This vital leadership role at Kentdale Referrals is part of the hospital's senior leadership team, working closely with the Hospital Director and leading the vet team. It is a fantastic opportunity for a Veterinary Specialist in Surgery, Neurology, or Anaesthesia who has a passion for mentoring, leadership, and further development at a senior level, while still having an opportunity to continue with some clinical duties.
Responsibilities
Lead the vet team in the delivery of all aspects of clinical quality, operational efficiency, development of the hospital team, customer service, and commercial performance
Provide a clear strategic vision and operational clarity
Create a high-performing culture that is challenging, supportive, and collaborative, while developing leadership and clinical capabilities across all associates
Design and implement lean, simple, and customer-centred systems and processes that deliver high-quality clinical care
Create a culture of high-quality care, quality outcomes, and customer service
Ensure effective governance and assurance controls are in place to enhance quality and outcomes, including the use of risk assessments and audit, learning and development, and technical and service development
Carry out clinical duties as a veterinary Specialist
Contribute to the delivery of annual/long-term performance reviews and future strategic/operating plans for the hospital
Identify and implement innovative ideas that lead to the development of the hospital and the wider Linnaeus Group
Develop and deliver a shared vision to members of the clinical team, engaging and inspiring the team to contribute to the development of clinical activities within the hospital
Effectively lead change across the vet team through ensuring a collaborative approach with associates and ensuring that the reasons for change are effectively communicated, understood, owned, and implemented
Focus on the veterinary team, build a high-performing team through the attraction and retention of highly skilled and capable clinical associates
Create a high-performance culture through effective communication by demonstrating an awareness of different communication styles and behaviours and responding to these
Create the local clinical strategy ensuring that all members of the clinical team are involved and that proposed initiatives and programmes enhance quality and service outcomes
Deliver the highest quality clinical care and outcomes with focus on safety, timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, and person-centred care
Create and implement quality improvement activities including audit, risk assessment, and clinical governance processes, benchmarking with other referral practices and responding to learning opportunities
Create a culture of professional development including effective CPD, student placements, residency and internship programmes, and clinical research
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Ensure compliance with all statutory, legal, and regulatory areas relating to clinical practice
Input to Linnaeus-wide accreditation standards and other national projects and initiatives
Be accountable for delivering veterinary clinical quality, efficiency and productivity, business growth, people metrics, associate engagement, and customer experience
As a member of the SLT, be accountable for the development and delivery of the annual budget and financial targets including sales, staffing, stock, consumables, capital expenditure, pricing, cost control, and debt management
Create a culture and be a role model for building positive empathetic relationships with clients, offering excellent levels of service with clear communication including obtaining appropriate consents, having fee estimates in place, providing clear treatment recommendations, and effective complaint oversight and management
Create a culture and be a role model across the clinical teams for building effective support relationships with referring vets, including clear communication, outcome correspondence, competitive CPD programmes, advice/service support, and issue resolution
Use metrics and market intelligence to identify the hospital’s current clinical positioning, its strengths, risks, and opportunities to create a future change plan for improvement and growth across the performance metrics
Work with the Head of Nursing Services and veterinary service heads to define an achievable clinical strategy that aims to deliver the best veterinary care and provide additional products and services
Identify unique services and lines where market opportunities exist and work with the HD and SLT to create business cases for growth and investment
Create a culture where the clinical team work collaboratively with the marketing team and BRM to effectively understand the customer needs and enhance their experience
Ensure that the clinical and marketing agendas enhance brand awareness and perception, and support business growth through effective vet relationships, enhanced clinical services, CPD programmes, and website support
Contribute to product, service, and growth opportunities within the wider Linnaeus group and Mars Veterinary Health
Requirements
Veterinary Specialist in Surgery, Neurology, or Anaesthesia
Passion for mentoring, leadership, and further development at a senior level
Previous leadership and line management experience of a medium-large team of vets
About the Company
Kentdale Referrals is one of the leading small animal referral centres in the UK, delivering excellence in pet healthcare for over 10 years. The company has a new hospital opening later in the year. Currently located on the edge of the beautiful Lake District in Milnthorpe, Cumbria, Kentdale is a specialist-led referral centre treating a wide range of surgical patients in its veterinary hospital. Its service teams include Orthopaedics, Neurosurgery, Soft Tissue Surgery, and Physiotherapy. The new hospital will be based on the outskirts of Carnforth at J35 M6.
