Are you a veterinary surgeon looking for a practice where you'll feel genuinely appreciated, part of a real team, and excited about your work again? Gateshead Vets for Pets has the perfect opportunity for you.
About us
We’re a family-owned Vets for Pets practice operating two modern, purpose-built surgeries in the North East — Newcastle Kingston Park and Gateshead (Metro Centre). As Practice Owners we combine the resources and support of the wider Pets at Home Vet Group with the clinical freedom and personal touch of a locally owned practice.
Gateshead is a 1.5 vet per day practice. The clinical team is supported by RVNs at a ratio of approximately 1.5 RVNs per vet, with VCAs covering PM shifts. Kingston Park runs at 2 vet days with the same support model.
Team wellbeing is at the heart of how we work. Rotas are individually tailored, development is taken seriously, and every team member has a genuine voice in how we run the practice.
Newcastle and Gateshead are genuinely outstanding places to live and work. The region offers vibrant city life, beautiful coast and countryside, and some of the most affordable housing in England — with fast rail connections to London (under 3 hours) and a busy international airport.
About you
For this role you’ll need to be an RCVS qualified veterinary surgeon, who is enthusiastic, approachable, and patient-focused. You’ll be a strong team player with a passion for high-quality clinical care and excellent client service
We are ideally looking for someone who is a minimum of 2 or 3 years qualified as sole charge will be required occasionally. You’ll be confident with consults and all routine surgery, however if you are looking for a consult only role we can also support this too!
About the role
This position would be for our Gateshead practice, however if our other location, Kingston Park, would work better for you we are more than happy for you to be located here instead!
You’ll ideally be working part time around 20 hours per week, however we can also consider full time (37.5 hours) for the right candidate. There will be 1 in 4 Saturdays included with this role, 9am – 6pm with time off in lieu during the week and no OOH.
We understand the importance of a healthy work life balance and this is at the forefront of our practice. Whether you need hours to work around school times and childcare or any other outside commitments, we invite you to come and have a chat to us about what works for you and we will accommodate where we can. Our rotas are rolling for the year meaning you can plan in advance and any changes will be discussed with the team with plenty of notice.
Both practices are first opinion small animal practices operating inside Pets at Home under the Vets for Pets model. A typical day for our vets includes morning and afternoon consultation sessions, which are 20+ minutes as standard and have nurse support throughout, routine and elective ops (neuters, dentals, soft tissue), client communication, and clinical notes via Provet Cloud. You’ll have complete clinical freedom with a full team input into protocols and policies
Benefits
By joining us you will be part of a dynamic team dedicated to providing superb standards of client and animal care. We offer a supportive and friendly working environment together with career development opportunities and an excellent package and benefits that includes;
1. Salary of up to £55,000 FTE and DOE
2. Flexible, personalised rota — part-time or full-time, built around you
3. No OOH — all out-of-hours provided by a referral practice
4. Only 1 in 4 Saturdays (9am–6pm) with time off in lieu during the week
5. 20+ minute consults with nurse support throughout
6. Complete clinical freedom — full team input into protocols and policies
7. Unlimited CPD, no set budget — individual clinical interests actively supported
8. Professional fees covered (RCVS, VDS, BVA)
9. Private Health Care, Pension, Pets at Home team discount, and more
Location: NE11 9XS
We take our inspiration from pets in embracing people from all walks of life, and we value, respect and celebrate difference. We encourage our people to be their best selves so that we can create a better world for Pets, our Planet, and People. Our ambition is to reflect the diversity of the communities we operate in, and we are intentional in addressing and removing barriers to create opportunities for the exceptional talent and potential in our communities. Even if your skills and experience don’t perfectly align, if you think you can make a unique contribution through your values and behaviours, we want to hear from you!