Head ECC Veterinary Nurse

About the Role

Swift Referrals is a multidisciplinary referral hospital purpose-built in 2019, specialising in orthopaedics, neurology, internal medicine, and soft tissue surgery. The dedicated ECC and OOH centre houses a large ICU serving both referral patients and cases from Swift Emergencies, the hospital’s first opinion emergency service. As Head ECC Nurse, you’ll combine hands-on clinical nursing with formal leadership responsibility, reporting to the Clinical Nurse Manager while collaborating closely with Lead RVNs in Medicine & Surgery and the Senior Wards Nurse.

This full-time position operates primarily across a 4-day week with occasional weekend and late shifts to ensure team coverage. A management on-call rota (approximately 1:6 weekends) supports non-clinical emergencies. You’ll lead and develop a dedicated nursing team across Wards, ICU, and OOHs services while maintaining clinical excellence and fostering a culture of continuous learning.

Based in Wetherby, Yorkshire, you’ll work within a state-of-the-art facility featuring a 1.5T Siemens MRI scanner, 128-slice GE CT scanner, doppler ultrasound, endoscopy, arthroscopy, and separate dog and cat wards—giving you access to genuinely complex cases and world-class equipment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a dedicated team of RVNs and ACAs across Wards, ICU, and OOHs services
• Provide day-to-day nursing leadership, supporting performance conversations and development planning
• Work closely with clinicians across all disciplines to deliver gold-standard individualised care to hospitalised patients
• Support team training and development, fostering continuous learning while proactively managing staffing levels to meet service demand
• Maintain clinical standards, efficiency, and a positive team culture
• Deliver complex clinical nursing care including post-operative patient care (soft tissue and orthopaedics), oncology cases, varied OOH caseloads, and ECC/intensive care
• Place and/or maintain central catheters, PICC lines, arterial lines, and other advanced nursing interventions

Requirements

• Registration as a Veterinary Nurse with the RCVS
• Strong clinical nursing experience with confidence supporting complex cases in ECC and/or Wards settings
• Proven experience leading a team and coaching/developing direct reports
• Ability to lead by example, manage workflow, and support team performance
• Strong communication, organisational, and decision-making skills
• Further qualifications in ECC or similar (advantageous but not essential)

Benefits

• Salary: up to £40,000 depending on experience
• 6.8 weeks’ annual leave with increasing 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 salary sacrifice scheme
• £550 CPD allowance plus 24 hours paid leave for professional development
• Certificate support and RCVS and VDS fees covered
• Pension scheme
• Discounted veterinary care
• Voluntary benefits including Green Cars salary sacrifice and access to discounts/cashback with hundreds of retailers
• Clear career pathways with progression opportunities into senior nursing management or specialist roles
• Peer support from the wider IVC Evidensia Referrals network

About the Practice

Swift Referrals is a multidisciplinary referral hospital established in 2019 and built to industry-leading standards. Operating as part of IVC Evidensia, the UK and Europe’s leading veterinary care group comprising over 900 practices and referral hospitals, the facility offers world-class capabilities across orthopaedics, neurology, internal medicine, and soft tissue surgery. The hospital houses a 1.5T Siemens MRI scanner, 128-slice GE CT scanner, doppler ultrasound, endoscopy, arthroscopy, state-of-the-art operating theatres, and dedicated dog and cat wards.

IVC Evidensia is committed to supporting careers without limits—investing in learning, innovation, and wellbeing to create environments where teams grow in confidence, capability, and fulfilment at every career stage. The organisation emphasises diversity, equality, inclusion, and belonging, and is a Disability Confident Employer.