Early Careers Manager - UK & Ireland in Bristol

At IVC we are a leading veterinary services provider in Europe and North America with more than 2,500 clinics and hospitals across 19 countries and around 41,000 employees. We aim to have an extraordinary impact on animal lives, supporting in the region of 25,000 animals every single day across our international network. IVC Evidensia exists to champion the long-term health and welfare of animals and deliver our purpose of Healthy Animals, Happy Owners.

Reporting into the Head of Talent Development, Leadership & Early Careers, the Early Careers Manager is responsible for the end-to-end experience of all early careers colleagues. This spans graduates, apprentices, placements and work experience. The role leads a small team spanning early careers coordination and apprenticeships. Together they deliver programmes that provide an excellent participant experience while meeting the workforce needs of the business. The role is highly visible and strategic. It builds partnerships with universities and colleges, represents us externally, and shapes structured pathways that carry early careers colleagues from recruitment through to progression. Central to the role is the retention of our graduates. The role continually evolves the offer so we remain best in class, are the early careers employer of choice, and provide meaningful career pathway choices that retain our early careers talent.

Key Accountabilities/Responsibilities:

• Early Careers Strategy & Experience
  • Own the end-to-end experience of all early careers colleagues, from recruitment through to progression.
  • Deliver the early careers strategy across graduate, apprentice, placement and work experience programmes.
  • Ensure every programme delivers an excellent participant experience while meeting workforce needs.
  • Use participant feedback and insight to continuously improve the early careers journey.
  • Drive the attraction and engagement of early careers talent.
  • Strengthen workforce diversity through inclusive early careers pipelines.
• Graduate Retention & Career Development
  • Own the retention of graduates, with career management central to the role.
  • Run webinars, career events and career coaching sessions for graduates.
  • Lead career, business and professional skills sessions as a strong, confident facilitator.
  • Develop a core skills programme for graduates with the Learning and Development Business Partner.
  • Provide meaningful career pathway choices that support graduates to build long-term careers with us.
  • Continually evolve the offer so we remain best in class and the early careers employer of choice.
• Programme Leadership
  • Lead delivery of the two-year vet graduate programme through the team, including the launch event, CPD events, congress and the graduate coach programme.
  • Oversee apprenticeship programmes, ensuring compliance with apprenticeship funding requirements.
  • Develop briefings and support for line managers, coaches and mentors so they can support early careers colleagues effectively.
  • Ensure clear escalation routes for retention and wellbeing concerns, acting quickly on emerging issues.
• CPD Curriculum Collaboration
  • Work closely with the Head of Nurse Development and the Head of Vet Capability, who own the CPD curriculum.
  • Align programme experience, events and pastoral support with the clinical CPD content they provide.
  • Feed participant insight back into curriculum planning and design.
• Partnerships & External Engagement
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with universities, colleges and external training providers.
  • Spend a minimum of two days per week on site – in practice, at graduate events, or with education partners.
  • Represent the business externally at education, careers and industry events.
  • Monitor market and industry trends to keep our early careers offer best in class.
• Team Leadership
  • Lead, coach and develop the early careers team.
  • Set clear priorities, standards and expectations across the early careers team.
  • Build a culture of care, pace, high performance and continuous improvement.
• Data, Reporting & Improvement
  • Develop KPIs and reporting covering early careers experience, engagement and retention, utilising the data to inform process and programme improvements.
  • Track programme performance and outcomes, reporting insights to the Head of Talent Development, Leadership & Early Careers and senior stakeholders.
  • Identify opportunities to simplify, automate and scale early careers processes, including through AI.
  • Manage budgets associated with early careers programmes.

Experience/Qualifications:

Essential

• Experience leading early careers, graduate or apprenticeship programmes.
• Experience leading and developing a team.
• Knowledge of apprenticeship funding and compliance requirements.
• Strong strategic thinking, with the ability to translate strategy into delivery.
• Excellent stakeholder management across internal and external partners.
• Experience building relationships with universities, colleges or education providers.
• Genuine care for people at the start of their careers, with sound judgement on wellbeing matters.
• Strong facilitation skills, confident running career, business and professional skills sessions.
• Strong organisational skills, managing multiple programmes and priorities.
• Confident using data to track performance and drive improvement.
• Able to travel regularly, including a minimum of two days per week on site.

Desirable

• Experience in a veterinary, clinical or healthcare environment.
• Experience of coaching or mentoring programmes.
• CIPD or equivalent qualification.

At IVC we are committed to Diversity, Equality, Inclusion and Belonging, we are keen to hear from candidates from all minority and diverse groups. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are keen to hear from candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions and would be happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments needed during the recruitment process.

What We Offer:

At IVC Evidensia we recognise that our people are fundamental to the success of our business. Investing in our people, premises and processes is at the heart of what we do. In addition to a competitive base salary, you will benefit from:

• Work-life balance.
• 26 days annual leave.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Initiatives focused on employee wellbeing.
• Pension.
• Discretionary Bonus.
• Discounted staff pet care.
• Dog Friendly office.
• Free Parking available at Head Office.