Area Operations Manager

Wells & Co.; Gateshead; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Well Pharmacy is seeking an Area Operations Manager to oversee performance and development across approximately 15–20 pharmacies in the UK. You will build high-performing teams to deliver an outstanding community pharmacy experience while achieving KPIs and budget targets, maintaining patient safety, and upholding high standards across your area.

You will visit each pharmacy regularly, drive NHS and private services, and ensure compliance with GPhC and NHS contracts while coaching teams to

Responsibilities

• Visit each pharmacy at least every two weeks, setting SMART actions to drive performance
• Support the 'Delivering Well' strategy by aligning pharmacy activity with corporate objectives
• Drive prescription growth, service delivery and OTC sales in line with budget
• Ensure full compliance with all operational processes and procedures
• Monitor competitor activity and identify opportunities to grow market share
• Ensure teams actively promote and deliver NHS and private services
• Ensure complaints and incidents are reported, resolved or escalated appropriately
• Build and maintain strong relationships within the local healthcare community
• Ensure patients receive tailored advice and appropriate products for prevention, treatment and wellbeing
• Recruit, develop and retain capable and motivated teams
• Manage performance through effective coaching, feedback and formal reviews
• Identify and develop internal and external talent to create a strong succession pipeline
• Ensure clear communication of roles, priorities and expectations
• Continuously develop your own skills and foster a culture of learning across the area
• Thrive on colleague and patient interaction
• Are passionate about spending the majority of their time in pharmacies
• Work at pace while maintaining accuracy
• Are resilient and enjoy a fast-changing, challenging environment
• Are motivated by leading teams to deliver clear, measurable results
• Experience in field or multi-site management (business as usual, cross-regional working and/or project-based roles)
• Understanding of the pharmacy market and profession (desirable)
• Strong commercial and analytical skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Effective coaching and feedback capability
• Strong planning and organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities
• Ability to build trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Understanding of NHS contractual requirements and GPhC/PSNI standards

Job description

As an Area Operations Manager, you will be responsible for the performance and development of approximately 15-20 pharmacies. You will build high-performing teams to deliver an outstanding community pharmacy experience while achieving KPIs and budget targets, maintaining patient safety, and ensuring consistently high standards across your area.

Operational Performance

• Visit each pharmacy at least every two weeks, setting SMART actions to drive performance
• Support the 'Delivering Well' strategy by aligning pharmacy activity with corporate objectives
• Drive prescription growth, service delivery and OTC sales in line with budget
• Ensure full compliance with all operational processes and procedures
• Monitor competitor activity and identify opportunities to grow market share

Patient Safety, Quality & Standards

• Ensure all pharmacies meet GPhC standards and NHS contractual requirements
• Complete first-line investigations into patient safety incidents and controlled drug discrepancies
• Ensure delivery of all NHS quality standards

Delivering Outstanding Care

• Ensure teams actively promote and deliver NHS and private services
• Ensure complaints and incidents are reported, resolved or escalated appropriately
• Build and maintain strong relationships within the local healthcare community
• Ensure patients receive tailored advice and appropriate products for prevention, treatment and wellbeing

High-Performance Teams

• Recruit, develop and retain capable and motivated teams
• Manage performance through effective coaching, feedback and formal reviews
• Identify and develop internal and external talent to create a strong succession pipeline
• Ensure clear communication of roles, priorities and expectations
• Continuously develop your own skills and foster a culture of learning across the area

We are looking for strong leaders who:

• Thrive on colleague and patient interaction
• Are passionate about spending the majority of their time in pharmacies
• Work at pace while maintaining accuracy
• Are resilient and enjoy a fast-changing, challenging environment
• Are motivated by leading teams to deliver clear, measurable results, Experience in field or multi-site management (business as usual, cross-regional working and/or project-based roles)
• Understanding of the pharmacy market and profession (desirable)
• Strong commercial and analytical skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Effective coaching and feedback capability
• Strong planning and organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities
• Ability to build trusted relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Understanding of NHS contractual requirements and GPhC/PSNI standards

For over 70 years, we've been looking after the health and wellbeing of communities across the UK. Well Pharmacy (part of Bestway Healthcare) is the second largest pharmacy chain in the UK with c.760 pharmacies and a team of around 7,000 colleagues based across our Community Pharmacies, Online Pharmacy, Healthcare Services Centre, Community Drivers, Bestway Medhub & Wardles team and our Support Centre team.

Our mission is to be here for the wellbeing of our patients and customers, to provide the best community pharmacy experience in the UK for everyone, for our patients, our customers, our people, and our NHS. The pharmacy of the future will look very different from the one we know today. It will play a huge role in transforming primary healthcare and we will play a central role in bringing it to life. We will use our clinical expertise and technological ambition to take advantage of the potential this future has to offer us. Making medicines, advice, services and care available in the places and spaces that people need and want it most. We want to be a great business. To be recognised as delivering a community pharmacy experience that is the best there is. To do this we want our teams to feel proud about the positive impact they make, feel valued as part of a close-knit and expert community, and feel confident in their role in a business that is stable, innovative, and caring. 'Together we make a difference'