Veterinary Surgeon - Casual

We have been saving animals for almost 200 years. We were founded in a London coffee shop in 1824. The men present knew they were creating the world's first animal welfare charity, but they couldn't have imagined the size and shape that the charity would become today.

Back then we were the SPCA - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Royal patronage followed in 1837 and Queen Victoria gave permission to add the royal R in 1840, making us the RSPCA as we're known worldwide today.

Organisation Aims and Mission

Our vision is a world where all animals are respected and treated with kindness and compassion. Our mission is to ensure animals have a good life by rescuing and caring for those in need, by advocating on behalf of all animals and by inspiring everyone to treat them with compassion and respect. Our strategy to 2030 will build on this strong platform as we look towards our 200th anniversary in 2024 and the years that follow.

• Salary: £29.81 to £35.07 per hour inclusive of holiday pay
• Working hours:  This is a casual role (zero-hours contract). Shifts will be offered between 08.00 to 4.00pm.  On-call shifts overnight and weekend shifts will also be available. Overnight shifts are compensated with an out-of-hours allowance. 
• Onsite role: Manchester Animal Hospital - Your role also includes regular offsite work, travelling to our other animal centres/hospitals.

Here at RSPCA, no two days are the same, but we've added a short summary of what a typical day might look like. For full insight, please refer to the job description on this page. 

Our expert team at Greater Manchester Animal Hospital provides life-saving veterinary care to thousands of animals rescued by RSPCA frontline officers. 

They also provide vital support to rescued animals being cared for at RSPCA centres. Unlike private veterinary practices, our focus is exclusively on rescued, stray, neglected, and abused animals rather than owned pets.

In this rewarding and varied role, you will oversee the treatment and rehabilitation of injured, ill, and vulnerable animals, demonstrating clinical competence across a broad range of veterinary disciplines. Your responsibilities will include:

• Neutering and other soft tissue surgery
• Shelter medicine
• Dentistry
• Some sole charge
• Participating in off-site work around once a week for shelter medicine work with our local branches and centres.
• Implementing RSPCA policies regarding the re-homability of animals, including decision-making on individual cases.
• Welfare support work for the RSPCA Inspectorate.

• Membership of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
• Interest or previous experience in shelter medicine
• A pragmatic, welfare oriented approach
• Happy to handle dogs, cats, small furries and possibly bird and wildlife initial triage (although you not expected to be an expert on wildlife)
• Excellent time management skills
• Ability to work autonomously and make informed decisions
• Great communication skills 
• In line with the above, you will have the ability to explain complex clinical and welfare decisions in a clear and compassionate way to a variety of non-clinical staff, including the animal centre teams and Inspectorate
• A driver's licence is essential for this position due to consistent travel across the region.

Successful candidates for certain RSPCA roles may need to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK  as we are unable to sponsor visas.

This is not your average Vet job - so, what's different about it? 

We focus on animal welfare and can offer great hours (a good proportion of shifts are 8 am - 4 pm, and an actual hour for lunch most of the time). So, if you are looking for some flexibility to fit in with your home life, this could be the right fit for you.

• On-site role: Manchester Animal Hospital - Your role would also include regular off-site work, travelling to our other animal centres/hospitals. 

• Closing date: 18 November 2026
• For full details and to apply, click here

We want to ensure we do all we can to give you a positive candidate experience through our recruitment. Whilst we do try to give feedback where we can, sometimes due to receiving high levels of applications, this may not always be possible

We are building the future of a diverse Society, and our priority is to support animal welfare by finding people from all backgrounds who are committed to our mission.  For this reason, we actively encourage a wide diversity of applications - in particular from members of minority ethnic groups, and people with disabilities - as these candidates are currently under-represented at the RSPCA. 

We're here to support you and encourage you to let us know if you need any adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. 

Please feel free to contact us at resourcingteam@rspca.org.uk or 0300 123 0685 so we can ensure the process works for you.