Secondment only for NHS staff. Fixed Term role to cover maternity leave until 28th May 2027.
Step into a role where you will shape the safety, quality and assurance of medicines use across Essex. This position offers the chance to work at the centre of a developing strategic commissioning organisation, influencing how governance, safety and regulatory standards are embedded within clinical pathways and commissioning decisions. You will contribute to system wide medicines governance frameworks, risk management and assurance processes, ensuring alignment with national requirements while supporting high quality, evidence-based care for a population of more than two million people. Your leadership will help ensure medicines are used safely, effectively and consistently across a complex commissioning environment. Working across organisational boundaries, you will collaborate with clinical leaders, commissioners and system partners to strengthen governance practice, support the implementation of national guidance and safety standards, and reduce unwarranted variation. Your work will directly enhance patient safety, improve quality, and ensure that medicines optimisation is underpinned by robust governance and assurance. This role provides the opportunity to influence change at scale, deepen your expertise within a strategic commissioning context, and contribute to a forwardthinking team focused on continuous improvement, collaboration and delivering better outcomes for patients.
Main duties of the job
We are seeking a GPhC-registered pharmacist committed to continuing professional development (CPD). A postgraduate qualification in pharmacy, health policy, leadership or a related discipline, or equivalent experience, is desirable.
The postholder will analyse prescribing data, safety reports, incident trends and audit findings to identify risks, support quality improvement and inform decision-making. Responsibilities include producing reports and papers for committees and senior forums, while providing assurance on medicines governance, safety and regulatory compliance.
You will lead the development and governance of shared care protocols, Patient Group Directions (PGDs), interface prescribing arrangements and formulary alignment processes, ensuring compliance with national guidance and best practice.
Working collaboratively across healthcare organisations and care settings, you will strengthen governance, reduce unwarranted variation and support safe prescribing, effective risk management and high-quality patient care.
The role includes line management responsibilities within the Medicines Optimisation Innovation and Governance team and requires strong leadership, organisational and communication skills. The successful candidate will work autonomously, contribute to system-wide discussions, influence strategic decision-making and help drive the medicines optimisation agenda across the organisation.
About us
NHS Essex ICB is a statutory organisation responsible for the planning and funding of NHS services for around 1.9 million people across Essex. Our role as an ICB is to bring health and care services together, improve the health and wellbeing of our population and ensure equitable access to services and outcome for everyone. The organisations headquarters is Seax House, Chelmsford, and we operate a hybrid working model (2 office-based days) that includes working across Essex and from home. Essex ICB currently has offices in Brentwood, Harlow and Colchester, in addition to the Chelmsford HQ.
We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that values diversity. We know that different experiences, ideas and perspectives help create a stronger and more innovative organisation that delivers better outcomes for patients. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, including people of all ages, disabilities, sex, gender identity or expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or personal circumstances. Our policies ensure all applicants are treated fairly and consistently throughout the recruitment process, including consideration of reasonable adjustments for disabled applicants.
Please note that the organisation does not hold a sponsorship licence.
Job responsibilities
ROLE PURPOSE / SUMMARY
The Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) will be a new organisation formed through the consolidation of areas from three ICBs in response to the NHSs ambition to deliver a more streamlined, strategic and cost-effective model of health commissioning. Serving a population of approximately two million people across the local authority areas of Essex County Council, Thurrock Council, and Southend-on-Sea City Council, the ICB will operate within a reduced running cost envelope and meet new national requirements for ICBs in England. Its focus will be on improving population health outcomes, tackling health inequalities, and ensuring smarter, more sustainable allocation of resources across the system.
The postholder will support the development and implementation of a robust medicines governance framework across the system, ensuring statutory compliance, medicines safety, and quality assurance within commissioning decisions and clinical pathways. They will provide expert input into governance structures, risk management, controlled drugs oversight, and antimicrobial stewardship, while driving continuous improvement through data-driven insights. The role requires a strong understanding of national medicines legislation, regulatory standards, and clinical governance principles, alongside the ability to interpret prescribing and outcomes data to identify risks and improvement opportunities. The postholder will contribute to policy development, support management of medicines-related incidents and alerts, and help embed governance requirements into provider contracts and commissioning frameworks. Working collaboratively with system partners, they will champion medicines governance as a core component of medicines optimisation and service transformation, safeguarding patients and promoting evidence-based practice.
As the ICB transitions to become a leaner, more focused strategic commissioning organisation the post holder will be expected to support the Director of Pharmacy, Medicines and Clinical Policies in delivering on the three fundamental shifts set out in the NHS 10-year plan:
- From Treatment to Prevention: Embedding preventative, personalised and population based approaches to commissioning.
- From Hospital to Community: Championing care model redesign that supports community and neighbourhood health.
- From Analogue to Digital: Enabling clinically driven transformation through digital innovation, data analytics and evidence based improvement.
KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
To deliver on the job description set out above, the job holder will be expected to deliver on the requirements set out below:
Medicines governance and assurance
- Support the implementation of system-wide medicines governance frameworks, ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements (e.g., Controlled Drugs Regulations, Human Medicines Regulations, Antimicrobial Stewardship) within commissioning arrangements
- Contribute to the development of governance policies and standards for formulary management, shared care protocols, and prescribing assurance to reduce unwarranted variation and improve patient safety across commissioned services
- Assist in establishing processes for managing medicines-related incidents, complaints, and regulatory alerts, ensuring lessons learned inform commissioning decisions and contractual requirements
- Provide support for statutory governance functions, including oversight of Controlled Drugs compliance and assurance of Patient Group Directions within commissioned services
Clinical safety and risk
- Contribute to system-wide medicines safety programmes, ensuring governance requirements for commissioned services align with national safety alerts and PSIRF standards
- Promote antimicrobial stewardship, opioid safety, and other national safety priorities by embedding these principles into commissioning frameworks and provider assurance processes
- Support the development of a medicines observatory function to monitor prescribing trends, identify early indicators of clinical risk, and inform proactive interventions across the system
Data and digital enablement
- Use prescribing and outcomes data to provide assurance on compliance, identify system-level risks, and inform improvement plans for commissioned services
- Support the integration of digital tools that strengthen medicines governance, including real-time prescribing intelligence, benchmarking dashboards, and provider reporting mechanisms
- Contribute to horizon scanning for new medicines and technologies, ensuring governance processes and commissioning frameworks anticipate safe and timely adoption
Financial and resource management
- Contribute to embedding medicines governance requirements into commissioning frameworks, service specifications, and provider contracts, ensuring these standards are clear, measurable, and consistently applied across all commissioned services
- Assist in evaluating the financial and contractual implications of governance decisions, considering cost-effectiveness, risk mitigation, and statutory compliance. Provide input to business cases and commissioning plans to ensure governance priorities align with system objectives and deliver value for money while safeguarding patient safety
Collaboration and support
- Work collaboratively with system partners, including providers, commissioners, and regulatory bodies, to ensure medicines governance standards are consistently applied across all commissioned services and contractual arrangements
- Act as a key point of contact for governance issues across care interfaces, supporting alignment of shared care arrangements, formulary compliance, and assurance processes within commissioning frameworks
- Facilitate engagement between clinical teams and commissioning leads to resolve governance challenges, promote best practice, and ensure governance requirements are embedded in service specifications and provider contracts
- Contribute to system-wide forums and working groups to strengthen governance collaboration, share learning from incidents and audits, and drive continuous improvement in medicines safety and quality
Team management and capability building
- Provide line management for direct reports, including responsibility for recruitment, induction, development, and performance management, ensuring effective support and professional growth.
- Support staff through ICB transition, including the development of teams to deliver on new ICB portfolios as agreed through transition
- Support the effective transition of relevant functions to new portfolios within or beyond the ICB to support the new NHS operating model, in line with the requirements of the Model ICB Blueprint
- Work collaboratively with system partners to facilitate transitional arrangements
- Maintain a focus on quality, safety and affordability during transition
- Supporting effective Information Asset Management for the team
Other
- Able to use initiative and work independently as needed to deliver on requirements of the role
- Primarily desk-based work that requires use of visual display units, focused concentration and frequent participation in on-line or in person meetings
- Able to use software required to develop report, including ability to deliver high quality documents through Microsoft suite (word, power point, excel)
Flexibility and evolving responsibilities
As the ICB continues to evolve, portfolios may be subject to change to reflect the needs of the organisation, the health and care system and national policy direction. This may include adjustments to areas of responsibility or realignment of reporting structures.
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
The post holder will need to build constructive relationships with partners from across the health and care system. Key relationships will be with:
- Principal Pharmacists and wider medicines commissioning team
- Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and neighbourhood teams
- Community pharmacy and local providers
- Acute and specialist provider organisations
- Local authority and public health teams
- NHS England regional pharmacy teams
Person Specification
Experience
- Experience supporting medicines optimisation programmes and providing input to commissioning processes within delegated areas
- Experience of managing relationships with stakeholders, and regulators including involvement in consultations
- Knowledge of NICE guidance, formulary management, shared care protocols, and horizon scanning for new medicines
People and Culture
- Experience supporting team development and contributing to performance improvement within a multidisciplinary environment
- Demonstrated compassionate leadership with a strong commitment to promoting diversity, inclusion, and equality of opportunity across teams and system partners
- A commitment to continuous improvement, organisation learning and achieving positive outcomes for all staff, patients, service users and carers working in line with the NHS People Promise
Qualifications
- Registered pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council
- Evidence of sustained commitment to continuous professional development (CPD)
- Postgraduate qualification in pharmacy, health policy, or leadership or equivalent experience
Personal Attributes and Values
- A high level of self-awareness and emotional intelligence, with an understanding of own strengths and limitations
- Strong communication, influencing and negotiation skills which engender confidence, strong collaborations, and partnership working
- Energy, tenacity and resilience, with an ability to quickly bounce back and navigate uncertainty
Strategy and Analysis
- Proven ability to lead and implement medicines optimisation initiatives aligned with local and national guidance, delivering measurable outcomes
- Strong understanding of national health and social care policy, system priorities, and the drivers of healthcare provision, prevention, and health inequalities, with ability to apply this knowledge in commissioning decisions
- Ability to analyse complex prescribing and financial data to support strategic medicines commissioning and efficiency programmes
Governance and Assurance
- Comprehensive understanding of clinical governance frameworks with the ability to provide assurance on medicines governance, safety, and reporting at system level
- Proven experience in overseeing clinical quality processes, including clinical effectiveness, patient safety, and compliance with regulatory standards, and in preparing reports for committees
Partnership and Communities
- Able to represent the organisation credibly and positively in internal and external meetings
- Experience working on projects that require cross- organisational collaboration, and an understanding of the concept and aims of whole system working
- Strong influencing and negotiation skills, challenging within areas of responsibility and escalating appropriately where necessary
Head of Pharmacy Meds Governance and Innovation
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