Veterinary Surgeon – ECC

About the Role

Join Vets Now Southampton's emergency team as a part-time backshift veterinary surgeon. This role exposes you to a diverse range of emergency cases you won't typically encounter in general practice, from routine presentations to complex critical cases. You'll work within a 4-week rolling rota of evening and overnight shifts, with genuine flexibility to adjust your schedule around your lifestyle and clinic needs. As a backshift vet, you'll often work alongside a second vet on shift, creating an environment where knowledge-sharing and collaborative problem-solving are the norm.

The shifts available span Tuesday to Sunday across four rotating weeks, ranging from 19.00 to 23.00 evening slots through to overnight cover from 18.00 to 00.00. You discuss how many shifts suit you, whether that's one per month or building toward full-time hours. This is genuine out-of-hours emergency medicine in a well-resourced ECC setting.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide emergency veterinary care during evening and overnight shifts across Vets Now Southampton's ECC facility
• Work collaboratively with colleagues on complex cases, sharing knowledge and contributing to case discussions
• Assess, diagnose, and treat emergency presentations across a broad range of small animal conditions
• Maintain accurate clinical records and ensure continuity of care with daytime teams
• Contribute to a supportive, learning-focused emergency culture

Requirements

• RCVS registration as a veterinary surgeon (MRCVS)
• Ideally some previous emergency or out-of-hours experience, though Vets Now offers training support including the AdvantEdge programme for vets new to ECC
• Willingness to work a flexible rota of evening and overnight shifts
• Strong clinical judgment and ability to work independently as part of a team

Benefits

• Competitive salary up to £80,000 pro rata depending on experience
• 7 weeks pro rata annual leave
• Birthday as a paid day off
• £1,500 CPD allowance plus 35 paid hours pro rata annually
• ECC certificate support (financial and paid study leave)
• Access to Edge programmes including AdvantEdge for ECC transition support
• RCVS fees, VECCS membership, and VDS cover included
• Private medical insurance
• Enhanced sick pay and enhanced maternity policy (6 months full pay)
• Family-friendly policies including paternity and adoption pay
• UK Standard Pension contributions: 5% employee, 3% employer
• Up to 50% discounted staff pet care
• Death in service benefit (two times annual salary)
• Access to Vets Now For You reward gateway with discounts across 100s of retailers
• Membership of employee wellbeing programme
• Paid volunteering days

About the Practice

Vets Now is the UK's leading out-of-hours emergency veterinary service, operating dedicated emergency clinics across the country. Vets Now Southampton is a highly skilled emergency team providing round-the-clock care when pet owners need it most. The practice is part of Vets Now Group Ltd (Company number SC218632), a well-established ECC provider committed to investing in staff development and wellbeing.

The practice emphasises continuous professional development, offering coaching, mentoring, and structured training programmes including Cutting Edge (for newly qualified vets seeking ECC foundation) and AdvantEdge (for experienced vets transitioning into emergency medicine). Vets Now prides itself on flexibility and supporting its staff to build careers that fit their lives, not the other way around.