JOB DESCRIPTION
________________________________________________________________
Job Title:
NCAC 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).
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 to comply with ‘guidance for vets working in
NCC vet clinic’ 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.
d.
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-op care given
Performing surgical/dental procedures/medical investigations including
imaging and laboratory work as clinically necessary.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Ensuring adequate post operative care
Stabilising and making cats fit to home as soon as practical and possible.
Ensuring that all findings and recommendations must be communicated
to the AC to ensure the welfare of all cats in the care of NCAC and the
health and safety of the staff, volunteers and public, working with the
NCAC manager
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 Medicinal Products (POM-V, POMVPS, 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 a suitable out of hours veterinary provider
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 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 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.
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.
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 AC and information provided
for prospective owners.
15.
To ensure good working relations between all clinic staff with the adoption centre,
with regular communication to ensure suitable manageable workloads. Any
issues should be reported to the AC manager.
16.
To handle queries from the AC 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 undertake research projects as directed by the Clinical Veterinary Officer.
19.
To provide training for volunteers and the general public on all aspects of cat
care, when necessary
20.
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.
Person Specification
Essential
Desirable
How Identified
Degree in veterinary
medicine
Further qualifications in
small animal studies,
eg medicine, surgery,
diagnostic imaging,
behaviour etc
Application Form
RCVS Register
Management
experience, preferably
a veterinary practice
Application Form
Interview
References
Attributes
Qualifications
Currently registered
as a member of the
RCVS to practice
veterinary surgery in
the UK
Experience
Work in small animal
practice
Working in an RCVS
accredited practice
Research experience
Skills / Attributes
Organisational skills.
Management skills.
Self motivation and
the ability to work on
own initiative.
Microsoft Office skills
Application Form
Interview
References
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
Knowledge
Sound, current
knowledge of feline
medicine, animal
welfare and RCVS
practice standards
Understanding of feline
shelter medicine and
behaviour.
Interview
Qualities
Empathetic to the
aims and objectives
of Cats Protection.
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 the Smart,
professional Interview, Medical
duties
appearance
Questionnaire
Flexibility
to
work
occasional weekend or
overnight stay
Full driving licence
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE
Salary
Salary will be £41,000 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 will be 37.5 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, RH17 7TT.
During the course of your employment you may be required to travel to various locations
in the U.K. 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 1st January to 31st December.
Pension
Cats Protection administers a personal pension scheme to which the employer will
contribute. You will be eligible to join the scheme after six months service and if you
require any further information please contact the Human Resources department.
Other Benefits
Cats Protection also offers free Medical Insurance after completion of probationary period
and three months service (whichever is later) and Death in Service Benefit of 4x 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.
Retirement Age
Please note that our retirement age is 65.
Cats Protection has a restricted smoking policy. Smoking is only permitted in designated
areas during lunch breaks.
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 whilst it
is not essential that you can demonstrate these attributes in order to be short listed,
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 short listed 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 short
listed 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, National Cat
Centre, Chelwood Gate, Haywards Heath, RH17 7TT.
If you would like
acknowledgement of receipt of your application form please enclose a stamped
addressed envelope.