Registered Veterinary Nurse – Small Animal

About the Role

Cootes Veterinary Clinic is seeking a motivated and enthusiastic Registered Veterinary Nurse to join their friendly, established team on a part-time basis. This role offers genuine variety across theatre and surgical support, inpatient care, laboratory work, and nurse-led consultations. You’ll have the opportunity to develop your own nursing clinics—the practice currently runs puppy parties and weight management clinics, and actively supports new ideas from team members.

Working alongside two experienced vets and a supportive clinical team, you’ll gain exposure to a broad caseload with a notable number of exotic patients. The practice is based in a semi-rural location with excellent on-site parking and easy access to Brighton and the South Downs, offering an appealing work environment without the city-centre commute.

This is a part-time position working Mondays and Tuesdays, 10:30am–7:00pm, averaging 16 hours per week, making it ideal for candidates seeking flexibility without sacrificing clinical breadth.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide theatre and surgical nursing support
• Deliver inpatient care and monitoring
• Conduct laboratory work and diagnostics
• Lead nurse-led consultations (puppy parties, weight management clinics, and new initiatives)
• Support a broad small animal and exotic caseload alongside two vets
• Contribute to team learning through visiting specialists for scanning and endoscopy

Requirements

• Current RCVS registration as a Registered Veterinary Nurse
• Proactive and positive approach with enthusiasm for hands-on clinical work
• Experience or interest in exotic patient care
• Ability to work effectively within a small, collaborative team

Benefits

• Salary: Up to £28,121 FTE
• Leave: 6.6 weeks annual leave, plus your birthday as a paid day off, with increasing allowance based on service
• Development: £550 CPD allowance with 24 hours paid pro rata, certificate support, access to the IVC Evidensia Academy, and Vetlexicon online resource
• Wellbeing: Enhanced family-friendly policies (maternity/paternity/adoption/shared parental/surrogacy pay), Private Medical Insurance, Cycle to Work scheme, discounted gym membership, and non-accidental injury support
• Professional Support: VDS cover and RCVS fees covered
• Pension: 5% employee/3% employer contribution
• Additional Perks: Pawsome Benefits (discounts and cashback with 100+ retailers), discounted staff pet care, access to research funding opportunities, and the IVC Evidensia Quality Improvement and Infection Prevention programmes

About the Practice

Cootes Veterinary Clinic is a long-established first-opinion practice with a loyal client base and genuine community spirit, located in semi-rural Burgess Hill. The recently refurbished building provides a bright, spacious, and practical working environment with a large kennel area and well-equipped clinical spaces. The practice boasts digital and dental X-ray facilities, an in-house laboratory, ultrasound, laparoscopic equipment, tonometry, and a Phovia lamp for enhanced diagnostics.

The team is proud of strong client relationships and excellent preventive healthcare uptake, actively engaging with the local community through events like their annual dog show and community grant awards. The practice works closely with its dedicated out-of-hours provider, aims to keep cases in-house wherever possible, and benefits from visiting specialists for scanning and endoscopy to support ongoing team development. Part of IVC Evidensia and Mars Veterinary Health, Cootes combines independent practice values with access to wider group resources and learning opportunities.