Veterinary Woman Role Model Profile – Rose Jackson

From farm animal vetting to dairy industry consultancy, Rose Jackson has built a career driven by curiosity, collaboration and a passion for animal welfare. Now a consultant at Map of Ag and Junior Vice President of the BCVA, Rose shares her career journey, the challenges of balancing work and family life, and the importance of embracing new opportunities.

Please summarise your journey

I graduated from the University of Bristol in 2004, having always been determined to become a farm animal vet, despite not coming from a farming background myself. At a time when many of my fellow students were pursuing a career in mixed practice, I knew that farm animal medicine was where my passion lay.

I spent the majority of my clinical career at Scarsdale Vets in Derbyshire, working across dairy, beef and sheep enterprises, alongside the occasional pet goat or alpaca! During this time, I completed a Diploma in Bovine Reproduction in 2010 and a Certificate in Veterinary Business Management in 2016, both through the University of Liverpool. One of my proudest career moments came in 2011, when I became a partner at Scarsdale Vets at the age of 31.

As my career progressed, I became increasingly interested in herd-level health management and how research, data and genetics could be used to improve animal welfare, productivity and sustainability. This led me to move away from clinical practice in 2020 and into dairy industry consultancy, initially with Kite Consulting and, since 2025, with Map of Ag.

My current role allows me to combine my veterinary knowledge with wider industry collaboration, helping translate research and data into practical, evidence-based decisions across the dairy supply chain. Alongside this, I’ve been a member of the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) board since 2022, and I was delighted to be elected Junior Vice President this year. It’s a real honour to have the opportunity to help shape the future of the profession and support colleagues working across the cattle sector.

Throughout my career, I’ve remained passionate about the positive impact veterinary professionals can have, not only on animal health and welfare, but on farmer wellbeing, sustainable food production and the environment too. It’s something that continues to motivate me in everything I do.

Describe your typical day from waking to sleeping

Most days involve a mixture of online meetings, project work, report writing and collaboration with farmers, vets and other industry partners. I could be doing anything from reviewing animal health and welfare data, developing training materials, presenting at meetings, writing technical guidance or supporting farm assurance and sustainability projects.

I usually get out on farm one or two days a week to carry out health & welfare consultancy visits on behalf of our supply chain customers. I still really enjoy spending time with farmers and their vets and seeing the practical realities behind the data. I try to make time for family, friends, exercise (I’m currently on a Hyrox kick like many other women my age!) and getting outdoors whenever possible with my hairy Jack Russell!

“Many of the most rewarding opportunities came from saying yes to challenges that initially felt outside my comfort zone.”

How would you describe yourself in a sentence?

A curious, creative, collaborative and data-led vet who likes to get things done!

How would others describe you in a sentence?

Enthusiastic, approachable and practical.

What has been your top success and what have you learned from this?

My biggest success has been successfully transitioning from a clinical farm vet to a veterinary consultant; something I never would have even thought about in my student days.

My own identity has always been so tied up in being a vet that it felt uncomfortable and scary to step away from that role. The most important thing I have learned along the way is that impact is rarely achieved alone. The most successful projects have always involved collaboration between farmers, veterinarians, researchers, industry organisations and policymakers. Technical expertise is important, but listening, building relationships and bringing people together are often what create lasting change.

I’ve also learned that you don’t need to have a perfectly planned career. Many of the most rewarding opportunities came from saying yes to challenges that initially felt outside my comfort zone.

What has been your biggest challenge, setback or failure and how have you overcome it?

My biggest setback was handing in my notice at Scarsdale at the start of 2020 with a view to taking our young family out of school to go travelling for a year. Unfortunately, Covid well and truly put a damper on that plan, but I still took the leap out of practice and used some of that time to reflect on what came next for me in terms of my career pathway.

We have managed to squeeze in a few epic family trips over the last 5 years, so we will still get to see the world, one bit at a time!

What compromises have you had to make and what, if anything, could have helped?

Balancing a young family with a partnership role was challenging and there was always a compromise between family time and work time. I probably took less maternity leave than an employee would, for example, which felt like the right thing at the time but I do have some regrets about it when looking back. I’ve been lucky in that my husband has always been able to work part-time so we managed it that way. It would have been more of a challenge if we had both been full-time. Subsidised, high-quality child care would have been a help!

What advice would you have given to your younger self, that you would now give to others wanting to follow your path?

Don’t avoid doing things differently just because they are hard
Try to ignore those pesky imposter syndrome voices
Build your support network and lean on them when required
Be kind to yourself, as well as others

I couldn’t have got where I am today without…

Having a separate life and interests outside of work. I like hanging out with vets, but it’s also nice to spend time with people who have no idea what I do on a day-to-day basis!

What are your three top likes?

My family and friends
Indulging my creative side with sewing and knitting
Running with my little dog

What are your three top dislikes?

People who don’t pick up their dog-poo
People who park on the yellow zig-zag lines outside schools
Facebook (though other social media is acceptable!)

What is the most helpful book you’ve read and why?

Accounting and Finance for Non-Specialists: not a fun read, but very necessary when negotiating in the early days of being a business owner and for trying to ask semi-intelligent questions in accountants’ meetings!

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