{"id":45366,"date":"2026-07-08T14:42:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T18:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spcaoutaouais.ca\/veterinaire-en-chef\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T12:53:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:53:45","slug":"veterinaire-en-chef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spcaoutaouais.ca\/en\/veterinaire-en-chef\/","title":{"rendered":"Chief Veterinarian"},"content":{"rendered":"

French is the primary working language at the SPCA de l’Outaouais. Fluency in spoken and written French is required for this position.<\/em><\/p>\n

Job Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Chief Veterinary Officer will work closely with senior management to ensure strategic vision, clinical governance, and integrated management of all services related to veterinary medicine, animal care, and the animal\u2019s overall care journey.<\/p>\n

As a key member of the executive team, the Chief Veterinary Officer assumes strategic and operational responsibility for animal care and the animal\u2019s journey at the shelter. With a focus on organizational transformation, the Chief Veterinary Officer provides visionary leadership to orchestrate the animal\u2019s entire journey, from admission through discharge. This unified leadership approach aims to break down operational silos through guidance of a multidisciplinary team to harmonize practices, standardize processes for all species, and establish a management culture focused on results and accountability.<\/p>\n

Job Type<\/b><\/p>\n

Permanent, full-time executive position (5 days\/week \u2013 40 hours), based on-site at the SPCA de l’Outaouais in Gatineau.<\/p>\n

Salary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starting annual salary of $115,000 to $128,250 depending on experience (determined according to the current pay scale).<\/p>\n

What We Offer<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Attractive employee benefits and group insurance program;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 4 weeks of annual vacation;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Flexible work arrangements;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 A caring, collaborative work environment focused on animal welfare;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Opportunities for professional development and continuing education;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 The chance to directly contribute to a mission that makes a tangible impact in the community.<\/p>\n

Key Responsibilities<\/strong><\/p>\n

Change Management and Structuring the Animal\u2019s Journey:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Provide leadership for the animal\u2019s journey at the shelter, from admission through adoption or permanent placement, ensuring smooth, consistent coordination centered on animal welfare;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Consistently promote and ensure the implementation of best practices within the organization, particularly regarding capacity, length of stay for animals, and the ethical and sustainable management of the animal population;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Integrate shelter management principles and best practices into the organization\u2019s continuing education programs and internal tools;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Clarify the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder along the care pathway to eliminate task overlaps, redundancies, and gray areas;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for each stage of the care pathway to measure workflow efficiency, length of stay, quality of care, workload, and adoption success rates.<\/p>\n

Clinical Governance, Ethics, and Compliance:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Serve as Chief Veterinarian and be responsible for standards of care, clinical practice, and animal welfare within the SPCA de l’Outaouais;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Ensure that all of the organization\u2019s activities comply with the Act respecting the welfare and safety of animals, the Ordre des m\u00e9decins v\u00e9t\u00e9rinaires du Qu\u00e9bec (OMVQ), and best practices for animal shelters;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Oversee and validate biosafety protocols and daily animal care procedures at the shelter;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Ensure ethical, legal, and medical guidance for protocols related to vaccination, antiparasitic treatment, medical care, and euthanasia;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Provide clinical leadership to the veterinary team by promoting the application of guidelines and best practices in shelter medicine;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Actively participate in the recruitment, onboarding, integration, and training of new veterinarians.<\/p>\n

Service Management and Guidance:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Unify and coordinate the efforts of the various departments involved in the animal care process (veterinary care, animal health, behavior, adoption, intake, foster families, transfer, and complaints);<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Develop and support initiatives and programs aimed at optimizing animal care and shelter operations;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Establish transparent accountability mechanisms to align the teams\u2019 daily work with the expectations of the organization and government partners;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Oversee the development and monitoring of the annual budget for the departments under your supervision.<\/p>\n

Partnerships and Representation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Collaborate closely with senior management and other departments (patrol services, corporate) to maintain an integrated organizational vision;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Provide clinical and strategic expertise during complex post-patrol interventions, seizures, or cases of animal abuse;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Represent the organization before medical and government authorities and partners in the veterinary community in Quebec.<\/p>\n

Desired Profile<\/strong><\/p>\n

Requirements<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and active membership in the Ordre des m\u00e9decins v\u00e9t\u00e9rinaires du Qu\u00e9bec (OMVQ);<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Proven experience in team management and department leadership (in private practice, shelter settings, academic institutions, or the public sector);<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Experience in veterinary practice, particularly in spaying and neutering, preventive care, vaccination, general medicine, and animal health care management;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Strong interest in shelter medicine, animal population management issues, and applicable regulatory frameworks, as well as in the continuous improvement of practices;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Excellent communication and writing skills in French and English.<\/p>\n

Desired Skills<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Leadership to mobilize multidisciplinary teams and strong change management skills;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Ability to design, implement, and analyze performance indicators and accountability mechanisms;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Strong sense of professional ethics, scientific rigor, and excellent clinical judgment;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Ability to navigate a high-volume, emotionally demanding environment with empathy and resilience;<\/p>\n

\u00b7 Unwavering commitment to animal welfare and deep alignment with the values of the SPCA de l’Outaouais.<\/p>\n

To Apply<\/strong><\/p>\n

Interested candidates are invited to submit their resume and a cover letter to:<\/p>\n

\u00b7 mcadieux@spcaoutaouais.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00b7 Deadline: July 24, 2026, at 11:00 p.m.<\/p>\n

We thank all applicants for their interest. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

French is the primary working language at the SPCA de l’Outaouais. Fluency in spoken and written French is required for this position. Job Summary The Chief Veterinary Officer will work closely with senior management to ensure strategic vision, clinical governance, and integrated management of all services related to veterinary medicine, animal care, and the animal\u2019s… <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spcaoutaouais.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spcaoutaouais.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spcaoutaouais.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spcaoutaouais.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spcaoutaouais.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45366"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spcaoutaouais.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45367,"href":"https:\/\/spcaoutaouais.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45366\/revisions\/45367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spcaoutaouais.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spcaoutaouais.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spcaoutaouais.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}