Managing Director, Guy's and St. Thomas' Pharmaceuticals

NHS; London; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Managing Director for their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing unit. The successful candidate will lead the strategic transformation efforts while ensuring regulatory compliance and operational excellence. This role offers the chance to significantly impact the future of NHS-led medicines manufacturing and improve patient outcomes.

Qualifications

• Significant senior leadership experience in NHS or manufacturing sectors.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Experience translating national strategy into local delivery.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for the strategic and operational delivery.
• Ensure compliance with MHRA and other regulatory bodies.
• Drive continuous improvement and income generation through contracts.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Business planning

Negotiation

Decision-making

Performance management

Education

Vocational degree

Job description

Go back Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Managing Director, Guy's and St. Thomas' Pharmaceuticals

The closing date is 16 July 2025

We are looking for an exceptional and commercially minded leader to take forward the strategic transformation of Guy's and St Thomas' Pharmaceuticals.

Guy's and St Thomas' Pharmaceuticals is one of the UK's longest-standing NHS Pharmacy Manufacturing Units, based at Guy's Hospital in London. With a strong heritage of working alongside leading clinicians, we provide a comprehensive range of pharmaceutical manufacturing and support services to UK and international markets.

Our capabilities span a broad spectrum of manufacturing activities, including sterile and non-sterile dosage forms, clinical trials and over-labelling. We also offer pharmaceutical quality control (chemical and microbiological testing), quality assurance consultancy, and medicines distribution as services. Licensable activities are delivered under MHRA MS, MIA, and MIA(IMP) licences, as well as a Wholesale Distribution licence (WDA(H)).

This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of our NHS-led medicines manufacturing, taking strategic leadership and operational oversight of a licensed manufacturing facility and related services; helping to shape and deliver our ambitions for licensed aseptic services; and supporting clinical care, research, and innovation. You will combine commercial credibility with strategic thinking, stakeholder management, and strong business acumen. If you are motivated by impact, innovation, leading a diverse team and improving patient outcomes, we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

As Managing Director, you will:

Provide leadership for the strategic and operational delivery of Guy's and St Thomas' Pharmaceuticals, including planning and delivering a robust financial plan

Assess pharmaceuticals markets and develop and implement a dynamic business strategy for Guy's and St. Thomas' Pharmaceuticals, including manufacturing, marketing, and sales and excellent Customer Relationship Management that drives service and quality improvement, diversification, and income generation

Build trusted relationships with NHS, academic, commercial, and regulatory partners

Ensure compliance with requirements of MHRA and Home Office licenses, financial sustainability, and secure business growth in the UK healthcare and life sciences market and beyond

Manage manufacturing and quality teams covering a wide range of services, including sterile and non-sterile production, IMPs, and quality control

Promote a culture of quality, innovation, and inclusive leadership across the team

We are looking for someone with:

Significant senior leadership experience in NHS, life sciences or manufacturing sectors

Proven financial, commercial, and performance management expertise

Excellent interpersonal, strategic thinking and influencing skills

In-depth understanding of the UK pharmaceuticals market and good understanding of GMP, MHRA licensing, and medicines regulation

About us

You will be joining a highly skilled, passionate, and close-knit leadership team within the Pharmacy & Medicines Optimisation Directorate at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. Our services offered under the umbrella of Guy's and St. Thomas' Pharmaceuticals are based at Guy's Hospital, and delivered by committed and highly experienced teams, under the leadership of our Head of Production and Head of Quality for licensed manufacturing activities, and Responsible Person for WDA(H) activities. You will be supported by a Sales and Marketing Manager and a Business Manager, and will have access to a broad range of pharmacy experts.

We have an ambitious 5 year plan for Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation at Guy's and St. Thomas' (our Strategy to 2030), which includes a focus on our people and culture, research, innovation and partnerships. We've recently had significant investment for new equipment to support our Pharmacy Manufacturing activities, and we've recently implemented a digital environmental monitoring solution. Our near-term future plans include implementing a new digital Quality Management System, and developing our aseptic estate to re-provide licensed aseptic capability.

Job responsibilities

You will lead Guys and St Thomas Pharmaceuticals our commercial offer comprising a licensed NHS Pharmacy Manufacturing Unit with associated value-adding services providing strategic leadership and operational oversight, driving performance and ensuring success.

You will have oversight of the service (which includes sterile and non-sterile medicines manufacturing, quality assurance and control, regulatory compliance, warehousing and distribution), adding value for our customers, and ensuring return on investment for the Trust.

Reporting to the Trust Chief Pharmacist, you will be responsible for:

Developing and delivering a strategic commercial business plan with a net positive contribution, driving growth and market competitiveness

Ensuring activities are carried out in full compliance with the requirements of the MHRA and other regulatory bodies, including GMP, QA/QC, and pharmacovigilance standards

Leading and developing senior managers and the wider workforce across all relevant functions

Managing relevant budgets and ensuring financial balance and income generation through contracts and high level of service delivery

Driving continuous improvement, risk management, audit, and incident resolution

Collaborating with NHS, academic, and commercial partners to expand and evolve the service to meet current and future market needs

You will represent Guy's and St. Thomas' Pharmaceuticals at internal Trust committees and external national forums, influencing best practice, policy, and partnership development in the NHS medicines manufacturing space.

Person Specification

Qualifications / Education

• Vocational degree and/or significant NHS or manufacturing experience
• Evidence of continuing professional development

Experience and Knowledge

• Successful management of change in a complex organisation
• Knowledge/experience of NHS operations
• Awareness of strategic influences on pharmaceutical services
• Performance management and staff development
• Interpreting/analyzing complex data/guidance
• Experience in a pharmaceutical manufacturing environment

Skills and abilities

• Leadership and motivational skills
• Communication (verbal and written)
• Business planning experience
• Negotiation and influencing skills
• Decision-making and managing competing priorities
• Experience translating national strategy into local delivery
• Regional or national committee involvement
• Published research

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust