Group Lead Vet in Shepperton

This is a rare opportunity for an experienced veterinary surgeon to step into a strategic, multi-branch leadership role while remaining clinically active. As Group Lead Vet, you’ll spend approximately 80% of your time on hands‑on clinical work, supporting your teams to deliver outstanding patient care, while also providing operational and strategic leadership across the group. You’ll be a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, collaborating with the Practice Director, Clinical Nursing Manager, Client Care Manager, and wider teams to drive standards, culture, and growth. Your leadership will shape not only the day‑to‑day clinical care but also the long‑term development, engagement, and success of the practices and their teams. You’ll set clinical standards, mentor and develop your teams, influence practice strategy, and shape a positive culture, all while staying close to the work you love.

Why join us?

• Lead clinical excellence and governance across three branches, setting high standards for patient care
• Shape the future of a progressive veterinary group with input into strategy, KPIs, and service development
• Mentor and develop veterinary teams, including early career vets, to achieve their potential
• Influence practice culture, engagement, and wellbeing initiatives across the group
• Work in a supportive Senior Leadership Team with autonomy to innovate and implement improvements
• Access to CPD, clinical research opportunities, and career progression support
• Enjoy a balanced working week with no on‑call, no out‑of‑hours, and predictable rotas
• Modern facilities and equipment to support advanced clinical work

At Vet4Life, we pride ourselves on building supportive, skilled, and close‑knit teams across all three branches. You’ll work alongside 11 veterinary surgeons and 11 RVNs, supported by 6 student nurses/PCAs and 10 client care assistants. Our team is diverse in expertise, with colleagues holding certificates in surgery, medicine, ECC, dermatology, cardiology, exotics, and wellbeing, allowing for a truly collaborative and multidisciplinary approach.

Surbiton is our largest and busiest branch, offering a varied and fast‑paced caseload, with three consult rooms, surgery facilities, and a loyal, engaged client base. It’s perfect if you enjoy a dynamic environment with opportunities to take on challenging cases and mentor a team of experienced vets. Teddington is a growing site, offering scope to shape its future clinical services. Shepperton provides a quieter, village‑style setting, where you can enjoy the charm of a close‑knit community and build long‑term relationships with clients and patients.

Across all sites, our equipment is modern and comprehensive: endoscopy, laparoscopic kit, ultrasound, digital radiography, Class 4 laser, and an in‑house laboratory. The practices are designed to make your day‑to‑day clinical work smooth and efficient, while giving you the scope to innovate and implement new services. Whether you enjoy mentoring early career vets, leading clinical audits, implementing quality improvement initiatives, or contributing to research and training programs, you’ll find opportunities to make a meaningful impact every day.

This is a workplace where clinical excellence, career development, and team wellbeing are not just priorities, they are embedded in everything we do. This position blends clinical responsibility, team leadership, and business influence. You’ll oversee the delivery of care, ensure clinical governance is maintained, and support recruitment, training, and mentoring to help every vet and nurse reach their potential. You’ll champion quality improvement initiatives, clinical audits, and research, ensuring that patient outcomes, team development, and practice growth are all aligned.

With this role, you have the opportunity to lead by example, creating a positive, collaborative, and high‑performing culture. You’ll foster an environment where career development, engagement, and wellbeing are prioritised, and where innovative ideas are encouraged and implemented. Whether it’s guiding early career vets, shaping CPD programs, or embedding best‑practice clinical standards, your impact will be visible across every branch and every member of the team.

Ultimately, this is a role for a visionary veterinary surgeon who wants to combine clinical excellence with meaningful leadership, who thrives on mentoring and collaboration, and who wants to leave a lasting mark on the practices, the teams, and the patients you care for.

In terms of location, Surbiton, often described as “suburban London done well” offers the charm of a village with the convenience of quick access to central London, just 15‑20 minutes by train to Waterloo. It’s known for its thriving café culture, independent shops, and a relaxed pace that makes everyday life enjoyable without sacrificing city connections. Teddington provides a more polished, affluent environment, blending riverside walks with a vibrant high street and easy access to some of London’s most beautiful green spaces. Shepperton has a quieter, village‑style feel, perfect if you enjoy a close‑knit community and the slower pace of life, with the countryside and scenic stretches of the River Thames just a short distance away. Whether you prefer the buzz of a busy town, the charm of a village, or something in between, this role offers an ideal balance of lifestyle, work‑life harmony, and easy access to both city and countryside.

If you’re looking for a senior role that gives you career growth without compromising lifestyle, this could be the perfect next step.

What we’re looking for:

• MRCVS-qualified with 5+ years’ UK clinical experience
• Proven leadership experience in delivery, mentoring, and team development
• Strong strategic thinking, decision‑making, and communication skills
• Passionate about developing others and driving a positive clinical culture
• Empathic, solutions‑focused, and motivated to lead change across multiple branches
• Experience with clinical governance, audits, and quality improvement is highly desirable
• Knowledge of RCVS Practice Standards, VetSafe, ISFM accreditation, and patient safety event reporting would be advantageous
• Leadership or business qualification is desirable but not essential

What we offer:

• 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays and Birthday Leave
• RCVS and VDS fees paid
• External CPD funded
• Extensive free online Linnaeus CPD programme
• Career progression opportunities
• Staff discount schemes
• Life Assurance
• Enhanced sickness pay
• Enhanced equal family leave
• E‑car salary sacrifice scheme
• Employer contribution pension scheme
• Recruitment referral reward scheme
• Employee assistance program
• Eyecare voucher scheme
• Free annual Flu jab
• Cycle-to-work scheme

About Us: Spinney Vets is part of Linnaeus and Mars Veterinary Health, the largest family‑owned veterinary company in the world. Being privately owned, we can truly be driven by our purpose, to create a better world, and think long‑term as opposed to being focused solely on short‑term profits. At Linnaeus, A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS starts with a better world for our people. Our Associates are over 6000 strong and empowered to speak up, step up and deliver quality services. You’ll have access to a huge network of specialists, worldwide development opportunities and an easily accessible, comprehensive wellbeing package that prioritises your physical and mental health, allowing you to focus on what you do best - care for pets. We are committed to fostering a culture that is inclusive and diverse, we care about you and want you to be authentic, with everything you need to perform at your best. We are all individual but two important things bring us together: a commitment to excellence and our passion to achieve our purpose.

If you would like to apply for the role or for an informal chat to discuss it further, please get in touch with Joanne in the recruitment team at joanne.gray@linnaeusgroup.co.uk.