Deputy Chief Pharmacist - Medicines Optimisation

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

Job summary

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust seeks an experienced pharmacy leader to join the senior Pharmacy Leadership Team as Deputy Chief Pharmacist for Medicines Optimisation. This high-profile, Trust-wide role covers medicines governance, safety, cost-improvement schemes and assurance across a large hospital service.

You will work with Chief and Associate Chief Pharmacists to shape strategic direction, ensure regulatory compliance, and drive transformation including digital developments and

Qualifications

• Masters Degree in Pharmacy or equivalent.
• Registered with GPhC.
• Post-graduate qualification relevant to hospital pharmacy practice.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for medicines governance, medicines safety, CIPs and assurance activities across the Trust.
• Lead medicines optimisation aligned with national policy, legislation and best practice.
• Act as senior adviser on medicines legislation, risk management and regulatory compliance.
• Oversee portfolios including controlled drugs, homecare, procurement, unlicensed medicines and medical gases.
• Chair and support governance groups for quality, safety and optimisation.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Team building

Negotiation

Education

Masters Degree in Pharmacy

GPhC registration

Post-graduate qualification in hospital pharmacy

Job description

Job summary

We are seeking an experienced and ambitious pharmacy leader to join our senior Pharmacy Leadership Team as Deputy Chief Pharmacist for Medicines Optimisation. This is a high-profile Trust-wide leadership role with responsibility for medicines optimisation, medicines governance, medicines safety, medicines cost-improvement schemes and assurance across a large and complex organisation. Working closely with the Chief Pharmacist, Associate Chief Pharmacist and senior clinical leaders, you will help shape the strategic direction of medicines use across the Trust whilst ensuring the highest standards of quality, patient safety, regulatory compliance and professional practice. You will lead a broad portfolio encompassing medicines safety, controlled drugs, medicines governance, procurement, homecare services, unlicensed medicines, Patient Group Directions, medical gases and medicines-related policies. You will provide expert professional leadership on complex medicines legislation and governance matters and play a key role in supporting the delivery of organisational priorities through effective medicines optimisation and assurance. This role offers an outstanding opportunity to influence strategy and decision-making at Trust, system and regional level whilst contributing to major transformation programmes, digital developments and service improvements across one of the largest hospital pharmacy services in the region.

Main duties of the job

• Provide leadership for medicines governance, medicines safety, medicines cost-improvement schemes and assurance activities across the Trust.
• Lead and develop the Trust's approach to medicines optimisation, ensuring alignment with national policy, legislation and best practice.
• Act as a senior professional adviser on medicines legislation, medicines risk management and regulatory compliance.
• Oversee key medicines governance portfolios including controlled drugs, homecare services, procurement, unlicensed medicines, Patient Group Directions and medical gases.
• Chair and support key governance groups including pharmacy quality, medicines safety and medicines optimisation forums.
• Lead quality improvement, assurance and service development programmes that improve patient outcomes and support organisational priorities.
• Develop strong working relationships with senior clinicians, executives, corporate services and external partners to influence Trust-wide decision making.
• Deputise for the Associate Chief Pharmacist and Chief Pharmacist as required.

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). We have four primary goals: high-quality care for all, being a great place to work, partnerships for impact, and 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. Our strategy is underpinned by new values and we will work to ensure they are an everyday reality for all: 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:

Job responsibilities

The Deputy Chief Pharmacist for Medicines Optimisation is a senior leadership position within the Pharmacy team, providing strategic leadership across medicines optimisation, medicines governance, assurance, quality and patient safety. The post holder will work closely with the Chief Pharmacist and Associate Chief Pharmacist to develop and deliver the Trust's medicines optimisation strategy whilst ensuring compliance with professional, statutory and regulatory requirements. The role is responsible for providing senior oversight and assurance for a broad range of medicines governance functions, including controlled drugs, medicines safety, procurement, homecare services, unlicensed medicines, Patient Group Directions, medicines-related policies and medical gases. The post holder will provide expert advice on medicines legislation and governance and act as a recognised source of professional expertise across the Trust. The successful candidate will lead the development and implementation of medicines optimisation and governance strategies, ensuring effective systems are in place to support safe, effective and cost-efficient use of medicines. They will monitor performance, identify opportunities for improvement and provide assurance regarding medicines-related risks across the organisation. They will deliver medicines-related cost-improvement programmes (CIP) for the trust. The post holder will provide leadership for key governance and assurance structures, supporting the delivery of medicines safety priorities, quality improvement programmes and organisational objectives. They will work collaboratively with clinical, operational and corporate teams to ensure medicines governance considerations are embedded within wider Trust initiatives, including digital transformation, innovation and service redesign. A key aspect of the role will be influencing and engaging at senior levels both within and outside the organisation, representing pharmacy at Trust, system and regional forums and building effective partnerships across organisational boundaries. The post holder will contribute to strategic planning, service development and transformation programmes while fostering a culture of continual improvement, patient safety and professional excellence. The successful candidate will join the organisation during a period of significant opportunity and change, including continued digital transformation, evolving medicines optimisation models, workforce innovation and major service developments. They will play a central role in ensuring that medicines governance, quality and assurance arrangements remain robust, innovative and responsive to future healthcare needs.

Person Specification

Communication

Essential

• Ability to work on own and as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
• Able to communicate well both one to one and to a group of people (public speaking), including communication of sensitive or contentious information that may be challenged
• Good negotiating skills.
• Excellent written communication skills.
• Training, coaching and mentoring skills.
• Leadership
• Multidisciplinary team working
• Proven ability to motivate staff
• Evidence of team building and leadership skills

Desirable

• Teaching
• Research

Qualifications

Essential

• Masters Degree in Pharmacy or equivalent
• Registered with GPhC
• Post-graduate qualification relevant to hospital pharmacy practice

Desirable

• Leadership/ management qualification relevant to the NHS

Experience

Essential

• Wide ranging recent clinical pharmacy experience
• Recent experience of operational and strategic planning
• Experience of successfully supporting a clinical management group or equivalent
• Audit work and report writing.
• Significant senior experience within the hospital pharmacy environment.
• Significant and recent (within the last 5 years) in a leadership role within hospital pharmacy
• Project and Financial Management
• Human Resource Management
• Interpretation of data
• Strategic planning.
• Process redesign
• Experience of leading change management processes.
• Introduction of major change and evidence of setting up work studies and audits to support bids and service change
• Experience in data analysis and the development of options appraisals with a "value for money" approach

Desirable

• Significant recent experience as either a Deputy Chief Pharmacist or Principal Pharmacist
• Experience within both clinical and technical areas of pharmacy practice

Planning and Organization

Essential

• Effective prioritisation and time management
• Ability to forecast and innovate, including long term service planning

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

Others

Essential

• A clear understanding of standards of probity and business conduct.
• Team management skills and experience.
• Adaptable and flexible.
• Proven ability to influence and negotiate with relevant senior clinicians, managers, key stakeholders.
• Organisational awareness.
• Able to asses & manipulate a broad range of complex information quickly & accurately including e.g., clinical, finance, activity, performance data.
• Able to make effective judgements based on limited information
• Able to engage staff both within, & outside of, pharmacy.
• Able to provide strategic leadership to senior clinical teams.
• Highly effective interpersonal & communication skills, both written & oral.

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).