Operations Director in London

Full-Time: £80,000 base salary + other compensation / benefits

No Visa Sponsorship

Operations Director – Job Description

We are looking for an experienced and commercially astute Operations Director to join a fast-growing veterinary group. This is a senior leadership role, reporting to the CEO, with responsibility for every aspect of business operations. You will own technology and operations projects, procurement, equipment and maintenance, and the clinical and non-clinical processes that hold the business together. You will also own process optimisation, budget control and cost efficiency.

Base compensation starts at £80,000 and rises with experience and ability. The strongest candidates will also be considered for a substantial equity award, a discretionary bonus, or both.

You should know that we promote on merit and we promote quickly. Apply for this role if you want to grow into more senior positions on the strength of what you deliver here.

About us

Virtue Vets is a fast-growing London veterinary group. We are building a genuinely modern clinic group across the UK, with hospital-trained vets, a full in-house lab and hospital-grade equipment. Our clients are discerning, and they expect a standard of service that matches our standard of care.

We are scaling quickly, and this role sits at the centre of how our clinics run each day. It covers staffing, equipment, support-function operations, supplier and stock management, systems, compliance, and the processes that underpin clinical work. You will work directly with the founder and the clinical leadership team, with a clear remit to fix what is broken and build what is missing.

Our operating model rests on three commitments: exceptional standards of clinical care, genuine empathy for pet owners, and the wellbeing and long-term sustainability of our clinical teams.

Our culture

• We say what we are going to do, and then we do it. Our team is ambitious and we rarely back down from a challenge.
• We are analytical where it matters. We form well-reasoned strategies quickly, execute them quickly, and adapt quickly when the evidence changes. We are lean, nimble and deliberate about staying that way.
• We operate a blame-free culture. We expect every team member to give constructive feedback and to support one another. We have zero tolerance for politics and gossip.
• We are transparent in our dealings, internally and externally, and we are highly meritocratic. Our team has benefited greatly from both.

About you

• You bring a winning mentality and an entrepreneurial instinct, both of which matter in a business that is still scaling. Challenges do not faze you, least of all the ones you have never met before.
• Prior Management and Operations Consulting Experience is a plus
• You have proven experience in a senior operational leadership role – Area Director, Regional Director, District Leader, General Manager or equivalent – within a premium, client-facing, multi-site environment. That might be premium healthcare-adjacent services, wellness, fitness, or technology-enabled services with a physical estate.
• You have worked somewhere equipment-heavy, consumables-heavy, process-heavy and people-heavy, and you run all of it like a well-oiled machine. You design workflows that technology can then automate.
• You hit the ground running and add significant value from day one, and you earn your team's respect just as quickly. You are exceptional at developing and implementing efficient, error-free and pragmatic business processes, and your project management is first-rate. You are structured and organised in how you work and how you communicate. You are a consummate problem solver. You hold on to the details that matter while still applying an 80/20 lens to find pragmatic, needle-moving solutions to chronic issues.
• You have implemented and embedded operating models, standards and playbooks across multiple sites, driving adoption through leadership, coaching and accountability rather than documentation alone. You hold people to a high standard and they are glad to work with you.
• You have a strong track record of leading site-level or clinic-level leaders: building capability, reinforcing culture, and turning standards into consistent day-to-day execution. You lead hands-on. This is not a role run from a desk.
• You have proven financial and operational acumen, including ownership of KPIs, budgets and P&L performance in a scaling business.
• You balance strategic perspective with hands-on delivery, particularly through periods of growth, new site openings and organisational change.
• You communicate and manage stakeholders exceptionally well, and you are comfortable operating across central and clinic teams in a fast-moving organisation.
• You lead confidently through ambiguity and change, with a bias towards action, continuous improvement and disciplined execution.

Your reporting line

You will report to the CEO. Your peers will be the Chief of Staff, Clinical Director, Chief Marketing Officer, Finance Director and Head of Technology. We do not have silos at Virtue Vets: our team leads work closely and collaboratively every day.

Your responsibilities

• Lead the adoption of our existing playbooks and standards across clinics, adapting them thoughtfully to local regulation, team dynamics and client expectations while protecting the integrity of the client experience.
• Build strong clinic-level leadership by coaching practice managers and clinical leads to turn standards into practice: setting clear expectations, reinforcing accountability, and role-modelling a client-first mindset.
• Establish clear performance rhythms – metrics, reviews and feedback loops – that reinforce the right behaviours, surface issues early, and steadily improve both team effectiveness and the client experience.
• You will own and upgrade each of the areas below, and you will build the operational functions and processes that do not yet exist.

Budget

• Own all clinic costs other than clinical (medical) staff
• Own the operations budget and spend

Systems and processes

• Own all non-medical systems and processes, and a few medical ones too
• Configure and optimise our technology stack
• Develop and roll out SOPs, train the teams on them, and ensure adherence
• Standardise operations across every clinic

Facilities and equipment

• Run equipment servicing schedules
• Plan capital expenditure and manage installation
• Own relationships with equipment manufacturers (OEMs)

Clinic fitout and launch

• Work with the Property Director on clinic setup, launch and maintenance
• Support the marketing team with launch events

Procurement

• Purchase drugs, pet food and medical consumables
• Procure uniforms and comparable multi-use items
• Procure non-clinical items
• Negotiate with and consolidate suppliers
• Control stock and reduce wastage

Clinic compliance

• Oversee site security, health and safety
• Oversee day-to-day housekeeping

Learning and development

• Mentor team members and teach them advanced operations management
• Coach team members to solve problems for themselves

Holidays and benefits

• 5.6 weeks per calendar year, inclusive of public holidays (6.6 weeks after one year)
• Pension contribution
• Staff discount on treatments and medication for your own pets
• Private medical insurance for you and your dependants*
• Life assurance*
• Critical illness cover*

*Available after probation