Associate Chief Pharmacist

University Hospitals Of Leicester Nhs Trust; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

NHS Pension

Continued professional development

Job summary

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust invites an experienced pharmacy leader to join the senior Pharmacy Leadership Team as Associate Chief Pharmacist. You will provide strategic and operational leadership across clinical, operational and specialist pharmacy services across multiple sites serving a population over a million people.

You will shape the future direction of pharmacy and medicines optimisation, ensuring high-quality, patient-centred services aligned with Trust ambitions for

Qualifications

• Educated to BPharm / MPharm / BSc (Pharmacy) or equivalent.
• Professional Registration with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
• Postgraduate diploma in a relevant Pharmacy discipline or equivalent experience.
• Specialist senior managerial experience in pharmacy leadership.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation.
• Lead development and delivery of pharmacy strategies and transformation initiatives.
• Support safe, cost-efficient delivery of services and patient care.
• Drive service redesign, workforce development and innovation.
• Provide expert cost-improvement advice to senior clinicians and executives.
• Represent the Trust at local, regional and national forums and deputise for the Chief Pharmacist as required.
• Ensure governance standards and continuous improvement across services.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Pharmacy governance

Clinical leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Education

BPharm/MPharm

GPhC registration

Leadership qualification

Job description

Job summary

This is an exciting time to join the Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation team at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL), one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in the NHS. We are seeking an exceptional and experienced pharmacy leader to join our senior Pharmacy Leadership Team as Associate Chief Pharmacist. The role will support the strategic leadership of a large and diverse pharmacy service, delivering care across multiple hospital sites and serving a population of over one million people.

Working in partnership with the Chief Pharmacist, you will provide senior strategic and operational leadership across clinical, operational and specialist pharmacy services. You will play a key role in shaping and delivering the future direction of pharmacy and medicines optimisation, ensuring high-quality, patient-centred services that support the Trust's ambitions for outstanding care, education, research and innovation.

This is a unique opportunity to influence service development at Trust, system and regional level, leading major transformation programmes and helping to shape the future workforce, digital agenda and models of pharmacy care within one of the largest hospital pharmacy services in the region.

Main duties of the job

The Associate Chief Pharmacist is a key member of the Pharmacy Leadership Team and will work closely with the Chief Pharmacist to provide strategic and operational leadership across all areas of Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation. The successful candidate will:

• Provide visible leadership for a large multi-disciplinary pharmacy workforce and contribute to the overall strategic direction of the department.
• Lead the development, implementation and delivery of pharmacy strategies, improvement programmes and transformation initiatives aligned to Trust and system priorities.
• Support the safe, effective and cost-efficient delivery of clinical, operational and specialist pharmacy services.
• Lead on service redesign, workforce development and innovation programmes that improve patient care and productivity.
• Provide professional leadership on cost-improvement and expert advice to senior clinicians, executives and external stakeholders on pharmacy and medicines-related matters.
• Represent the Trust at local, regional and national forums and deputise for the Chief Pharmacist as required.
• Ensure pharmacy services continue to meet relevant professional, regulatory and governance standards whilst fostering a culture of continuous improvement and excellence.

About us

Our new strategy, developed with the support and feedback of colleagues, patients, and partners, is our compass for the next seven years (2023-2030).

• high-quality care for all,
• being a great place to work,
• partnerships for impact,
• research and education excellence

And we will embed health equality in all we do - taking active steps to reduce the avoidable differences in healthcare that some people face, working in partnership with communities.

• we are compassionate,
• we are proud,
• we are inclusive, and
• we are one team

This is an exciting moment as we look to the future with clarity on what we already do well and where we need to focus our energies to make an even bigger difference for the people we serve.

About the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust: https://www.uhleicester.nhs.uk

Job responsibilities

The Associate Chief Pharmacist will support the Chief Pharmacist in providing strategic leadership for Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation services across University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. The post holder will play a pivotal role in developing and delivering the long-term vision and strategy for pharmacy services, ensuring alignment with Trust objectives, Integrated Care System priorities and national policy.

The post holder will provide leadership across clinical, operational and specialist pharmacy services, ensuring services remain safe, innovative, responsive and sustainable. They will be responsible for driving service transformation, quality improvement and workforce development initiatives that support improved patient outcomes and operational performance.

Working closely with senior clinical and managerial colleagues, the post holder will lead complex programmes of work, develop business cases, contribute to financial planning and support delivery of cost improvement and productivity programmes whilst maintaining high standards of quality and patient safety.

The Associate Chief Pharmacist will provide professional leadership to senior pharmacy staff and support the development of future leaders, ensuring succession planning, education and workforce development remain key priorities. They will champion innovation and service modernisation and work collaboratively with colleagues across organisational and professional boundaries to deliver improved models of care.

The post holder will be a senior representative of the pharmacy profession within the Trust and wider healthcare system, influencing strategic decision-making and contributing to regional and national pharmacy agendas. The role includes deputising for the Chief Pharmacist as required and providing assurance to senior leaders regarding service quality, governance, operational performance and regulatory compliance.

The successful candidate will join UHL during a period of significant opportunity and transformation, including major digital developments, infrastructure investment, service redesign and evolving models of medicines optimisation. They will play a central role in ensuring pharmacy services are positioned to meet the future needs of patients, staff and the wider health economy.

Person Specification

Communication

Essential

• Be able to provide highly complex information on both clinical pharmacy and financial issues and impart knowledge to all levels of healthcare professionals (up to and including senior consultants/professor/executive director level)
• Be able to provide highly complex information on medicines use and financial issues to multidisciplinary groups involving staff outside of Pharmacy (e.g. Medicines Optimisation Committee, APC, Trust Management Teams, Clinical Executive)
• Be able to provide highly complex information on clinical pharmacy issues to national organisations and at national/international conferences.
• Be able to use presentational aids. Be able to communicate effectively in both written and verbal formats with staff and patients.

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to BPharm / MPharm/ BSc (Pharmacy) or equivalent
• Professional Registration with General Pharmaceutical Council
• Postgraduate diploma in a relevant Pharmacy discipline (eg Clinical, General Pharmacy Practice) or equivalent experience
• Specialist higher degree or portfolio of experience at senior managerial level

Desirable

• Postgraduate qualification in business or management

Experience

Essential

• Significant experience of working in NHS hospitals at a senior level e.g. Deputy Chief Pharmacist
• Experience of working with senior healthcare professionals outside of Pharmacy to achieve cross -Trust developments.
• Significant experience of managing a large number of staff
• Experience of managing teams.
• Significant experience of performing and supervising projects
• Understanding of change management approaches demonstrating experience of leading change programmes, including engagement with stake holders
• Ability to manage and influence challenging and complex clinical and performance issues.

Planning and Organization

Essential

• Be able to formulate long term strategic plans for the effective development of clinical pharmacy services

EDI

Essential

• Able to demonstrate a commitment to and understanding of the importance of treating all individuals with dignity and respect appropriate to their individual needs.
• All staff are expected to engage in compassionate and inclusive leadership in the provision of high quality care and interactions with others
• Be flexible in responding to demands of the service
• Be able to concentrate on highly complex matters (drug use evaluations, drug query answering, clinical prescription review, checking of dispensed prescriptions) despite frequent interruptions.
• Be methodical in approach.
• Have experience of disciplinary matters and be able to impart results from them to staff in an appropriate and considered manner.
• Demonstrate emotional maturity and resilience when dealing with complex issues

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.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).