Head Veterinary Nurse

Wanstead Veterinary Hospital……what can we say. It is our largest hospital in the group, and this established 24-hour site is looking for a special individual to take the reins and get stuck into this Head Nurse position!

Before we delve into the nitty gritty, here is what we offer you:

​

The salary band for this full-time role is £39,000 to £43,500 depending on experience and allowing room for growth within the role.

This is a full-time position with a weekend rotation, and approximately 1:7 manager on-call weekends (you are not required to attend the hospital if called).

As a Goddard RVN you will benefit from:

​

- 6.6 weeks annual leave including bank holidays

- 2 days paid CPD leave every year

- Additional responsibility allowance (where applicable)

- Relocation assistance (where applicable)

- Generous colleague introduction reward

- 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme

- RCVS and BVNA fees covered

- The opportunity to join our private medical insurance scheme at a reduced rate, as well as a medical cashback plan involving refunds on many routine medical costs such as dental care, physiotherapy, optician, chiropractic fees, and more

- Shopping discounts

- Generous colleague discounts

- Petplan 20% colleague discount

About the role

​

This is a key role within the hospital leadership team, and together with the hospital manager, deputy hospital manager and head vet, you will play an integral part in delivering operational excellence, outstanding patient care and invaluable support to its large team of highly skilled nurses.

This role could suit an RVN with experience in delivering high standards within a referral centre or busy hospital environment and is already either in a head nurse position or is highly experienced and now looking for a management position, while being able to still spend that valuable time with patients.

You will motivate and inspire a large team of RVNs, students and nursing assistants, including a deputy head nurse and large senior nursing team. You will use your extensive nursing expertise to lead your team to provide the highest standard of clinical care for our patients and service for our clients.

Your duties will include and are not limited to:

-Managing new colleague inductions

-Performing 4-week, 3 months, and 6 months reviews

-Managing the on the day rota and cover required when there is sickness

-Scheduling and running team meetings for RVNs, SVNs, VCAs, Night nursing team, and attending other departmental meetings

-Lab equipment EQA and maintenance

-Diary management

-Overseeing Dental Suite and equipment

-Overseeing the stray committee and rehoming

-Oversight in nurse rota

-Assist in clinical duties on the hospital floor

You will also have up to 3 admin days per week giving you ample time to conduct your 121’s with colleagues and catch up on day-to-day administrative tasks.

​

Wanstead Veterinary Hospital sees an incredibly diverse caseload, no day is the same, it’s a great environment to work alongside our talented team of certificate holders and specialists. The Hospital provides an excellent first opinion, emergency, critical care, and referral service to our clients and local network of 20 branches and work to the highest clinical standards.

You will be working alongside a large team consisting of approximately 24 vets, 27 RVNs, 14 SVNs, 7 VCAs and a large front of house team who are integral in maintaining excellent client care.

There is fantastic diagnostic support at Wanstead, including a CT scanner, a commercial laboratory, a strong medical team, and experienced surgeons routinely conducting advanced orthopaedic, soft tissue, and minimally invasive surgery all available on site.

Our head nurse will be engaging, demonstrate the upmost positivity and provide strong leadership for their team. This really is a fantastic opportunity for a skilled RVN to get their teeth stuck into a new challenge and promote positive change.

Wanstead itself is on the outskirts of leafy Essex but has quick and direct transport links that take you straight into all areas of London! There is a bustling café and restaurant culture in Wanstead so you will never be short of places to visit for a treat.

About us

​

In 2022 we celebrated our 70th anniversary and have 46 branches, 3 hospitals and our own nurse training college. We value all of our colleagues, and our forward-looking approach means we have introduced a Colleague Forum to listen to our peers’ views, as well as monthly Town Hall meetings with our board of directors, communicating real time updates, taking polls with live Q&A’s to ensure we're making the right, collaborative decisions for our people. All our senior managers are mental health first aid trained and we offer Wellness plans for all our new starters.

If you can see yourself in this role press apply now, and within 60 seconds your application will be with our recruitment manager Rose. Alternatively, please feel free to email her directly at rstanton@goddardvetgroup.co.uk for any other queries or to simply arrange a call and have a chat about other opportunities!