Senior Veterinary Surgeon

About the Role

You’ll join PDSA’s Leeds Pet Hospital as a Senior Veterinary Surgeon, leading a clinical team of three vets with plans to expand to five or six as the hospital grows. This is a leadership role with real variety: you’ll split your time between hands-on clinical work—seeing everything from routine cases to complex medical and surgical challenges—and team mentoring and management. The role offers a refreshing work-life balance with no weekend or bank holiday working, and full flexibility to work across four or five days per week to suit your lifestyle.

Leeds is a vibrant, centrally-located hospital with a genuinely collaborative culture. You’ll have access to a wide pool of clinical knowledge across the team, strong peer support from regional colleagues, and a modern facility equipped with separate dog and cat kennels, in-house radiography, ultrasound, endoscopy, piped gases, and extensive orthopaedic kit. Every day brings variety and the chance to develop your skills while helping people in financial hardship keep their pets.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead clinical cases with confidence, providing sound judgement and pragmatic decision-making across a diverse caseload
• Mentor and coach a team of three vets, embedding high clinical standards, good governance, and a supportive culture as the team grows
• Provide second opinions to colleagues and support collaborative case discussions
• Communicate clearly with pet owners about treatment plans, explaining realistic, evidence-based options in an accessible way
• Work closely with the wider clinical and client service teams to ensure joined-up, compassionate care
• Balance clinical duties with management responsibilities, contributing to hospital development and team leadership

Requirements

• Qualified veterinary surgeon with strong clinical confidence and experience managing complex cases
• Proven leadership ability or clear appetite to develop as a mentor and team leader
• Excellent communication skills with both pet owners and clinical colleagues
• Sound clinical judgement and a calm, pragmatic approach to problem-solving
• Full RCVS registration and good standing

Benefits

• Salary: £67,530 – £80,000 (including allowances) per year, full-time permanent role
• Work-life balance: No weekend or bank holiday working; flexibility to work four or five days per week
• CPD: One week’s paid CPD time plus £1,000 annual allowance for development; access to extensive internal CPD programmes and discounts for BSAVA Congress and London Vet Show
• Professional fees: Full payment of RCVS fees—never out of pocket
• Holiday: 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, with the option to buy or sell up to five extra days
• Special paid days: Three annual paid days for Volunteering, Celebration, and Wellbeing
• Pension: Generous scheme with PDSA contributions starting at 5% and rising to 10%
• Life assurance: Cover worth four times your annual salary
• Wellbeing: AXA Health Employee Assistance Programme providing 24/7 support and private medical cover included
• Family-friendly: Enhanced maternity, paternity, and adoption leave
• Perks: 10% discount on PDSA Pet Insurance, access to staff veterinary services, and retail/holiday/lifestyle discounts via Fetch benefits platform
• Leadership support: Internal leadership training and ongoing mentoring to help you thrive in the role

About the Practice

PDSA is a national veterinary charity founded over a century ago, dedicated to providing vital veterinary care for the pets of people in financial hardship. The Leeds Pet Hospital is a modern, well-equipped facility at the heart of the city with excellent transport links. The team is collaborative and clinically curious, with varied interests creating a rich learning environment. You’ll benefit from a strong support network across PDSA’s regional hospitals and managers, ensuring peer support whenever you need it.

PDSA is committed to diversity, inclusion, and flexible working. The organisation offers family-friendly policies and reasonable adjustments to support team members from all backgrounds. All appointments are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate background checks.