Director of Operations

Western Veterinary Partners

$140K — $160K *
Healthcare
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of multi-site operational and management experience in fast-growth healthcare services or veterinary sectors.
  • Strong P&L responsibility and budget management skills.
  • Ability to analyze complex data and make strategic recommendations using tools like Excel and Tableau.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills with an executive presence.
  • Bachelor's degree required; MBA preferred.
  • Highly organized with a detail-oriented work ethic.
  • Experience in team building and personnel management.

Responsibilities

  • Develop strong relationships with veterinarians to drive recruitment and retention.
  • Achieve business growth through collaboration and influence, not authority.
  • Maintain communication with practice staff to review performance and objectives.
  • Champion company culture and develop team leadership through coaching.
  • Oversee and support practice-level managers and administrative staff.
  • Identify and implement strategies to boost employee engagement.
  • Collaborate with other departments to drive business growth and operational effectiveness.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
  • Generous vacation and sick leave policies.
  • 401(k) retirement plan options.
  • Opportunities for professional growth and development.
  • Flexibility for remote work and field presence.
Full Job Description
Western Veterinary Partners is seeking a Director of Operations (DO) to lead a portfolio of veterinary hospitals. The ideal candidate for this role is someone who has successfully managed multiple locations (ideally 10+) in a healthcare, veterinary or multi-site setting. Our ideal candidate is a strong general manager with a goal-oriented attitude, a passion for training and team development, and the business, financial, and strategic acumen to help scale a rapidly growing business and team.

Market Area to include the following geographies: Northern California and Southern Oregon, including Sacramento, San Jose, Reno, Lake Tahoe, Truckee, Chico, Redding, Medford, Eugene, Salem, and Klamath Falls. Preferred Home Base: Sacramento (strongly preferred) or San Jose, or Central Oregon.

In partnership with the Vice President of Operations and Senior Director of Operations, the chosen candidate will focus on supporting veterinary practices in achieving operational excellence, building culture, recruiting and retaining veterinarians, technicians, and support staff. The Director of Operations will spend extensive time in the field with hospital leadership and staff and be responsible for supporting the overall operations of 8 - 12 general practice veterinary hospitals.

Job Responsibilities:

Leadership and Culture
  • Develop strong relationship with DVMs to assist with recruiting, training, and retention to drive overall business growth
  • Achieve results through influence and partnership versus through authority or directives
  • Maintain regular communication with doctors and office staff to review practice trends and performance objectives
  • Champion WVP's culture and develop teams and leaders through coaching, mentorship, and programs that deliver on the strategic mission
  • Provide oversight and support to practice level managers and administrative staff, as well as regional managers
  • Instill a sense of accountability and service excellence with our teams at all levels
  • Identify opportunities to improve and maintain site-level employee engagement
  • Facilitate connections and community among individuals and hospitals within markets and the region
  • Develop collaborative and productive relationships across the organization
  • Contribute to growth and innovation across WVP by supporting other geographies and organization-wide initiatives

Financial and Business Objectives
  • Understand business drivers and create opportunities to optimize them, with a strong focus on volume growth, service mix and offerings, pricing, and margin improvement
  • Set, manage and exceed WVP's financial objectives in partnership with sites, regional leaders, and the executive team, with an eye toward future growth opportunities for the company
  • Provide overall P&L management for the business, along with a vision for near and long-term value creation
  • Partner with hospital leaders, field operators and functional support to diagnose issues, identify opportunities, and develop corresponding action plans
  • Employ structured and repeatable management processes with hospital leadership teams to drive operational effectiveness and growth
  • Prioritize areas of focus based on impact and urgency; help team do the same

Growth and Strategy
  • Assist in the timely and accurate onboarding and integration of recently affiliated veterinary practices while minimizing disruption to the existing business
  • Partner with WVP departments (marketing, recruiting, HR, business development, and finance and accounting) to create and implement plans that support business growth, including scheduling optimization, client growth and retention, identification of new services, recruitment of new DVMs, and expansion of existing sites and their capacity
  • Partner with hospitals to manage DVM capacity, identify and schedule relief, and plan for succession
  • Nurture and elevate innovation and growth ideas to build tangible, scalable programs
  • Develop capital budgets for new site development, expansions, and capital equipment purchases, and build and monitor ROI analyses to support business decisions and growth
  • Forecast future business needs and develop comprehensive strategic plans at the hospital, market, and region levels

Required Criteria:
  • Must reside in Northern CA or Oregon and be open to travel across the state - 70% of the time
  • 5+ years of multi-site operational and/or management experience in fast-growth healthcare services businesses, including previous experience managing a business of similar size and complexity. Previous veterinary experience a plus
  • Ability to analyze and assess complex and ambiguous data to make recommendations for strategic and operational improvements, leveraging tools such as Excel, PowerPoint, and Tableau
  • P&L responsibility and experience with budget management, personnel management, and team building
  • Strong active listening and written and verbal communication skills; Executive presence
  • Ability to implement processes in collaboration with the VP of Operations to ensure company objectives are met
  • Highly organized and detail-oriented work ethic
  • Ability to work collaboratively with all team members, both at the practice level and at the corporate level
  • Self-directed and able to work independently
  • Bachelor's degree required, master's degree (MBA) highly preferred
  • Willingness to spend time in the field visiting and supporting affiliated veterinary practices (approximately 70% of time). Occasional travel to Denver and other company activities

The Company offers competitive compensation along with a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision benefits, vacation, sick leave, 401(k), and more depending on location. The compensation for this opportunity is $140,000.00 - $160,000.00 year + annual bonus. You will be provided more detailed information about compensation and benefits for your specific location. Where required under applicable law, WVP provides eligible employees with paid sick leave, health emergency leave, and similar benefits programs, all in accordance with the requirements of state and local law depending on the location of the practice you support.

The application window will be open for the next two weeks ending 7/22/2026. This opportunity will remain online based on business needs which may be before or after the two--week window.

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