Veterinary Surgeon (3531)

Our expert team provides life saving veterinary care to thousands of animals rescued by RSPCA frontline officers. Unlike private veterinary practices, our focus is exclusively on rescued, stray, neglected and abused animals rather than owned pets.

Working hours: This is a casual role (zero hour contract) consisting of a 7 hour day, generally from 8am to 3.30pm. 

You will be filling in gaps in the routine hospital roster whilst our full time vets are redeployed to support the Inspectorate with case work, attend court, deal with large unpredictable influxes of animals that require veterinary care.

Location: The Hospital is based in a lovely rural setting, has excellent motorway access and is 20 minutes drive from central Birmingham. It consists of a friendly and enthusiastic team of 9 vets, 22 RVNs and 9 support staff. We have an excellent range of facilities and equipment.

Are you ready to join our movement?

Our recruitment journey – key dates for you to note

Here's what the process looks like, no surprises, just a friendly guide:

1. Application
   You'll be asked to answer some questions to give us a sense of your experience, skills, and potential. Don't worry if you don't tick every box - what really matters is what you can bring to the role and the team.
2. Panel Interview
   If your application is successful, you'll be invited to a panel interview with the Hiring Manager. This is a chance to:

• Share more about what you've done and what you're proud of
• We encourage you to ask questions about the role, the team, and the impact you could make. Interviews are a two-way conversation, and we recognise that any career move needs to feel right for you as well as for us.
• Show off your skills and behaviours in a relaxed, supportive setting

If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, just let us know - we're happy to support you.

This is a shelter medicine based role and comprises nearly 100% small animal companion work (with a small amount of wildlife). We are looking for a vet that is confident in consulting with pragmatic welfare oriented decision making and has a strong interest in shelter work. 

Your work will consist of:

• Examination and treatment of injured/ ill strays and victims of cruelty
• Shelter medicine for the onsite animal rehoming centre, and other RSPCA centres/branches
• Implementing RSPCA policies in regards to the re-homability of animals.
• Providing veterinary opinion and support for welfare prosecution cases.
• Casework and forensics  - assessment, witness report writing, possible court attendance (training will be given)
• Wildlife Triage
• There may be potential for undertaking general surgery and diagnostics.

We're looking for a pragmatic Vet with experience working in a charity or shelter medicine environment.

• Membership of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
• At least 3 years clinical experience
• Excellent time management skills
• Ability to work autonomously and make informed decisions using RSPCA guidelines
• Great communication skills with the ability to explain complex clinical and welfare decisions in a clear and compassionate way to a variety of non-clinical staff.

Successful candidates for certain RSPCA roles will need to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK as we are unable to sponsor visas.

We want to ensure we do all we can to give you a positive candidate experience through our recruitment. Whilst we do try to give feedback where we can, sometimes due to receiving high levels of applications, this may not always be possible

Our vision is a world where all animals are respected and treated with kindness and compassion. Our purpose is to inspire everyone to create a better world for animals. We are building the future of a diverse Society, and our priority is to support animal welfare by finding people from all backgrounds who are committed  to our purpose.  For this reason we actively encourage a wide diversity of applications - in particular from members of minority ethnic groups, and people with disabilities - as these candidates are currently under-represented at the RSPCA. Your transferable skills & lived experiences could make you a valuable addition to our RSPCA Family! 

We're here to support you and encourage you to let us know if you need any adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. Please feel free to contact us at resourcingteam@rspca.org.uk or 0300 123 0685 so we can ensure the process works for you.