JOB DESCRIPTION
________________________________________________________________
Job Title:
NCC Veterinary Officer
Responsible to:
Clinical Veterinary Officer
Department:
Veterinary Services
Responsible for:
Veterinary Nurses
_________________________________________________________________
Main responsibilities of the role: To be responsible for all aspects of managing and
running the Cats Protection (CP) National Cat Centre (NCC) Veterinary Clinic and
providing veterinary services to the National Cat Adoption Centre (NCAC) and other
local adoption centres.
Competencies required within the role:
Competency
Job specific knowledge
Planning and Organisation
Leadership and Management
Personal Effectiveness
Building and Maintaining Relationships
Service Delivery and Customer Orientation
Teamwork and Co-operation
Level
Expert
Advanced
Advanced
Expert
Advanced
Advanced
Advanced
Essential qualifications: Degree in Veterinary Medicine/Science. Member of the Royal
College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Main Duties:
1.
To provide veterinary care with application of shelter medicine principles for the
cats in the care of the NCAC and other local adoption centresand to comply with
‘CP – The Veterinary Guide’ and policies and procedures in the ‘CP adoption
centre manual’ to ensure feline welfare, infectious disease control and efficient
throughput of cats, including:a.
b.
c.
Carrying out examinations, vaccinations and treatment as necessary (see
‘guidance for vets’)
Obtaining informed consent for all cases
Anaesthesia – ensure appropriate drugs selected, anaesthesia
monitored and documented, and appropriate post-operative care given
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Performing surgical/dental procedures/medical investigations including
imaging and laboratory work as clinically necessary.
Ensuring adequate post operative care
Stabilising and making cats fit to home as soon as practical and possible.
Ensuring that all findings and recommendations are communicated to the
AC to ensure the welfare of all cats in the care of NCAC and other local
adoption centres and the health and safety of the staff, volunteers and
public, working with the ~AC manager(s)
Monitoring budgets
2.
To manage the clinic to RCVS practice standards with appropriate records
maintained and all paperwork dealt with effectively and efficiently.
3.
To ensure the correct ordering, prescription, dispensing, handling, storage, stock
control, disposal, recording and auditing of Veterinary Medicinal Products (POMV, POM-VPS, NFA-VPS, AVM-GSL and human-licensed products according to
the cascade) by the NCC Vet Clinic and NCAC, in line with legislation and best
practice.
4.
To comply with all sections of the RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct including
ensuring appropriate CPD is organised, undertaken and recorded for the
Veterinary Surgeon and RVNs employed for work in the veterinary clinic.
5.
To organise and liaise with suitable out of hours veterinary providers
6.
To ensure appropriate use of equipment by suitably trained individuals, and to
ensure adequate maintenance and servicing of all equipment in the Vet Clinic.
7.
To ensure that the premises are maintained in a clean and tidy, and safe fashion,
liaising with the Facilities and Maintenance Department to ensure that suitable
temperatures are maintained.
8.
To act as Radiation Protection Supervisor for the NCC site and undertaken all
duties in relation to this including ensuring appropriate dose monitoring and
communicating and acting upon results.
9.
To work with CP Health and Safety Officer and Facilities and Maintenance
department on all relevant issues pertaining to the NCC veterinary clinic to
ensure the health and safety of all staff and visitors and to keep appropriate
records up to date, and to represent the Veterinary Department on the CP Health
and Safety committee.
10.
To ensure laboratory samples are taken, handled and posted appropriately by
trained individuals and to ensure in-house tests are run safely and appropriately
by trained individuals and equipment is suitably maintained and assurance safety
tests performed.
11.
To ensure appropriate disposal of all waste produced by the NCC veterinary
clinic, including pharmaceutical, hazardous and non-hazardous waste.
12.
To line manage the veterinary nurses.
13.
To be responsible for any other staff/volunteers while working in the vet clinic or
on behalf of the vet clinic, while in the AC(s).
14.
To ensure that all case reports are documented on the medical record (date,
history, details of examination, investigations, provisional diagnosis and
treatments, prescriptions, lab results and clinical notes from cats seen off site
e.g. referrals or out of hours) and communicated to the AC(s) and information
provided for prospective owners.
15.
To ensure good working relations between all clinic staff with the adoption
centres, with regular communication to ensure suitable manageable workloads.
Any issues should be reported to the AC managers.
16.
To provide support to the Veterinary Department and handle queries from the
ACs and the public, CP staff and volunteers on any relevant matter if necessary.
17.
To ensure that veterinary cover for all scheduled absences (Vet and VN) has
been suitably organised, that appropriate induction and support is given to
locums and that all work is up to date prior to scheduled absences
18.
To write copy, provide clinic data and undertake research projects as directed by
the Clinical Veterinary Officer.
19.
To provide input on IT projects as necessary
20.
To provide training for volunteers, staff and the general public on all aspects of
cat care, when necessary
21.
To represent CP locally and nationally on occasion, through conferences, shows,
events and to occasionally act as a spokesperson for the charity.
In common with all posts, ensure compliance with Cats Protection’s policies and
procedures, statutory obligations and best practice, and to undertake such other
duties as may be reasonably required by the Director of Veterinary Services and/or
Clinical Veterinary Officer. This job description may be subject to review in the light
of the developing organisation and in consultation with the post holder.
