• Access to our AdvantEdge clinical training platform
• Standard pension contributions (5% employee / 3% employer)
• Up to 50% discounted pet care

Support That Sets You Up for Success

You're never alone at Vets Now: on shift you'll work alongside a registered veterinary nurse, an animal care assistant and a receptionist, and you can contact any of our clinics or referral centres across the UK at any time, day or night if you need to discuss a particular case or share ideas.

You'll also be supported by our Support Office in Dunfermline, where our teams work behind the scenes to help you thrive. Our Call Handlers and Customer Care Advisors ensure you can focus on what matters most to your patients.

Ready to Lead with Purpose?

If you'd like to visit the clinic or chat about the role before applying, contact Anne in our Talent Team at [email protected]

Inclusion and Accessibility

We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability or health condition, we're committed to making reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process.