Our patients usually arrive with their humans, so we want a people-loving, animal-loving RVN to join our exceptional and inspiring team!

About You:

Are you an RVN who:

• Will hit the ground raring to go? We love learning so bring your best ideas
• Loves a busy and varied small animal case load perhaps with an area of interest which is crying out to be nurtured and developed?
• Places a high emphasis on client and patient care? This is why we have invested in equipment such as CT, digital x-ray, ultrasound, dental x-ray, tonometry, piped gases, multi-parameter monitoring, gas sterilization, Class IV laser, full laparoscopy tower which integrates with our scopes, and much more
• Enjoys being part of a caring team inside and outside of work? Yes, we really do enjoy working with each other! We are a sociable bunch outside work and enjoy big Practice parties, but also lots of smaller informal nights out, dog walking get -togethers and we even have a Strava running group! We really do look after each other and continuingly strive to create a better workplace with our efforts recognised by being awarded ‘highly commended’ in the last VMG/SPVS Wellness Practice Awards
• Has competent or advanced skills in inpatient care?
• Is comfortable with monitoring anaesthetics for dental, orthopaedic, routine or emergency surgeries?
• Sees doing our own out of hours service as an amazing opportunity for personal development, enjoyment of case continuity and giving the client/patient the numerous benefits of in-house emergency care?
• Can communicate with clarity and compassion? Communication is one of our buzz words!
• Has evidenced competence in undertaking a full range of Nurse Clinics and loves the challenge these present?
• Has an outstanding pet-side manner means that we know the pet couldn’t be in safer hands?
• Has good knowledge and understanding of our feline friends, bunny buddies and canine companions? We have ISFM Gold Standard Cat Friendly Clinic, Silver RWAF Awards and as already mentioned are one of the first UK practices to gain Dog Friendly Clinic status 
• Thrives in a conscientious yet flexible and friendly working environment?
• Wants proactive, supported career progression to develop those skills even more?
• Sees there is more to a job advert than a boring list of obvious stuff? Of course, we do also have all this stuff sorted out, so we have listed some of them below
• Thinks sustainability is something we should all be tackling? We have an Eco Team who champion sustainability within the Practice
• Wants to share your knowledge and experience to train future RVNs and would enjoy being a clinical coach? 
• Wants to work for an independent Practice whose owners are committed, enthusiastic and 100% involved in all areas of the business?

About the Role:

We are looking for a full time, experienced RVN for a varied role including inpatient care, procedures and nurse clinics.  

We think differently to a lot of Veterinary Practices or employers. Our staff usually work at two of the Practices, but potentially all three of our sites when helping to cover holidays and sickness. This adds variety to the working week seeing different clients and working with a variety of colleagues. It also assists development of team spirit.

Ideally, we want someone for 39 hours per week core hours Monday to Friday plus 1:6 weekend mornings. Individual rotas are very flexible, taking into account people’s outside commitments or interests. We will find a rota which both works for you and provides the cover we need. Maximum shift length is 10.5 hours, with a 30-minute paid lunch break. Some staff work 4 days a week (3 slightly longer days and one short one), others prefer a split over 5 days.

Our commitment to our clients and pets means providing them services out of hours with our own team, in our own premises, and with access to their pet’s records. This is a huge benefit for our clients and their pets, but we believe also for our team’s experience development. If you don’t want to undertake out of hours work, thanks for reading this far and we wish you luck with your search. Currently our nursing team undertake a 1:10 ratio of weeknights and weekends with the following Monday off (paid). You will be supported by amazing vet and nurse colleagues whose certificate level knowledge oozes from every corner of the Practice.

“I was working as a locum for Watkins and Tasker Vets for a year and enjoyed it so much that I decided to stay and take a permanent position here. The whole team are great, and I really like the variety of cases that we get to see.” RVN Charlotte

The Benefits: 

We know it isn’t all about working with cute puppies, kittens and geckos… Well maybe it is a little but don’t take our word for it –

“One major selling point about working here (that I'm loving!!) is that the Leadership Team care about making sure we don't overwork ourselves. From my experience, things like being able to leave on time, and as a vet getting time back in lieu when that's not possible, are pretty unheard of elsewhere!” Vet Louise.

As a Real Living Wage Employer, we are committed to paying all our staff a fair wage for their work. All staff receive a wage higher than the Government minimum for over 23s.

Our RVN salary scale:

• Core hours £26,000-£31,000**
• Additional ‘being on call’ payment
• Additional on call working hours at bonus rate
• Additional overtime working hours at bonus rate
• All weekend hours at bonus rate

This means that your earning potential is far higher than the core hours figure **. 

