Operations Director in Southport, Connecticut at Essential Veterinary Partners

Join a team that grows veterinary practices by keeping what makes them special.

Most veterinary consolidators absorb the practices they buy and quietly erase what made them special. Essential Veterinary Partners was built to do the opposite. Founded by industry veterans who scaled some of the largest veterinary groups in the country, we grow by keeping practices intact: owners keep their voice, their identity, their clinical control, and a real share of the upside. We're scaling fast, and proving consolidation doesn't have to mean losing what matters.

We're looking for a full-time Operations Director who can fix what's broken on the ground, fast, without the client experience paying for it. This is a field role reporting to the VP of Operations, with 33% to 50% travel across our hospitals, typically one to two weeks a month on site. You'll extend the VP of Operations' reach across every hospital, own the operating numbers that drive each hospital's budget, and run the local marketing program that brings in new clients. As we add hospitals, this seat gets bigger. For a candidate earlier in their career, we will consider the title Senior Manager, Operations, with a clear path to Director.

What You'll Do

• Solve operational problems on the ground: staffing gaps, scheduling, front-desk workflow, facilities, vendors, and client escalations. You show up, size it up, and get it resolved quickly.
• Own each hospital's key operating metrics alongside its hospital manager: hourly payroll through scheduling to appointment demand, visits and new clients, fill rate and no-shows, average transaction, and recall compliance.
• Review results against budget every month with each hospital manager and the VP of Operations, and turn every variance into a specific action with an owner and a date.
• Run EVP's local marketing and promotion program at each hospital: roll out the plans, manage the promotions calendar, coach managers on execution, and measure the impact on visits, new clients, and revenue.
• Set the standard for client service at the front desk and on the phone, and communicate clearly up to leadership and across hospital teams.
• Lead through influence. Hospital managers report to their medical directors, so results come from being credible, useful, and consistent.
• Take on a growing share of operations as EVP adds hospitals.

By the end of your first year, every hospital manager knows their numbers and runs to them, and monthly budget reviews end in actions, not explanations. Hourly payroll is tracking to target through better scheduling, the local marketing program is driving measurable visits and new clients, and hospital teams call you first when something breaks.

What We're Looking For

• A track record of fixing operational problems on the ground, quickly, in a customer-facing business, with the customer experience protected along the way.
• Accountability for at least one operating metric (sales, labor hours, or traffic), and the ability to talk specifically about what you moved and how.
• Clear, warm, concise communication in person, on the phone, and in writing.
• Experience getting results through people who didn't report to you: store teams under another manager, peers, franchisees, or vendors.
• A record of learning and growing: promotions, expanded scope, or skills you taught yourself. The marketing and metrics side of this role will be learned here.
• Willingness to travel 33% to 50% of the time, typically one to two weeks a month on site.
• Multi-unit retail or consumer-services operations experience (district, area, or regional roles) is a plus.
• Hands-on experience managing hourly payroll to a labor target, or running promotions and local marketing that drove traffic, is a plus.
• P&L ownership for a location or district is a plus.
• Experience at a fast-growing or acquisitive company, or in multi-site healthcare such as dental, optical, urgent care, or veterinary, is a plus.

Why Essential Veterinary Partners?

• Fast-moving, PE-backed company growing through acquisition, with a seat that gets bigger as we add hospitals.
• Direct partnership with the VP of Operations and real ownership of the numbers that drive each hospital's budget.
• Hospitals that keep their identity and their clinical control, so your job is to make great practices run better, not to make them all the same.
• Remote role with one to two weeks a month on site at our hospitals.
• Competitive base salary of $130,000 to $160,000, based on experience, plus a 15% to 20% target bonus and an equity grant.
• Comprehensive benefits package including:
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off

About Southport, Connecticut

Our headquarters sits in Southport, a coastal village in Fairfield County about an hour from New York City by train. This role is remote, so you can work from home, but reasonable proximity to Southport makes it easier to spend time with the leadership team between hospital visits.

Our hiring process is simple: a screen with our talent team, an interview with the VP of Operations, and interviews with EVP leadership.

If you're looking for a role where your judgment is trusted, your work shows up in the numbers, and your growth keeps pace with ours, we'd love to hear from you.

Apply today and come grow with Essential Veterinary Partners.

Essential Veterinary Partners is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to building an inclusive environment for all team members.