Veterinary Practice Operations Manager

Position Summary

The Veterinary Practice Operations Manager (VPOM) is the practice's senior non-clinical leader, responsible for running the 808 and 814 buildings as a single, well-coordinated operation so the doctors can focus on medicine and clients receive a consistent, high-quality experience. The role owns the practice's operating infrastructure: staffing and scheduling, human resources and employee relations, technician training, inventory and purchasing, regulatory compliance, and the practice's technology systems. Reporting to the Practice Owner, the VPOM sets operating standards, holds the team accountable to them, and resolves day-to-day operational issues at the management level so they do not escalate to ownership. The VPOM models and reinforces the HRAH CARING Principles in every policy, process, and conversation.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Practice Operations

•    Direct daily non-clinical operations across both buildings, monitoring workflow and intervening to restore flow when staffing, client volume, or equipment issues arise.

•    Own the practice's daily, weekly, and monthly task lists, assigning ownership by role and verifying completion through daily, weekly, and monthly checklists.

•    Write, release, and maintain standard operating procedures and the HRAH Operations Manual, and train staff on new and revised procedures (e.g., vitals capture, lab handling, front desk workflows).

•    Oversee front desk and Client Service Representative (CSR) operations, including client communication standards, appointment reminder settings, and follow-up on failed client communications.

•    Serve as the primary point of contact for vendors, service providers, and outside representatives on non-clinical matters.

Scheduling & Staffing

•    Build and publish the monthly technician, CSR, and inpatient-care schedules in the scheduling platform no later than ten days before the end of the prior month.

•    Apply the practice's coverage rules, including surgery and lead coverage, position eligibility by technician training level, doctor–technician pairing, weekly hours targets, and overtime preferences.

•    Maintain the weekend, holiday, and boarding/inpatient-care coverage rotation, ensuring patient-safety-critical shifts are always covered.

•    Monitor hours, overtime, open shifts, and absences, adjusting schedules and approving shift changes to hold target coverage.

•    Model staffing capacity against appointment volume and recommend headcount and schedule-structure changes to ownership.

Human Resources & Employee Relations

•    Manage the full recruiting cycle: job descriptions, job postings, applicant screening, structured interviews, selection, offers, and new-hire onboarding.

•    Conduct performance reviews, coaching, and documented corrective action consistent with practice policy, ensuring a clean and defensible record.

•    Administer the attendance policy, including periodic attendance audits that reconcile schedules against time punches.

•    Conduct workplace investigations — witness interviews, signed statements, evidence review, and written findings that separate substantiated from unsubstantiated allegations — and recommend outcomes to the Practice Owner.

•    Draft and maintain employment policies that supplement the Employee Handbook (e.g., attendance, appearance, paid parental leave), communicate them to staff, and document receipt.

•    Administer leave and accommodation requests, including paid time off, Arizona earned paid sick time, and the ADA interactive process.

•    Manage separations, including exit interviews and timely final pay, and maintain complete, confidential personnel files.

•    Gather and act on staff feedback through climate reviews and one-on-one check-ins to strengthen retention and team culture.

Technician Training & Development

•    Own the technician training program, including the leveled training ladder, skills master list, and competency tracker.

•    Partner with Lead Veterinary Technicians on skill observation and sign-off, and align scheduling eligibility to each technician's current training level.

•    Develop specialized training modules (e.g., working-dog handling for police K9 patients) and recurring staff training sessions.

Inventory & Purchasing

•    Oversee the automated inventory and dispensing system (Cubex), including min/max levels, item and bin setup, unit-of-measure accuracy, and controlled-substance backstock.

•    Manage the weekly purchase-order cycle with the practice's procurement platform, resolve order errors, and oversee receiving and vendor returns.

•    Review stockouts and usage data to tune stocking levels, and keep product costs and client pricing current in the practice management system.

Financial & Client Account Administration

•    Manage invoicing and collections for institutional accounts, including police K9 accounts.

•    Administer the client referral credit program and other client account adjustments according to program terms.

