Night Veterinary Surgeon

About the Role

This is a dedicated night veterinary surgeon role at Village Vet St Albans, a busy 24-hour hospital in Hertfordshire. You'll work 7-night blocks on a 1-week-on, 3-weeks-off rota, giving you focused stretches of night work followed by substantial time off. Your focus is purely hospital-based, so no branch cover or additional commitments outside your scheduled blocks.

You'll manage a varied emergency and inpatient caseload alongside an experienced night nursing team of RVNs and SVNs. The hospital is recently refurbished and fully equipped with theatre, digital dental and general radiography, ultrasound, in-house laboratory, endoscopy, laparoscopic equipment, and separate cat, dog, and isolation wards. Clear handovers and clinical backup are in place, and you'll have time and space to work cases through properly with support available when needed.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage inpatient and emergency cases overnight in a hospital setting
• Work autonomously with clinical confidence, making sound clinical decisions under pressure
• Utilise full hospital diagnostics and theatre facilities available 24/7
• Communicate effectively during handovers between night and day teams
• Support and work collaboratively with the night nursing team
• Maintain clinical standards and hospital protocols throughout night shifts

Requirements

• RCVS registered Veterinary Surgeon
• Minimum 3 years UK veterinary experience
• Confident and experienced in emergency and critical care (ECC) and hospital medicine
• Comfortable managing both inpatient and emergency caseloads independently
• Calm, practical, and reliable under pressure
• Strong communicator with good team working skills

Benefits

• Salary: £85,000 to £95,000 per annum (full-time equivalent) depending on experience, plus bonus scheme
• 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays and birthday leave
• RCVS and VDS fees paid
• External CPD funded
• Extensive free online Linnaeus CPD programme
• Life assurance
• Enhanced sickness pay
• Enhanced equal family leave
• Employer contribution pension scheme
• E-car salary sacrifice scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Eyecare voucher scheme
• Free annual flu jab
• Staff discount schemes
• Employee assistance programme
• Wellness programme including mental health support
• Career progression opportunities within Linnaeus
• Recruitment referral reward scheme

About the Practice

Village Vet St Albans is a well-established 24-hour veterinary hospital with a 6.5 FTE veterinary team including specialists in dentistry, surgery, medicine, and imaging, plus a nursing team of 10 RVNs, SVNs, and patient care assistants. The hospital is fully equipped for inpatient and emergency care with modern diagnostics and theatre facilities.

The practice is part of Linnaeus and Mars Veterinary Health, the largest family-owned veterinary company in the world. Linnaeus is a partnership of primary care and referral practices across the UK and Ireland, with over 6,000 associates. The group is committed to fostering an inclusive culture where staff are empowered, supported, and have access to a comprehensive wellbeing package alongside worldwide development opportunities.