Veterinary Practice Manager

Alliance Animal Health • Ankeny, IA

10h • Onsite

About The Position

Priority Pet Urgent Care is opening a new, state-of-the-art urgent care hospital in Ankeny, IA, in late December 2026. This hospital will operate daily from 3 pm to 12 am, focusing on providing convenient, high-quality urgent care for pets while ensuring an exceptional experience for clients and team members. The Practice Manager will be a hands-on leader responsible for both the people and the business aspects of the hospital. The ideal candidate will possess strong financial and operational acumen, understand key hospital performance metrics, and be capable of translating goals related to growth, labor, client experience, and profitability into consistent daily execution. The company's mission is to offer accessible, quality veterinary care, prioritizing every pet and client. They value teamwork, accountability, compassion, and excellence, aiming to foster an environment where teams can grow and succeed.

Requirements

• Minimum 3 years of veterinary practice management experience.
• Demonstrated responsibility for staffing, financial performance, operations, and team leadership.
• Demonstrated business acumen with the ability to understand and manage practice-level financial performance, including revenue, labor, COGS, expenses, budgets, and profitability.
• Proven ability to use operational and financial KPIs to identify opportunities, develop action plans, and hold teams accountable for measurable results.
• Strong people leadership skills with demonstrated experience building teams, managing performance, navigating difficult conversations, and developing future leaders.
• Excellent communication and partnership skills with the ability to work effectively with doctors, support teams, regional leadership, and partners.
• Highly organized, technologically proficient, and comfortable learning and managing practice management systems, scheduling tools, reporting platforms, and other business systems.
• Strong understanding of veterinary hospital operations, including patient flow, scheduling, inventory, client service, staffing models, and clinical support workflows.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-accountability environment and making timely decisions using data, business judgment, and available resources.
• Self-directed and solutions-oriented, with a demonstrated ability to take ownership, follow through, and continuously improve hospital performance.
• Flexible availability based on hospital needs, including the ability to support opening/closing operations, peak demand periods, and occasional weekends or holidays as required.

Nice To Haves

• CVPM or equivalent management certification is preferred but not required.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary onsite business and operational leader, partnering with the Veterinarian owner and regional field leadership.
• Build the operational foundation for the hospital's grand opening.
• Manage practice setup and facility preparation.
• Oversee equipment ordering, tracking, unpacking, and stocking.
• Conduct pre-opening referral marketing.
• Establish vendor connections.
• Support the setup of the Practice Management System and workflows.
• Manage supply purchasing, tracking, unpacking, and stocking.
• Review budgeted pro forma with regional operations leaders and track expenses.
• Review and analyze operational KPIs, reporting cadence, and opening performance targets.
• Support staff interviewing, hiring, and training in preparation for the grand opening.
• Develop staffing labor plans and build schedules.
• Build workflows and accountability standards that support patient flow, client experience, productivity, and financial performance.
• Own people leadership and business performance, understanding practice financials, managing labor and staffing to demand, monitoring key performance indicators, identifying operational opportunities, and building action plans.
• Partner with the veterinary regional manager and medical leadership on staffing strategy, organizational structure, performance management, compensation recommendations, scheduling, and other personnel decisions.
• Build and manage employee schedules based on forecasted patient demand, operating hours, productivity expectations, and labor targets, proactively adjusting staffing as business needs change.
• Lead ongoing coaching, training, performance management, and accountability, setting clear expectations, providing timely feedback, developing team members, completing performance reviews, and implementing corrective action.
• Recruit, hire, onboard, develop, and retain team members who align with the culture and operational needs of the hospital, partnering with HR and regional leadership on compensation, performance concerns, and separations.
• Develop and execute local growth initiatives in partnership with Marketing and regional leadership, including community outreach, referral relationships, client experience, and reputation management.
• Maintain strong employee-management communication, resolve team concerns appropriately, and create a culture of accountability, engagement, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the client and patient workflow from arrival through discharge and identify opportunities to improve throughput, wait times, communication, and the overall client experience.
• Step into frontline operations when needed while maintaining primary accountability for leadership, business performance, and hospital operations.
• Ensure client concerns are addressed promptly and professionally, identifying recurring themes and implementing operational solutions.
• Exercise sound business judgment when managing people, resources, and hospital priorities.
• Own inventory and purchasing controls to maintain appropriate supply levels while managing cost, pricing, waste, and working capital.
• Ensure hospital compliance with company policies and applicable regulatory requirements, including DEA/controlled substances, OSHA, and safety standards.
• Ensure payroll and timekeeping are accurate and timely while actively managing overtime, schedule efficiency, and overall labor performance.
• Manage vendor relationships at the hospital level.
• Partner with medical leadership to ensure appropriate urgent and emergency patient workflows, escalation processes, and operational readiness.
• Own day-to-day hospital business performance and routinely review key metrics such as revenue, transactions, average client transaction, labor, COGS, productivity, client demand, and profitability.
• Partner with regional leadership to build and manage the hospital budget, understand monthly P&L performance, explain material variances, and execute corrective action plans.
• Develop staffing plans that balance patient demand, service levels, team wellbeing, and financial expectations.
• Use data and operational reporting to identify trends, diagnose root causes, prioritize opportunities, and drive measurable improvement in hospital performance.
• Maintain ownership of hospital execution by establishing clear priorities, assigning accountability, following up on commitments, and closing the loop on operational issues.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Comprehensive Benefits (health, dental, vision, liability, 401k & 401K matching program, life & supplemental insurance, HSA, & FSA)
• Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Vacation and Sick Time for ALL Employees
• Paid Bereavement Program
• Paid Parental Leave Program
• Competitive Compensation
• Continuing Education Allowance (applies to licensed/registered/certified roles)
• Tuition Reimbursement Program Available to any AVMA Accredited Veterinary Technology Program
• Career Development Opportunities
• Referral Bonus Program for most positions!
• Additional Benefits May Also Be Available (i.e. Personal Pet Discounts, Holiday Pay, Uniform Allowance, Bonuses etc.)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed