Current vacancies

Registered Veterinary Nurse

The Role

With one of our nurses planning retirement and another due to return to reduced hours after maternity leave we have an opportunity for a registered veterinary nurse to join our team. 

Each day we have 3 or 4 vets looking after our small animal work.  Two vets operate in the morning and the other consults from 9.00am – 11.30am.  In the afternoon the vets consult in 1.5-hour blocks. We have two small animal vets (both certificate holders and one AVP) and our mixed vets enjoy taking part in small animal work too – one of our mixed vets has a certificate in small animal surgery and two of our mixed vets enjoy orthopaedic work.  We take pride in providing a high standard of care and due to our location, we tackle quite a lot of surgery in house that would normally be referred. We are members of XLVets, a group of independent veterinary practices who work together to provide excellence in practice and we are also an approved training practice for veterinary nurses.

Each day the nursing team for inpatients consists of two nurses and a student nurse / veterinary care assistant.  Another nurse assists with vet consults, processes samples in the lab (idexx suite), deals with repeat prescriptions and runs nurse clinics.  Typically, a full-time post would consist of four days per week working in theatre / prep / looking after inpatients and one day per week assisting with vet consults and running nurse clinics.  Our nurses also take turns working at our Stromness branch on the afternoons we have clinics running there and occasionally they attend equine or farm visits.  There is not much opportunity for reception work, just the odd day or half day for holiday cover.

The working hours for a full-time post are Monday to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm with a one-hour break for lunch and one afternoon off per week.  Saturday mornings as per the rota (currently approximately 1 in 5).  A part time post will also be considered. 

We are happy to have an informal chat over the phone to answer any questions about the role and / or Orkney.

The package

• An auto-enrolment pension scheme is in place
• Private medical insurance and dental insurance is provided
• We have a wellbeing employee assistance programme and ‘Active Life’ gym membership on offer.
• CPD is encouraged and funded with visiting trainers and CPD opportunities through XLVets and our Webinar vet subscription.
• Annual Veterinary Nurse registration fees paid
• Discount for staff pets

Veterinary Surgeon

With one of our vets making the decision to return home to the Netherlands, we have an opportunity for a new vet to join our team.  This position can be mixed or predominantly farm based.

Northvet is a long-established practice, very much part of the local community. Our sociable team has a great balance of youth and experience. We are a pro-active independent practice with excellent facilities, and we take pride in providing a high quality service to our clients.

The Role

We are looking to add another experienced vet to our team.  Farm work is mainly beef suckler with sheep and the practice is genuinely mixed.  We have 3 or 4 vets working on small animals each day with everyone else covering farm visits etc.  We provide a 24-hour service to clients on the Orkney Mainland plus the smaller Islands. During springtime fast boats take us safely to attend calvings and caesareans on the Isles.

The successful candidate will bring additional experience to our team. He or she will be a team player and a good communicator. 

The Package

• In additional to the basic salary, an estate car and 2 bedroomed accommodation can be provided.
• An auto-enrolment pension scheme is in place, private medical insurance and dental insurance is provided.
• We have a wellbeing employee assistance programme and ‘Active Life’ gym membership on offer.
• CPD is encouraged and funded – we often have visiting trainers and lots of CPD opportunities through XLVets and our Webinar vet subscription.
• Various subscriptions are paid such as RCVS, VDS, BVA, BCVA / BEVA etc.
• Discount for staff pets