Senior & Lead Veterinary Surgeons | Up to £90,000+

Location London
Discipline: Small Animal Vet, Veterinary Surgeons, Clinical Director, Head Vet
Job type: Permanent
Salary: Salaries from £75,000-£90,000+
Contact name: Sophie Gould

Contact email: sophie-paige@lloydandcowan.com
Job ref: 6313
Published: about 1 month ago

Senior / Lead Veterinary Surgeon |London

Senior Vets from £80,000 | Lead Vets from £90,000 | No OOH

We’re partnering with a fast-growing independent veterinary group with a small but growing network of modern clinics across some of Central and West London’s most sought-after neighbourhoods.

This is a particularly strong opportunity for an experienced vet who wants more than another clinical role.

The group is scaling quickly, with further sites planned across London over the coming years, so there is genuine scope to join now, take ownership and grow into broader leadership as the business develops.

They are looking for people who want to help shape how things are done, lead from the front and have a real influence on the team and clinic around them.

The role

Depending on your experience, you could join at Senior Vet or Lead Vet level.

As a Senior Vet, you’ll be expected to manage a strong first-opinion caseload, support colleagues around you and demonstrate the clinical and commercial confidence to progress towards leading a clinic.

As a Lead Vet, you’ll take greater ownership of the day-to-day clinical environment, support and develop a small veterinary team and help drive standards, caseload and performance within your clinic.

You’ll still be very hands-on clinically.

The group is looking for leaders who enjoy being in practice, not people who want to move away from the clinical side.

What the working week looks like

  • Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm with only a 1:3 weekend rota 

  • There are no out-of-hours commitments.

  • Consultations are 30 minutes, giving you proper time with patients and clients.

Days follow a structured template across consultations, surgery and dentistry, so there is consistency to the working week without every day feeling identical.

The clinics also use AI note-taking technology to reduce admin and give vets more time for discharges, follow-ups and client communication.

Late finishes are uncommon, and where additional time is worked, TOIL is given back within the week.

Why this is interesting for a Senior or Lead Vet

The progression piece is genuine.

The business actively promotes from within, and as new clinics open, there will be increasing opportunities for strong vets to take on broader responsibility.

The pathway can look like:

Senior Vet → Lead Vet → Clinical Director / wider operational leadership

For the right person, that could eventually mean taking ownership of a clinic, helping launch new sites and playing a much bigger role in the direction of the group.

If you are already performing at a high level clinically but feel there is nowhere obvious for you to go in your current practice, this could be a very good time to join.

Package

Senior Veterinary Surgeon: from £75-80,000
Lead Veterinary Surgeon: from £90,000

Alongside:

  • No regular OOHs

  • Up to £1,500 CPD allowance

  • Paid CPD days

  • 6.6 weeks’ annual leave inclusive of public holidays

  • RCVS and VDS fees covered

  • Clear internal progression

  • Modern, well-equipped clinics

  • Strong veterinary and nursing support

About you

You’ll need to be MRCVS registered, or eligible to register, and confident across a general small animal caseload.

For Senior and Lead level positions, they are particularly interested in vets who:

  • Are clinically strong and comfortable working cases up properly

  • Lead naturally and support the people around them

  • Bring solutions rather than simply highlighting problems

  • Enjoy change and the pace of a growing business

  • Want greater ownership and responsibility

  • Can balance high clinical standards with a good understanding of how a successful practice operates

  • Want to build something rather than simply inherit an established structure

Interested? This search is being handled exclusively through Lloyd & Cowan.

For a confidential conversation reach out to Sophie Gould | Senior Veterinary Recruitment Specialist | +44 7519 119233 | sophie@lloydandcowan.com

You don’t need to be actively looking. If you’re curious about what the next step beyond Senior or Lead Vet could look like, I’d be happy to talk you through it.