Registered Veterinary Nurse

About the Role

You’ll be joining Avonvale Veterinary Centres in Southam as a Registered Veterinary Nurse on a fixed-term maternity cover contract. This is a full-time position working 40 hours per week, with the option to choose between 1:10 nights or 1:13 weekends at the Warwick hospital base, plus Saturday morning shifts on a 1:8 rota as needed across the branch network. These out-of-hours duties are paid in addition to your base salary.

The practice is a seven-centre group spread across Warwickshire with over 40 years’ experience in small animal care. You’ll be working alongside vets who hold multiple advanced certificates in surgery, imaging, and medicine—meaning a wide variety of cases and very few referrals. Your nursing colleagues are equally skilled and experienced, with some having served the practice for over 35 years.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide nursing support across a full range of small animal cases, from routine consultations to advanced surgical procedures
• Conduct veterinary consultations as part of full nurse utilisation within the practice
• Administer Schedule 3 controlled drugs and manage associated records
• Support advanced nursing techniques including anaesthesia protocols and emergency & critical care (ECC) procedures
• Work collaboratively with Patient Care Assistants to maintain high standards of patient care
• Contribute to out-of-hours coverage on a flexible rota basis (night shifts or weekend on-call as agreed)
• Support professional development of less experienced team members and participate in continuing learning

Requirements

• Current RCVS registration as a Veterinary Nurse
• Self-motivated and proactive approach to nursing practice
• Own transport (required for flexible rota coverage across multiple sites)
• Ability to work as part of a collaborative team
• Willingness to develop specialist skills (anaesthesia, ECC, behaviour, or other areas of interest)

Benefits

• Salary from £29,993 per annum (depending on experience), with out-of-hours payments in addition
• 5 weeks’ holiday plus bank holidays and birthday leave
• RCVS and VDS registration fees paid by the practice
• External CPD funding and access to extensive free online Linnaeus CPD programme
• Career progression opportunities within the Linnaeus group
• Staff discount schemes across the group
• Life assurance and enhanced sickness pay
• Enhanced equal family leave
• E-car salary sacrifice scheme and cycle-to-work scheme
• Recruitment referral reward scheme
• Comprehensive wellness support including employee assistance programme, eyecare vouchers, free annual flu jab, and mental health first aider network

About the Practice

Avonvale Veterinary Centres operates as part of Linnaeus, a forward-thinking partnership of primary care and referral practices across the UK and Ireland. The group comprises seven small animal practices based across Warwickshire, built on over 40 years of experience. The team takes pride in developing employees’ skills and interests within the veterinary profession, supported by RCVS-qualified clinicians and nurses.

Linnaeus is committed to supporting both physical and mental health across all roles. The practice operates a network of Mental Health First Aiders and provides a confidential Employee Assistance Programme for all staff. At its core, the group is driven by a single purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.