Join our dedicated Reproduction Team and bring your veterinary expertise to a programme built on ethics, compassion and exceptional welfare standards. This is your chance to play a vital role in ensuring every puppy begins life with the very best foundations.
As our Canine Reproduction Specialist, you’ll work hand‑in‑hand with our Veterinary Surgeon to support successful, welfare‑focused breeding outcomes. Your insight and care will help maximise conception rates and litter sizes, while safeguarding the physical and emotional wellbeing of every breeding dog.
You’ll champion best‑practice reproductive care, influence high‑quality decision‑making, and help ensure that long‑term comfort, health and happiness remain at the heart of every breeding choice we make.
Based at our National Breeding Centre near Leamington Spa, you’ll work 35 hours per week between 8am and 6pm, Monday–Friday. You’ll also participate in a 1 in 4 weekend rota, ensuring continuous, outstanding care for our dogs.
If you’re passionate about canine welfare and want your work to have a lasting, positive impact, we’d love to hear from you!
What You’ll Do
- Carry out key reproductive duties, including cytology, progesterone testing and supervising matings, ensuring the highest standards of welfare and outcomes.
- Support clinical care for breeding dogs, applying your knowledge of canine anatomy, physiology and behaviour.
- Maintain accurate records, analyse reproductive data and contribute to continuous improvement across the breeding programme.
- Develop skills in ultrasound and reproductive techniques, including artificial insemination, under veterinary direction (full training provided).
- Work collaboratively with colleagues, volunteers and external partners, representing the breeding programme professionally.
What You’ll Bring
- Registered Veterinary Nurse with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
- Significant experience working in a veterinary practice.
- At least one year’s experience in a scientific or laboratory setting, with the ability and willingness to learn new techniques.
- Advanced knowledge of canine anatomy and reproduction, gained through academic study and/or practical experience.
- Strong understanding of canine behaviour, temperament and reproductive health.
- Good understanding of laboratory processes and equipment.
- Confident dog‑handling skills.
- Physical dexterity to safely supervise matings.
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to work effectively with colleagues at all levels.
- Competent user of Microsoft Office, including Excel and PowerPoint.
What We Offer
No two people with sight loss are the same — and none of our people are either. That’s why we’re proud to offer a range of person‑centred benefits designed to support each member of staff in the ways that matter most.
Our flexible benefits package includes a generous holiday allowance, a matched contributory pension scheme and access to discounts and cashback, giving you the freedom to choose the options that work best for you. It’s our way of showing how much our people mean to us and helping you feel supported both in and outside of work.
About Us
How to apply
Further details on the full role are attached below. When you are ready to apply, submit an online application form via this page.
If you would like to have an informal conversation about the role before applying, or require any accessibility support to apply, our friendly recruitment team is ready and waiting to help.
As part of your application ensure you provide evidence and examples of how your skills & experience meet the criteria as set out in the attached job description. You will also be asked to complete a few job-specific questions as part of this application process, so please be prepared to write your answers to these questions.
If you want to know more about the teams who work at Guide Dogs, you can find it on our Careers Page
Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
Guide Dogs welcomes applications from all sections of the community and actively encourages diversity to maximise achievements, creativity and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment, regardless of age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability or nationality.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we are proud, whenever possible, to offer an interview to all candidates that meet our selection criteria, and who indicate they wish their application to be considered under our Disability Confident interview commitment. For more details, visit our careers site.
If you are successful you will need to provide evidence of your right to work in the UK via our digital ID checking supplier; in addition, we cannot offer visa sponsorship at this time.
Safeguarding
Guide Dogs is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and adults at risk of harm with whom we work. We expect all our employees and volunteers to fully share this commitment.
At Guide Dogs, we believe in fair and equitable hiring practices. A criminal record will not automatically disqualify an applicant from consideration for a position. Each case will be evaluated individually, taking into account the nature of the offense, its relevance to the role, and the time that has passed since the incident. We encourage all candidates to disclose relevant information, and we assure you that it will be handled confidentially and fairly.
Guide Dogs follow Safer Recruitment practices to ensure we are safeguarding the vulnerable people we work with. As part of this, we require a full work history with any gaps accounted for & a minimum of 2 professional referee details fully covering the past 5 years. If you are applying for a disclosure role, please note that you will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS check and sign up to the DBS update service.
For high volumes of applications, we reserve the right to close adverts earlier than advertised.
Registered Charity
More than 1000
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
We are looking for someone who sees communications and development as a strategic act — someone who understands that brand, partnership, advocacy and fundraising are interwoven. Someone who is excited by the possibility of building a mixed economy that supports artistic risk, sector innovation and long-term civic contribution.
We would like to hear from candidates with significant senior experience in communications, marketing and brand guardianship, ideally in the arts or creative industries; experience of driving engaging storytelling with creative flair and strategic purpose; and a proven track record of stakeholder engagement and external relations within a charity, cultural or non-profit organisation, developing and implementing strategies that grow visibility, engagement and income.
You’ll also bring experience of working at a senior leadership level, leading teams in the delivery of high quality, impactful campaigns – along with excellent interpersonal and communication skills; a proven ability to successfully build and maintain stakeholder relationships; a positive, proactive, and solution-focused approach; and a genuine interest in the arts and culture.
Location is either Birmingham or Nottingham (subject to base of postholder)
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Job Title: Assistant Director of Philanthropy & Strategic Partnership
Reporting To: Deputy CEO/Director of Fundraising and Communications
Manages: Head of Trusts and Foundations, Head of Corporate Partnerships
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time (36 hours per week, flexible)
Salary band: £58,000 - £66,000 per annum
N.B. To ensure fairness and consistency across Home-Start UK, new colleagues usually join at the first point of the pay band for their role. This helps us maintain a clear and equitable approach to pay for everyone joining our team.
Location: Remote – with regular travel to meetings with donors, for events and to our central office in Leicester for collaborative meetings and team activities.
About Home-Start UK
Home-Start is a federated charity consisting of a central national office – Home-Start UK - and over 170 geographically dispersed local Home-Start organisations, all working together under the same identity.
We recognise that being a parent has never been easy. Every Home-Start volunteer is trained to work alongside parents to overcome the challenges they are facing. We work with parents to build on their strengths and give them the support that they tell us they need. We offer no judgement – just compassionate, confidential help and expert support. This peer-to-peer support is key to the difference Home-Start makes and often our volunteers have lived experience of the challenges their families are facing themselves.
About The Role
This is an important moment for us and for the families we support. Parents of babies and young children are facing huge pressures, and strong, values-driven partnerships matter more than ever. We’re looking for a senior leader who can help us meet this moment with confidence and ambition.
As Assistant Director of Philanthropy & Strategic Partnerships, you will help shape the future of our national work and support our federation of 170+ local Home-Starts working in communities across the UK. You will lead a talented team, build long-lasting relationships, and help make sure Home-Start has the funding, partnerships, and influence it needs to give every child the best possible start in life. This role will suit someone who is motivated by purpose, who values people and relationships, and who is comfortable working across a large and varied network.
We are looking for someone with a strong track record, someone who has already delivered high-value fundraising and partnerships at a senior level and is ready to take on a role with significant national influence. With responsibility for an annual income portfolio of circa £4 Million – with strong potential to grow this over the next 3-5 years to between £6Million-£8Million plus, you will work with a supportive Leadership Team and Board, who have already engaged external philanthropy expertise to develop a strategy and roadmap that you can build on. You’ll need to be confident working with high-value supporters: able to build trust, communicate clearly, and nurture long-term relationships with people who want to invest in families and early years support. You’ll bring the skills and confidence to grow a portfolio that is already strong and take it further, along with the ability to work well with others in a fast-moving environment.
You will be joining a warm, collaborative organisation that believes in the power of community, the strength of families, and the importance of early help. If you feel excited by the chance to make a national difference, to build partnerships based on trust and shared purpose, and to help shape the next chapter of Home-Start’s impact, we would be delighted to hear from you.
The people at Home-Start are its most important resource. Home-Start UK has been accredited with Investors in People since March 2005, which recognises the commitment we give to developing our staff.
Benefits of working for Home-Start
- Flexible working
- Family friendly policy
- PayCare health cash plan
- Enhanced employer contribution pension
- Learning and development
- DAS Employee Assistance
If it sounds like your type of challenge, we would be delighted to hear from you.
The closing date for applications is Friday 27th March at 4pm.
As part of our recruitment process, shortlisted candidates will be invited to participate in a full-day assessment centre at our Leicester office on Tuesday 14th April.
The assessment centre will include a mix of individual and group activities designed to understand your strategic thinking, relational approach, and leadership style.
Interested?
If you would like to find out more, please click the apply button. You will be directed to our website to complete your application for this position.
Home-Start UK is committed to Equality of Opportunity and Diversity. We wish to encourage applications from all parts of the community irrespective of gender, race, colour, age, sexual orientation or disability.
No agencies please.