JOB HOLDER ………………………………………
Signed ……………………………………………….
Date ………………………………………………….
NCC VETERINARY OFFICER
Person Specification
Attributes
Qualifications
Essential
Degree in
veterinary medicine
Desirable
Further qualifications
in small animal/feline
studies, eg medicine,
Currently registered surgery, diagnostic
as a member of the imaging, behaviour
RCVS to practice
etc
veterinary surgery
in the UK
How Identified
Application Form
RCVS Register
Experience
Work in small
animal practice
Application Form
Interview
References
Management
experience,
preferably a
veterinary practice
Working in an RCVS
accredited practice
Research experience
Skills /
Attributes
Organisational
skills.
Management skills.
Microsoft Office skills
Self motivation and
the ability to work
on own initiative.
Work accurately
and under pressure
to cope with large
volume of cases
Confident.
Excellent
interpersonal and
communication
skills
Skilled clinician in
both medicine and
surgery
Application Form
Interview
References
Knowledge
Sound, current
knowledge of feline
medicine, animal
welfare and RCVS
practice standards
Qualities
Empathetic to the
aims and objectives
of Cats Protection.
Understanding of
feline shelter
medicine and
behaviour.
Interview
Application Form
Interview
References
Committed to
Animal welfare
Empathetic to other
professionals, staff,
volunteers and the
public
Positive and
enthusiastic
Diligent and
conscientious
Flexible and
adaptable
Able to relate to
both lay and
professional
audiences
Team player
Other
Able to undertake Smart, professional Interview, Medical
the duties
appearance
Questionnaire
Full driving licence
Flexibility to work
occasional weekend
or overnight stay
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
Salary
Salary will be £45,015 per annum. Salaries are reviewed annually on 1st June.
There is no contractual entitlement to any increase in basic salary.
Hours of work
The normal hours of work are 35 hours per week. Because of the nature of the role,
the post holder may be required to work additional hours to ensure the proper
performance of the duties and this may mean that the post holder will work in
excess of normal business hours. No overtime is payable but with the prior
approval of the Chief Executive the post holder will be entitled to time off in lieu.
Place of work
This role is based at National Cat Centre, Chelwood Gate, Haywards Heath,
Sussex, RH17 7TT. During the course of your employment, you may be required
to travel to various locations in the UK on CP business. Travel and subsistence
expenses will be reimbursed as detailed in the Employee Handbook.
Annual leave
In addition to bank and public holidays, the annual leave entitlement is 25 days
annual leave rising by one day for each completed year of employment up to a
maximum of five extra days. The holiday year runs from 1 January to 31 December.
Pension
Cats Protection administers a personal pension scheme to which the employer
will contribute. If you require any further information please contact the Human
Resources Department.
Other benefits
Cats Protection also offers medical insurance as a taxable benefit after completion
of probationary period and three months service (whichever is later), Busy Bees
childcare vouchers and Death in Service Benefit of four times annual salary from
commencement.
Other information
An appointment is made subject to a satisfactory medical questionnaire and
references. Permanent positions are subject to a probationary period of three
months.
Cats Protection has a restricted smoking policy. Smoking is only permitted in
designated areas during lunch breaks and not in CP cars.
GUIDELINES FOR COMPLETING APPLICATION FORM
Please read carefully before completing your application form.
The following guidelines are intended to provide all the information we need in
order to be able to shortlist. If you are successful you will be notified of the time
of your interview by the Human Resources Department.
1
It is important that you read all the information we have sent you before
completing the application form. This will help you plan what you are going to
write and it will ensure that you have given all the information required.
2
One of your referees should be your current or most recent employer.
3
The person specification we have enclosed will help you decide if you are a
suitable candidate for the post.
4
The items we have designated essential in the person specification mean the
successful candidate must be able to provide evidence that they are
accomplished in all these areas. If the item is designated essential then we
want you to tell us about your experience in this particular area on your
application form so that we can assess its relevance to this post.
5
Use section 16 on the application form to give us all the information we need.
You will probably need to use a separate sheet of paper because the space
on the form is limited.
6
The items which are marked desirable in the person specification mean that,
while it is not essential that you can demonstrate these attributes in order to
be shortlisted, it would provide us with a fuller picture of your experience.
You can tell us about these areas on your application form if you wish. We
will also be asking about them if you are shortlisted for interview.
7
To ensure that everyone has an equal chance with their application, we are
not able to enter into any discussion with applicants prior to the interviews.
However, we hope that the information we have provided will help you to
decide if you wish to proceed and also assist you in making a successful
application. If you are shortlisted there will be an opportunity to raise any
queries at your interview.
Due to the large number of applications received, Cats Protection is unable to
reply to all candidates. If, therefore, you have received no communication
from us within four weeks of the closing date, you should assume that your
application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
Completed application forms should be returned to Human Resources
Department, Cats Protection, National Cat Centre, Chelwood Gate,
Haywards Heath, Sussex, RH17 7TT. If you would like acknowledgement of
receipt of your application form please enclose a stamped address