Company: NHS

Apply for the Deputy Director of Medicines Optimisation, Chief Pharmacist

Location: Welwyn Garden City

Job Description:

Deputy Director of Medicines Optimisation, Chief Pharmacist

The Deputy Director of Medicines Optimisation, Chief Pharmacist is responsible for the provision, management and strategic development of high quality, cost‑effective pharmacy services across the Trust. The post holder is also responsible for the provision of expert advice in pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical matters to the organisation, senior managers and prescribers.

Proposed Interview date: 28th July 2026

Main duties of the job

Clinical

To act as an autonomous, registered practitioner who is legally and professionally accountable for own unsupervised actions guided by the professional code of conduct and Trust guidelines and protocols.
Provide expert clinical, therapeutic, legislative and best practice advice to promote safe, effective and cost‑effective use of medicines, including clinical advice in areas where information is lacking and medical or other opinion differs.
Liaises with other stakeholders from health and social care across the organisation, locally and nationally to enable the development and delivery of new services involving the administration or supply of medicines, and the development and delivery of training packages for implementation of new and ongoing roles within community services, including new prescriber roles.
To be responsible, and accountable, for pharmacy service delivery to patients, business partners and clients.
To ensure the Patient group Directions for the Trust are managed and updated including acting as the Pharmacist signatory on HCT PGDs.
To ensure practice is supported by research, evidence‑based practice, literature and peer review.
To be responsible for ensuring there are appropriate medicines formularies in place and they adhered to and monitored.
To act as HCT’s representative in ICs formulary groups.

Job responsibilities

To manage and lead the Trust Medicines Optimisation service and team.
To lead the clinical and operational delivery of pharmacy services for HCT.
Have accountability for clinical governance within the pharmacy service.
To develop the pharmacy Medicines Optimisation Strategy with a view to looking for all new opportunities to be innovative, reshape services and become more efficient.
To hold statutory responsibility as the Accountable Officer for Controlled Drugs ensuring compliance with regulatory and clinical governance frameworks.
Provide specialist expertise and, delegated from the Chief Medical Officer, have corporate responsibility across the Trust for all aspects of Medicines Optimisation ensuring compliance with statutory obligations; this will include proactively briefing the line manager when compliance is not in place.
To deliver and develop pharmacy services across the Trust to support service developments and underpin the Trusts Strategic Direction.
To control the risk of medication errors by ensuring safe systems of work for the prescription, dispensing (indirectly), supply, storage and administration of medicines.
To ensure regular review of pharmacy performance using appropriate indicators and benchmarking, striving for continuous good practice.
To work with the Senior Management team, Clinical Leaders and all clinicians to improve medicine safety.
To establish systems within the Trust which ensure safe, cost effective and evidence based use of medicines within the Trust and by partner organisations including those that contract for services under Service Level Agreements.
To provide expertise in Medicines Optimisation and advice to Clinical Leaders and Senior Trust Managers. This will be achieved by working with all Clinical Directorates/Services of the Trusts to support the development and redesign of services.
To ensure that appropriate Medicines Optimisation Internal and External Audits are completed and reported within agreed timescales.
To ensure corporate and professional accountability for providing specialist expertise and compliance on all statutory, regulatory and professional requirements related to medicines including CQC requirements and Department of Health performance frameworks.
Be accountable for the supply of medicines throughout the Trust, ensuring timely, safe and cost effective procurement of medicines.
To lead on the Trusts Pharmacy delivery services effectiveness and any contract discussions.
To be responsible for the Medicines and Medicines Safety Policy and all pharmacy Standard Operating Procedures and related policies.
To be responsible for keeping and providing accurate records of information required by the Trust for audit purposes.
To provide reports for the Trust Board highlighting all exceptions and risks.
Lead and manage the Pharmacy Team.
To implement strategic recommendations in national initiatives and directives such as the NHS 10 Year Plan to ensure alignment of HCT Pharmacy services with local and national direction to deliver on mandated targets.
To be responsible for the pharmaceutical aspects of medical gas provision.
Member of the Trust Senior Management Team.
To take part in the Executive on‑call rota.
Deputise for the Chief Medical Officer as appropriate.

Person Specification

QUALIFICATIONS

Degree in pharmacy, Master level in Pharmacy (entry level for pharmacy profession) and one year pre‑registration training.
Registered with GPhC.
Specialist knowledge acquired at post‑degree level or equivalent.
Evidence of continual professional development.
Other postgraduate qualifications in leadership or business management.
Supplementary/independent prescriber.

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

An amount of post registration experience commensurate with the role.
Experience in community or hospital pharmacy delivery.
Experience of medicines management activities.
Successful management of a service and pharmacy team.
Experience of undertaking prescribing audits / advice.
Experience of more than one sector of practice.

SKILLS & ABILITIES

Excellent communicator both with healthcare professionals and patients.
Can demonstrate understanding of clinical governance and risk management.
Negotiation and co‑operation using highly complex sensitive and contentious information.
Excellent organisation skills; demonstrates knowledge of the changing NHS environment and vision, and is able to incorporate these into the strategic plan for Medicines Optimisation.
Ability to prioritise effectively and work on own initiative; understanding of medicines legislation.
Presenting complex issues to large audiences.
Able to analyse and interpret budgetary data.
In‑depth specialist knowledge of NHS policy and current issues.
In‑depth knowledge of prison pharmacy.
Knowledge of drug therapeutics.
Able to use System One Experience in provision of training and/or presentations.
Able to use ePACT systems; extensive portfolio and evidence of experience with identifiable outcomes.
Experience of developing pharmacy service outcome indicators.

PERSONAL QUALITIES

Must be flexible and able to cope with unpredictable workload and multi‑task.
Able to lead and motivate a team.
Able to work under stressful conditions and meet tight deadlines.
Must be able to interpret and critically appraise reference sources and papers, reading and keeping up to date on professional and clinical issues.
Ability to work within a team.
Dynamic and innovative.
Able to travel to other Trust sites and external venues as required.
Able to speak and write English language to a high level.
Self‑motivated.

OTHER

Willingness to uphold the Trust’s values.
Eligible to live and work in the UK.
Hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

#J-18808-Ljbffr…

Posted: June 27th, 2026