Head Veterinary Nurse

About the Role

Hart Veterinary Centre is a long-established small animal practice in Bicester, caring for pets since 1993. As Head Veterinary Nurse, you'll provide senior clinical and professional leadership across both nursing and clinical governance, working full-time on a 40-hour per week basis. With two Deputy Head Nurses supporting you, you'll have the bandwidth to focus on team development, quality improvement, and shaping the culture of the nursing team.

This is a full-time permanent position offering genuine leadership opportunity in a practice that invests in its people and patients. The practice operates 24-hour in-house emergency cover with dedicated night nurses, meaning your team will support patients around the clock. You'll work alongside a collaborative wider practice leadership team committed to continuous improvement and high clinical standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, support, and develop the nursing team, setting and maintaining high clinical standards
• Oversee all nursing aspects of the practice, supporting delivery of quality patient and client care
• Lead clinical governance and quality improvement initiatives within the nursing department
• Support the day-to-day running of clinical back-of-house areas
• Deliver hands-on nursing care across theatre, inpatient wards, and nurse consultations
• Mentor and guide colleagues, including students and less experienced team members
• Play a key role in shaping practice culture, performance, and ways of working

Requirements

• Registered Veterinary Nurse with the RCVS
• Significant experience in clinical practice with advanced medical and surgical nursing skills
• Proven experience leading, mentoring, and developing nursing teams
• Strong understanding of clinical governance, quality improvement, and professional standards
• Excellent communication, leadership, and organisational skills
• Experienced and confident approach to clinical excellence

Benefits

• Salary up to £38,000 depending on experience, plus £1,000 welcome bonus
• 6.6 weeks' annual leave plus your birthday off
• Increasing holiday allowance based on length of service
• Enhanced family-friendly policies including maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, and surrogacy pay
• Private Medical Insurance
• Healthcare Cash Plan and Cycle to Work scheme
• £550 CPD allowance plus 24 hours paid leave for professional development
• Certificate support
• RCVS and VDS fees covered
• Pension scheme
• Discounted veterinary care
• Voluntary benefits including Green Cars salary sacrifice scheme and access to hundreds of retailer discounts and cashback
• Clear career pathways with progression opportunities into wider practice leadership roles
• Collaborative, values-led culture focused on care, community, and continuous improvement

About the Practice

Hart Veterinary Centre is a family-run small animal practice with surgeries in Bicester and Waddesdon, established since 1993. The Bicester Hospital is RCVS Accredited and equipped with DR x-ray, Idexx diagnostic machines, a dedicated dental suite, modern anaesthetic monitoring, and dedicated inpatient facilities. The practice is also Silver Standard ISFM Cat Clinic accredited with separate areas for cats and dogs to create a calm environment. Hart Vets is one of only approximately 150 veterinary practices nationally with accreditation as a small animal veterinary hospital.

Uniquely in the area, Hart operates 24-hour in-house emergency cover with dedicated night nurses providing the same high standard of care throughout the night. This allows the practice to support local practitioners with emergency and inpatient care while ensuring continuity for its own patients.