All roles are banded within a frequently reviewed, structured pay scale framework which considers experience and additional skills or qualifications. We promise to treat you like a human being rather than a payroll number. The other benefits we provide to the team include:

• Generous staff discount
• Unlimited CPD budget - if the course is appropriate for you, and also benefits the Practice it’s a win/win!
• Holiday entitlement which increases with length of service
• Your Birthday off – leaving you to enjoy yourself however you want 
• Bonus pay rate per hour for weekend hours, overtime, holiday or sickness cover. Read that again – we pay extra for the extra bits you do which we know impact your work/life balance
• Monday off after weekend on call fully paid plus a protocol to allow time off after a busy week day on call
• Enhanced sick leave which also increases the longer you have worked here
• Employee Reward Provision and Medical benefits via Health Cash Plan
• Online GP and Employee Assistance Programme
• Scottish Widows Pension and access to free financial and mortgage advice
• RCVS fees, VDS cover and professional membership fees
• (Some people don’t like employers mentioning it but there are the refreshments, cakes, biscuits, ice creams, fruit, pizzas etc frequently! And the Christmas Party!)

About Us:

We are a proudly independent, award winning, three site Small Animal Practice based just to the south of Bristol in North Somerset. Our team are dedicated, hard-working and fun-loving. We always pull together to provide the best care for our patients. We have a passionate vision to maintain a culture where individuals can flourish, excel, and lead the way within the profession.

We are a well-equipped, modern, forward-thinking Practice, which has the aim of being the Vets of choice for clients, pets, and staff. We say yes to some slightly different things from hosting wet labs, testing products for manufacturers or just leading the way with new initiatives. We are a Real Living Wage Employer, meaning our entry level pay scales across the whole team start well above the National Minimum Wage. We are very proud of this affiliation. These days there are 62 of us working across our Practices in Portishead, Nailsea and Yatton. We have our team at our beating heart and love the personal feel from being truly independent. 

This mindset allows flexibility with rota, and encouragement for personal development within a supportive environment. With our unlimited CPD budget, most of the clinical team have undertaken or are currently studying for additional qualifications from Certificates in more specialised areas to qualifying as Mental Health First Aiders. Vets Mario, Cristina and Katy are all Advanced Practitioners, and we have even more vets who have either completed or are on their way to completing certificates including medicine, imaging, surgery and exotics. Amongst our team of amazing nurses, we have nurses have also obtained additional certificate level qualifications or who have worked for us since undertaking work experience. Our Front of House and Admin Teams are integral to our client service.

“It is a fun place to work, with people who are 100% committed to working hard to produce a great service for the customers and their colleagues alike. I find everyone to be very helpful and I do feel cared for and appreciated.” Insurance Administrator Jude

We have recently been awarded the renewal of our Investors in the Environment Bronze Award and have implemented various sustainable initiatives as a result. We were also one of the first Practices in the UK to achieve Dog Friendly Clinic status with BVA and the Dogs Trust before its official launch! We are also have accreditations for being cat and rabbit friendly.

Our culture is one of excellence in all we do, forward-thinking development of the Practice and unleashing the potential of our whole team. Communication, teamwork and flexibility are all words we use a lot. We have regular individual catch-up meetings every other month (no stuffy annual appraisals here). The Leadership Team have an open-door policy for ideas, concerns or a chat. We have whole Practice meetings three times a year, where we shut all the sites and get together over lunch. Our Vets, Nurses, Eco and our Practice Development Team all have time to meet to check in, discuss clinical cases or plan projects. Our Christmas Parties are legendary and our first official Summer Social ’23 was a great day and will be making an annual appearance in the future. There are other events and activities which go on from cinema trips, dog walks and go-karting! 

Our sites are spacious, fully equipped and purpose designed and built. Our latest expansion at Portishead completed in May 2022 and provided space for our CT scanner, exotic ward, additional laparoscopy theatre, and created a total of six consulting rooms plus more office space. We have our own in-house rehabilitation service hydro.vet, incorporating a physiotherapy room with therapeutic laser, and our hydrotherapy suite with underwater treadmill. We have big ambitions about where we are going and who is going to get us there! Do you want to join us for the journey too?

To Apply:

Well done for reading this far – we like the commitment! Now we want to hear from you. To apply please send your CV and cover letter explaining about why you want to work with us to: Holly Charlton, Operations Director & Co-Owner via holly@watkins-tasker-vets.co.uk

No agency applications will be considered because we want you to do the introductions! Find us at www.watkins-tasker-vets.co.uk