Lead Clinical Pharmacist

CNTW NHS Foundation Trust; Morpeth; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Morpeth is seeking a pharmacist to lead and innovate pharmacy services. You will manage a clinical team, ensuring effective pharmaceutical support across the locality. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership and communication skills, with an understanding of mental health issues preferred. This role offers flexibility and a supportive working environment including various benefits.

Benefits

Flexible working

Lease cars

Childcare schemes

Staff discounts

Season tickets for travel

Cycle to work scheme

Personal development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience in a clinical pharmacy setting is beneficial but not mandatory.
• Awareness of current issues in mental health is expected.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational and clinical leadership for the clinical pharmacy services.
• Manage the clinical pharmacy team and ensure the service is effective and responsive.
• Lead discussions with external stakeholders on medicine usage.

Skills

Leadership skills

Effective communication

Team management

Relationship building

Job description

Overview

We are recruiting to a key strategic leadership role within the CNTW Pharmacy Department and are seeking a pharmacist with strong leadership skills to drive and deliver innovative services across the Morpeth/Northumberland area (North Locality). This is a rare opportunity to join a forward‑thinking team and lead services across the Pharmacy Department, wider Trust, and local system. The successful candidate will be an effective communicator with strong listening skills and the ability to build relationships and lead a dynamic, multi‑disciplinary team. You will provide proactive pharmaceutical support to clinicians, managers, patients, and carers. Our pharmacy team delivers medicines optimisation and clinical pharmacy services across all mental health, learning disability, and neuro‑rehabilitation inpatient units, as well as to community mental health, crisis, liaison, and specialist teams. Pharmacists are highly valued members of the multi‑disciplinary team, and many are independent prescribers working in a variety of clinical areas. The CNTW Pharmacy Service is well regarded, with a strong reputation for delivering safe, high‑quality care. We are an award‑winning team recognised by the Care Quality Commission, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, and Health Services Journal. Our innovative, progressive service model includes medicines supply, clinical services, and governance functions.

The postholder will provide operational and clinical leadership and development of the clinical pharmacy services to a nominated Locality Care Group within the Trust, ensuring they are safe, effective, responsive and efficient. They will provide day‑to‑day management of the clinical pharmacy team within their locality and lead input into a Locality Care Group and associated Clinical Business Units (CBUs) regarding clinical pharmacy and medicines optimisation. They will provide leadership, management, support and guidance to clinical pharmacy staff working within a locality and, where appropriate, contribute to discussions involving external stakeholders regarding medicine use within a locality. Our Medicines Optimisation forward plan has recently been approved by the Trust, setting the course for our further service and workforce development over the next few years. You will lead on the delivery of this plan within the North Locality. Previous experience in mental health is not essential but an awareness of current issues within this arena would be expected.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational and clinical leadership and development of the clinical pharmacy services to a nominated Locality Care Group within the Trust ensuring they are safe, effective, responsive and efficient
• Provide day to day management of the clinical pharmacy team within your locality
• Lead and provide subject expert input into a Locality Care Group and associated Clinical Business Units (CBUs) regarding clinical pharmacy and medicines optimisation
• Provide leadership, management, support and guidance to clinical pharmacy staff working within a locality
• Where appropriate, contribute to discussions involving external stakeholders regarding medicine use within a locality

Qualifications and Experience

Previous experience in mental health is not essential but an awareness of current issues within this arena would be expected. The role operates within CNTW’s Pharmacy department which is open Monday–Friday 8:30–17:00, with an emergency duty pharmacist available outside opening hours and on weekends. The postholder will be required to complete emergency duty work on a rota basis.

Benefits and Working Environment

The Trust offers flexible working, helping staff fit around family and caring responsibilities, or training and development needs. Benefits include lease cars, childcare schemes, staff discounts, season tickets for travel and a cycle to work scheme. We support staff networks and groups such as Cultural Diversity, Disabled, and LGBT+ networks, along with Armed Forces and Veterans, Mind, Health and Wellbeing, and Menopause toolkit groups. We offer personal development opportunities through our Collective Leadership Programme and other Organisational Development initiatives. CNTW is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and has been rated outstanding in recent inspections. DBS checks are required for some posts, with the cost payable by external applicants in accordance with Trust policy. The North East of England and Cumbria offers a high quality of life, affordable housing, good connectivity and opportunities for relocation support where applicable. To learn more about our department and hear from the team, you can watch our YouTube video at https://youtu.be/JgVFF1jMsuY