•    Review merchant processing statements, vendor pricing, and operating costs, and recommend savings opportunities to ownership.

•    Monitor client experience surveys and online reviews, respond to reviews on behalf of the practice, and act on recurring themes.

Regulatory Compliance & Safety

•    Maintain compliance with Arizona veterinary regulations, including anesthesia, radiology, and controlled-substance log requirements and medical-record documentation standards; audit records and correct gaps.

•    Submit required regulatory reports, including rabies vaccination reporting to the county, on schedule.

•    Administer the practice's OSHA and radiation-safety programs, including required logs, equipment checks, and staff training.

•    Maintain employment-law compliance, including required postings, I-9s, recordkeeping, and wage-and-hour obligations.

Technology & Systems

•    Administer the practice's operating systems — PIMS (Shepherd), scheduling and staff communications (Connecteam), HR and timekeeping (eBacon), inventory and dispensing (Cubex), phones (Weave), and Microsoft 365 — including user setup, configuration, reporting, and data clean-up.

•    Serve as first-line support and vendor liaison for system issues, and evaluate and implement new tools that improve efficiency.

•    Performs other duties as assigned to support practice operations.

Supervisory Responsibilities

The Veterinary Practice Operations Manager directly supervises the Lead Veterinary Technicians, Veterinary Technicians, Client Service Representatives, and Interns, with authority to assign and schedule work, set performance expectations, conduct reviews, and issue documented corrective action. The VPOM selects and hires non-doctor staff within approved headcount and budget; terminations and other major employment decisions are made with the approval of the Practice Owner. The VPOM does not supervise clinical decision-making and has no authority over medical judgment, but coordinates with the doctors on administrative matters and aligns staff schedules to the doctor schedule.

Required Qualifications

•    Education: High school diploma or equivalent.

•    Experience: At least 3 years of veterinary or healthcare practice management experience, or 5+ years of operations management, including direct supervision of 10 or more employees and staff scheduling.

•    Licenses / Certifications: None required.

Preferred Qualifications

•    Bachelor's degree in business, healthcare administration, human resources, or a related field.

•    Certified Veterinary Practice Manager (CVPM) credential.

•    Experience managing a multi-building or multi-doctor small-animal practice.

•    Working knowledge of Arizona employment law and Arizona veterinary regulatory requirements.

•    Familiarity with PIMS (Shepherd), inventory and dispensing (Cubex), HR and timekeeping (eBacon), scheduling and staff communications (Connecteam), and phone systems (Weave), or comparable systems.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

•    Proven ability to lead people, drive accountability, and make sound decisions independently.

•    Strong working knowledge of HR practices, wage-and-hour rules, and fair, well-documented employee relations.

•    Advanced proficiency in Excel and Microsoft 365, and the ability to learn and administer new software quickly.

•    Analytical skill with schedules, inventory, and operating data, with close attention to detail and accuracy.

•    Clear, professional written and verbal communication with staff, doctors, clients, and vendors.

•    Discretion with confidential personnel, client, and financial information.

•    Composure under pressure, consistent with the practice's "Never Rattled" principle.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment

•    Ability to lift and carry up to 25 lbs, with or without reasonable accommodation.

•    Combination of sitting at a computer and walking between the 808 and 814 buildings throughout the day.

•    Exposure to animals, cleaning agents, and a fast-paced clinical environment, including occasional exposure to animal bites, scratches, and noise.

Schedule & Availability

•    Full-time, exempt position of approximately 40 hours per week. Hospital hours are Monday–Friday 06:30 AM–6:30 PM and Saturday 07:30 AM–1:30 PM.

•    Schedule varies so the manager periodically works across all parts of the practice day and week, including openings, closings, and Saturdays, to stay connected with every aspect of operations.

•    There is some flexibility in how weekly hours are arranged, coordinated in advance with the Practice Owner.

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• •    Reachable by phone for urgent staffing, facility, or system issues outside regular hours, including weekend and holiday boarding coverage gaps.
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