- Lead a large, high-performing vet nurse team
- Drive real operational and people outcomes
- Grow your leadership career with a national organisation
At Animal Emergency Australia (AEA), we’re seeking a Nurse Team Manager who combines strategic thinking, operational discipline, and people leadership excellence to drive both team performance and business outcomes.
About Us
AEA is a leader in emergency and critical care veterinary services, delivering high-quality care across a national network of hospitals. We are committed to clinical excellence, innovation, and building environments where our people can perform at their best and grow meaningful careers.
Animal Emergency Services (AES) Hobart is AEA’s flagship hospital in Tasmania, delivering 24/7 emergency and critical care to the local community and surrounding regions. With a team of 80+ veterinary professionals and support staff, AES Hobart combines clinical capability with a strong, people-first culture. As part of the AEA network, it offers a collaborative environment where leaders can make a meaningful impact on patients, clients, and their teams.
About the opportunity
We are seeking a high-calibre Nurse Team Manager for a Full-time, Maternity leave contract (6months) to play a critical role in the leadership, performance, and development of our vet nurse team within a fast-paced, 24/7 emergency environment.
This is a non-clinical leadership position where you will have genuine ownership of team performance, workforce strategy, and operational delivery. You will directly influence outcomes across people, patient care, and business performance.
Acting as the integrator between people, processes, and performance, you will enable the vet nursing team to operate at their best - ensuring capability, engagement, and accountability are consistently high.
This is a dynamic, hands-on role requiring flexibility to support a 24/7 operational environment.
Working closely with the Hospital Administrator and Leadership Team, you will translate strategy into execution, drive operational discipline, and continuously elevate performance standards - at scale within a growing national organisation.
Key responsibilities
- Lead the performance, engagement, and development of the nursing team
- Drive a high-performance, values-led culture built on accountability and trust
- Oversee recruitment, onboarding, and workforce planning to ensure capability and capacity alignment
- Manage performance, including coaching, development, performance management and difficult conversations
- Lead and embed change initiatives and continuous improvement activities
- Ensure effective rostering, workforce sustainability, and operational coverage
- Support financial performance through labour cost management, efficiency, and reporting insights
- Partner with clinical and operational leaders to optimise patient outcomes and service delivery
- Strengthen collaboration across multi-disciplinary teams
- Drive compliance with WHS, policies, and AEA standards
What you bring
- Minimum 5+ years’ experience in people leadership, ideally within complex service environments
- Proven success leading high-performing, diverse teams in fast-paced settings
- Strong business acumen, including experience managing budgets, workforce costs, and operational efficiency
- Demonstrated experience managing a diverse workforce, including:
- Performance management
- Navigating difficult conversations
- Leading and embedding change initiatives
- Advanced stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence across multi-disciplinary teams in a 24/7 environment
- Strong operational discipline with a hands-on, solutions-focused mindset
- Excellent organisational capability with the ability to manage competing priorities
- High emotional intelligence and ability to build trust, alignment, and accountability
- Experience in veterinary, healthcare, or similarly complex service environments (advantageous)
Why join AEA?
- Autonomy: Take ownership of vet nuring team performance and shape how a critical function operates
- Influence: Work closely with senior leaders and directly impact team, patient, and business outcomes
- Impact: See the tangible results of your leadership on team engagement, patient care, and hospital performance
- Growth: Access clear pathways for career progression within a growing national organisation
- Scale: Be part of a broader network with opportunities to contribute beyond a single site
- Culture: Join a values-driven organisation focused on trust, continuous improvement, and high performance
Perks include:
- Competitive salary + super
- 17.5% annual leave loading
- Pet care discounts
- Fitness Passport access
- Wellbeing & EAP support
- Career progression opportunities across Australia
At AEA, we invest in leaders who want to make a meaningful impact. You’ll be empowered to lead strategically, think commercially, and grow your career within a national organisation shaping the future of emergency veterinary care.
Ready to lead with impact?
If you are a people-first leader with strong commercial acumen, who thrives in complex, fast-moving environments and is motivated by autonomy, impact, and continuous improvement - we’d love to hear from you. This role is a Full-time, Maternity leave contract (6months).
To apply, please submit:
- A 1-page cover letter, and
- Your CV (maximum 3 pages)
