We are on a mission to provide affordable veterinary care for people’s pets, especially those who are finding it hard to manage financially. Even before the current cost of living crisis, we know that there are many pet owners who are in distress because they can see their beloved friend needs help and they simply can’t afford the fees.

Owen Monie, our founding Vet, established the Animal Trust, because he passionately believes that no animal should suffer due to their owner’s financial hardship, which is why there are no consultation fees charged at any of our vet practices. There are no eligibility criteria, because we want to encourage people to bring their pets to us. Owners will only pay for any treatment at realistic prices, which are completely transparent and published on our website.

The Animal Trust is the only Community Interest Veterinary Group in the U.K who prioritise their staff, patients and owners’ welfare, rather than profit. Any profits are fed directly back into the Trust to provide career development and maintain the highest standard of care at the lowest possible price for our pet owners.

If you’re already an experienced ECC vet then you’ll know there’s nothing quite like it, and if you’re new to the game then welcome! There’s no better reward than seeing your patient recover after you remove the bleeding spleen or stabilise after you drain that pneumothorax. The world of emergency and critical care can be truly thrilling and will develop not only your clinical skills, but your problem solving, decision making and time management. You will save patients that genuinely wouldn’t have made it had you not been there.

At Ellesmere Port, we are looking to build upon our current ECC team by welcoming another vet. We are a large, 24-hour hospital that provides OOH cover to a number of our local surgeries. We are lucky to be able to offer you a fantastic caseload, but ensure that it is manageable, giving you the time you need to dedicate to your patients. We have a really great mix of surgical opportunities and medical challenges through our inpatients and any new admissions you may see. We have all the toys you’re going to need – hospital grade ultrasound, xray, CT, well stocked operating theatres, multi-parameter monitoring, chest drains and access to pet blood bank for blood products. Our clear, accessible and fixed price inpatient and surgical packages remove some of the barriers commonly seen by owners trying to access emergency care for their pets, and help balance the divide vets and nurses can face between providing care and cost – all of which makes it easier for you to get on with the work you need to do to help sick pets. 

- £50K to £70K on 7 on 14 off rota and up to £92K for a full-time average 42-hour rota
- 6 weeks holiday, including bank holidays
- Excellent development and training opportunities
- UK and International CPD funded to certificate level  
- Private Health Care, 52 weeks sickness benefit and free employee assistance program — awarded after qualifying period    
- Access to Vivup - our exciting benefits package to support your mental, physical and financial wellbeing
- Life assurance of 3x base salary 
- Contributory pension scheme  
- Staff discount 
- RCVS and VDS fees paid  
- Access to counselling support including mental health, financial and life counselling after 12 months of service  
- Cycle to work scheme  
- Refer-a-Friend bonus  
- Varied and challenging career   
- The satisfaction of working with a not-for-profit employer  

We think this role will appear to you, if:
- You have a passion for ECC and want to continue to learn and develop in this area
- You’re values-driven and want to work for a purpose-led organisation
- You’re a team player with a ‘one team’ philosophy, able to work seamlessly with the day team    
- You’re a vet with a social conscience who wants to make veterinary care more accessible to pet owners who earn the real living wage
- You want to be part of a collaborative culture, where your opinions will be valued and your voice heard

- An experienced veterinary surgeon who wants to make a difference.
- A firm belief in our social mission – an ability to focus on the pets you save, who wouldn’t have normally been able to receive treatment, and a commitment to providing a good standard of care for owners and their pets.
- You are naturally confident and enjoy the buzz of dealing with a fast-paced, busy caseload and environment.
- You are keen to grow your technical capability and be part of a large friendly, multi-skilled team.

Whether you have previous ECC experience or not, we are happy to support you on your ECC journey. We can offer training and development opportunities, a mentoring scheme and the support of our incredible nursing team. You will work alongside an RVN during your shifts and have reception support until midnight.

We’re happy to offer flexible working patterns, so if you’re fed up of working long hours with little time off to enjoy what life has to offer, then ECC could be the perfect path. We can offer 7 on 14 off, or we can support you if you want less than 7 nights in a row or if you want a mix with weekend daytime work too. We will work with you to find the best rota pattern for you because we want to give you job satisfaction whilst ensuring you’re striking that work life balance. For those of you wanting to travel, we’re situated close to international airports.

In 2023 Animal Trust turned 11 years old! Our not-for-profit veterinary company was founded by Owen Monie in 2012 and Ellesmere Port was opened in 2017. Here at Animal Trust we believe that every pet has the right to access good veterinary care. Our vision is that no pet goes untreated or faces euthanasia for a condition that has a good treatment option. We offer free consultations for sick and injured pets and our profits are re-invested straight back into the business to benefit our mission, rather than distributed to shareholders.

We are lucky to have an excellent team based at Ellesmere Port including both our clinical members that look after the poorly pets and our non-clinical team that look after all of us! We're passionate about our people and want them to feel fulfilled in their roles.

Our vet and nurse team are diverse and we play to our strengths. Whether you're surgical/imaging/medically biased we try to build our rotas around what our staff enjoy. This allows us to diagnose and treat the majority of our patients without needing to refer and the potential scope for learning and development is huge.

We want to continue widening access to our veterinary care and we're always open to new team members. If you think you might like to become a part of our journey, please get in touch and we'd love to talk to you about potential opportunities.