Veterinary Surgeon

Job Title: Veterinary Surgeon

Location: Kingsnorth and Tenterden

Hours: Full time – 40 hours per week, 4 x 10 or 5 x 8. No OOH. 1:5 Saturdays.

Practice: Cinque Ports Vets

Salary: £45,000 - £55,000 per annum for 2+ years UK experience.

Salary: £60,000 - £70,000 per annum for 5+ years UK experience.

£5,000 welcome bonus for direct candidates.

A veterinary role with clinical variety, continuity and room to develop

Looking for a veterinary role where you can enjoy a varied caseload, develop your clinical interests and still have the support of a wider team around you? At Cinque Ports Vets, we're looking for an experienced Veterinary Surgeon to join our team across Kingsnorth and Tenterden. 

You'll be predominantly based at our RCVS-accredited veterinary hospital in Kingsnorth, with regular time at one of our branch practices in Tenterden. This gives you the clinical depth of a hospital environment alongside the opportunity to become a familiar face to the team, build relationships with clients and patients, and provide genuine continuity of care.

Your caseload will include consulting, medicine and surgery, with plenty of opportunity to work cases up properly. If surgery is your passion, there's lots to get excited about, with laparoscopic equipment, endoscopy and bronchoscopy available across the group.

There's also plenty of scope to develop your own clinical interests, whether that's surgery, medicine, imaging or another area you'd like to pursue. This role comes with a genuinely fairly flexible and attractive working pattern: 40 hours across either four 10-hour days or five 8-hour days, 1 in 5 Saturdays, Fridays off and no out-of-hours.

Why join us?

• A particular opportunity at Tenterden – we're investing in strengthening the veterinary team, giving you the chance to become an important part of the practice while having the support of the wider group.
• A hospital base with real clinical depth – Kingsnorth is an RCVS-accredited veterinary hospital supporting routine first-opinion work alongside more complex medical, surgical and diagnostic cases.
• Room to develop your interests – whether that's surgery, medicine, imaging or another area of clinical interest.
• Excellent facilities – including laparoscopic equipment, endoscopy, bronchoscopy, digital radiography, dental radiography, ultrasound and in-house laboratory facilities.
• A supportive clinical team – experienced vets, RVNs and Clinical Nursing Managers who enjoy sharing knowledge and working collaboratively and want to build up a new team and strengthen their fabulous existing ones within the practices. 
• Strong patient-friendly credentials – Kingsnorth is a Gold Cat Friendly Clinic, while Rye, Tenterden and Hawkhurst are Silver Cat Friendly Clinics. Kingsnorth also holds Dogs Trust Dog Friendly Practice accreditation.
• A great work-life balance – 4 x 10 or 5 x 8-hour days, 1 in 5 Saturdays, Fridays off and no OOH.
• The wider support and development opportunities that come with being part of Linnaeus and Mars Veterinary Health.

The practice & team

Cinque Ports Vets is a well-established group serving pets and their owners across Kent and East Sussex. Each practice has its own character and local client base, while sharing clinical expertise, facilities and support across the group.

Your main base will be Kingsnorth, home to our RCVS-accredited veterinary hospital. It is the clinical hub of the group, with a larger veterinary and nursing team and facilities supporting everything from routine first-opinion work through to more complex medical, surgical and diagnostic cases. A 24-hour emergency service is provided by Vets Now at the hospital, giving our daytime veterinary team access to dedicated overnight care without carrying an OOH rota themselves.

We're also looking to strengthen the veterinary team at Tenterden, where you'll have the opportunity to become a familiar and trusted clinician within the local community. The practice offers the benefits of a close-knit team and strong client relationships, with the wider Cinque Ports group and Kingsnorth providing additional clinical support and expertise.

Across the whole Cinque Ports group, you'll have access to excellent clinical facilities including digital and dental radiography, ultrasound, in-house laboratory facilities, laparoscopic surgery equipment, endoscopy and bronchoscopy. Kingsnorth's hospital setting means you can work cases up thoroughly and benefit from the experience of a larger multidisciplinary clinical team.

All four Cinque Ports practices are RCVS accredited, with Kingsnorth holding hospital status. There's also a strong focus on making veterinary care a positive experience for patients. Kingsnorth is a Gold Cat Friendly Clinic, while Rye, Tenterden and Hawkhurst are Silver Cat Friendly Clinics. Kingsnorth also holds Dogs Trust Dog Friendly Practice accreditation, reflecting the team's commitment to making visits more comfortable for canine patients and their owners.

Each branch has Clinical Nursing Manager support, alongside experienced RVNs who play an active role in patient care. The veterinary teams have interests across surgery, radiography, anaesthesia, dermatology, dentistry and other areas, creating plenty of opportunity to learn from colleagues and share your own experience.

The culture is friendly, down to earth and supportive, with plenty of experience to learn from but no unnecessary hierarchy. We want someone who will get stuck in, share their knowledge, ask questions, support colleagues and bring their own ideas to the team.

The role offers a good balance of clinical variety and continuity. You'll have a mixture of consulting, surgery, medical cases and hospital work, with regular time at a branch rather than being constantly moved around to cover gaps. There will be some sole-charge work, but the goal is for it to not dominate the role, and you'll have the support of the wider group around you.

There's also plenty of scope to develop your clinical interests. If there's an area you'd particularly like to grow, we'll support you, whether that's through developing your surgical caseload, building experience in medicine or imaging, taking on a clinical interest or sharing your expertise with colleagues.

Kingsnorth sits just outside Ashford with easy access to the Kent countryside, while Tenterden is surrounded by the beautiful Weald of Kent. The practices are well connected across Kent and East Sussex, with good transport links and Gatwick Airport within easy reach, the Euro Tunnel within a 15 minute drive, and Ashford fast trains to London in under 45 minutes. Meanwhile the cost is under half an hour away! Best of both worlds available.

What we're looking for

• An RCVS Registered Veterinary Surgeon with at least 2 years' UK small animal practice experience.
• A clinician who enjoys the variety of consulting, medicine and surgery.
• Someone who enjoys being hands-on clinically and wants to continue developing their skills.
• Good clinical judgement and high standards of patient and client care.
• Someone who enjoys sharing knowledge and supporting colleagues.
• A vet who is interested in developing their own clinical interests and making the most of the facilities and expertise available across the group.
• Approachable, pragmatic and straightforward in their communication.
• A genuine team player who wants to contribute to a positive, collaborative practice culture.

Most importantly, we're looking for someone who wants to enjoy being a vet, seeing interesting cases, developing their skills, building relationships with clients and patients, and working alongside a team that has the support and facilities to do things properly.

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