Area Director

Area Director – Southeast (Essex & Suffolk) Home-based role with extensive regional travel Full-time | Monday–Friday (up to 40 hours per week) Competitive salary Closing date: 27th April (subject to change) IVC Evidensia is the UK and Europe’s leading veterinary care group, made up of over 900 practices and referral hospitals, united by a shared purpose of happier animals, happier owners. At IVC Evidensia, we believe careers should be built without limits. Our people are supported to make more clinical impact, access more career opportunities, and play an active role in their local and professional communities. Through investment in learning, innovation, and wellbeing, we create environments where our teams can grow in confidence, capability, and fulfilment - at every stage of their career. As part of this continued growth, we’re looking for an exceptional Area Director to join our Southeast leadership team, with a specific focus on Essex. This is a home-based leadership role requiring extensive travel across the region, working closely with practices to inspire, support and lead high-performing teams. How You’ll Make a Difference As Area Director, you’ll work closely with the Regional Director and Area Support Manager, you’ll provide strategic, operational and commercial leadership across your area. Your focus will be on delivering exceptional clinical quality and client care, while developing sustainable, high-performing teams. You’ll collaborate with Central Support functions to embed our values - We Care, We Dare, We Share - and play a key role in recruiting, developing and retaining outstanding veterinary talent. This is a leadership role for someone who enjoys variety, influence and impact, and who thrives on building strong relationships across multiple sites. Key Responsibilities *Act as an ambassador for IVC Evidensia values, embedding culture across your area *Mobilise UK strategy locally by enabling best-practice sharing and strong communication between practices *Oversee operational and commercial performance across the area *Drive attraction, engagement and retention of clinical and non-clinical talent *Line manage Directors, supporting their development and success *Work in close partnership with the Area Support Manager, ensuring aligned priorities and delivery *Support future network planning and growth through insight, analysis and strategic input You Might Be a Great Fit If... You’ll be a confident, emotionally intelligent leader with a passion for people and performance. You’ll bring: *At least 5 years’ leadership experience, with proven coaching and mentoring capability *A strong track record of maximising clinical and financial performance *Deep understanding of clinical and financial KPIs, with the ability to identify and drive improvement *Excellent people skills — able to engage, motivate, inspire and unite diverse teams *A collaborative leadership style, comfortable operating with high challenge and high support *Well-developed emotional intelligence, adapting your approach to what people need, when they need it *Vision, resilience and agility to lead through change and deliver results *The confidence to influence, challenge constructively and champion continuous improvement *Outstanding communication skills, able to clearly articulate strategy with a strong emphasis on the “why” as well as the “what” Additional Requirements *Full and valid UK driving licence *Willingness to travel extensively across Essex, Suffolk and the wider Southeast *Ability to work up to 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday How We’ll Support You At IVC Evidensia, we’re committed to supporting you in a senior executive leadership role. When you join us, you’ll benefit from: * Overall leadership of a practice or hospital with the autonomy to shape strategy, culture, and performance * Senior-level influence across operations, client experience, and business outcomes * Opportunities to lead large-scale change and drive long-term organisational impact * Ongoing learning and development to support executive and leadership growth * A collaborative, values-led culture focused on care, community, and continuous improvement What We Offer Work-life balance * 6.8 weeks annual leave including BH * Private medical insurance * Enhanced family leave and pay across maternity, paternity, adoption and surrogacy * Learning and development opportunities via the IVC Evidensia Academy * Retail discounts and cashback offers * Reduced-cost veterinary care for your own pets * Car allowance of £475 per month or a company car If you’re an inspiring leader who’s passionate about people, performance and purpose, we’d love to hear from you.