Enjoy first-opinion practice, getting to know your clients and finishing your day with time left to enjoy life outside work?
At Aldeburgh Vets, we’ve put a lot of thought into making everyday practice work well—for our patients, our clients and each other. That means 20-minute consultations, manageable consulting sessions, a team that pitches in, lunch breaks and timely finishes that happen almost every day.
We’re looking for an experienced small animal vet to join us as our lovely colleague Niamh moves on to pursue her career in ophthalmology. Niamh completed her ophthalmology certificate while working here for the last 5 years and is now taking her interests further. We’ll really miss her, but we’re pleased to have been part of her journey and excited to welcome a new colleague to our team.
A place to enjoy being a GP vet
We’re an independently owned, companion animal practice in the seaside town of Aldeburgh. Since opening in November 2020, we’ve built a well‑organised practice with a welcoming team and the facilities to investigate and treat a wide range of cases in‑house.
Our caseload is predominantly dogs (75%) and cats (24%), with the occasional rabbit and very few exotics. You’ll have a mix of consultations, medicine, dentistry and surgery. If you have an interest you’d like to develop within first‑opinion practice, we’d be happy to talk about how we could support it.
We’re looking for someone with at least a couple of years’ postgraduate experience who is comfortable with everyday GP work and confident performing routine procedures such as neutering, lump removals and dentistry.
Clear, thoughtful communication is important to us. Our clients are generally affluent and keen to invest in their pets’ care, giving us good scope to investigate and treat cases. Many are older and value a familiar face, continuity and a clear explanation of their pets’ needs. If you enjoy building those relationships, discussing treatment options and working closely with your nursing and reception colleagues, you’ll fit in well here.
People you’ll enjoy working with
The practice is independently owned by Brian Faulkner FRCVS, Georgia Faulkner MBA and Jess Bartman MRCVS.
You’ll work alongside Brian, Jess, Wilf and Alex, supported by our nursing team, led by Head Nurse Sarah, and our client care colleagues. Georgia, our Practice Director, and Ellie, our Practice Manager, keep the organisation running smoothly behind the scenes.
There’s plenty of time to get to know each other outside work too. We have regular practice‑funded meals and get‑togethers, summer and Christmas gatherings, and usually someone’s milestone to celebrate.
And if you’re interested in the business side of veterinary practice, Brian and his co‑directors are also happy to share their knowledge of running a veterinary business and managing a team.
What does the working day look like?
A typical day runs from 8.30 am to 6 pm, with consultations and procedures starting at 9 am.
- 20-minute consultations, with morning consulting from 9–11 am and a maximum of eight appointments.
- Afternoon consulting is either 1–3 pm or 3–5.40 pm—you’ll do one session, never both.
- An ops list typically has four patients, although this can range from two to eight.
- Procedures include routine soft‑tissue surgery, dentistry, laparoscopic spays and diagnostic imaging.
- Consulting vets lend a hand with procedures after their morning appointments when needed.
On an ops day, we aim to finish procedures around 1 pm. Getting started promptly and working together helps everyone have time for lunch, cleaning up and patient discharges, keeping the afternoon manageable. We value colleagues who play their part in making the day run smoothly, and you can expect the same from us.
The practice closes at 6 pm, and the team leaves on time almost every day, all year round.
Well equipped, with support close at hand
Our single‑site, single‑storey practice is fully air‑conditioned and has:
- Three consultation rooms, with the option of a fourth
- A spacious prep room
- Two theatres for sterile procedures
- A dedicated dental theatre with integrated dental radiography
- Digital radiography, ultrasound, endoscopy and CT
- In‑house biochemistry, haematology and hormone testing
Two of our vets currently perform laparoscopic spays, and our regular visiting surgeon undertakes a wide range of soft‑tissue and orthopaedic procedures, excluding spinal surgery.
If you haven’t worked with CT before, don’t worry; our nurses carry out most scans, and the images are interpreted externally by radiologists. It’s another useful diagnostic option for your patients, with support in place to help you use it.
We share clinical advice and case updates through our vets’ WhatsApp group, and our visiting surgeon is also available to discuss surgical cases, CT findings and procedure costs.
We’ve held RCVS Practice Standards Scheme GP accreditation since 2021 and have been a Nurse Training Practice since 2022.
Hours that leave room for life
We’re happy to welcome a full‑time or part‑time colleague:
- 40 hours over four days, or 30 hours over three days
- No OOH, with excellent support from our local MiNight Vet service
- Saturday mornings 8.30 am–12 noon, currently 1 in 4 and moving to 1 in 5 when you join
- Saturday mornings are the only sole‑charge shifts
Salary and benefits
- £45,000–£65,000 depending on skills and experience
- Five weeks’ holiday pro rata, plus bank holidays
- RCVS registration and VDS cover paid
- Private health insurance
- Healthshield cash plan and Employee Assistance Programme
- A basic CPD allowance of £1,500 per year, with time agreed together and scope to discuss further investment in your development
- Temporary accommodation may be available if you’re relocating
Make yourself at home on the Suffolk coast
The practice sits on a former farm, alongside a garden centre, café, butcher and pet shop, with plenty of parking at the door. Aldeburgh’s centre is just 500 yards away.
Outside work, there are shingle beaches, coastal walks, cycling routes and opportunities for sailing and kayaking on the River Alde. Aldeburgh has independent shops, galleries, cafés and its famous fish and chips, while nearby Snape Maltings offers music, arts and more places to explore.
Woodbridge and Framlingham offer market‑town life within the surrounding area, with connections to Ipswich and London.
If you’re moving here, temporary accommodation in a shared house may be available for your first two to three months, giving you time to settle in and explore before finding a home of your own.
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