Principal Pharmacist: High Cost Drug & Medicine Optimisation

Transformation Unit; Bury St Edmunds; Remote; GBP 67,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust seeks a Principal Pharmacist: High Cost Drug & Medicine Optimisation to lead medicines optimisation across hospital and community settings.

You will guide high-cost medicines commissioning, formulary development, and cost-improvement programmes, while supporting procurement and strategic development with cross-system collaboration.

Qualifications

• Educated to Degree or master’s level in Pharmacy.
• Registered Pharmacist (GPhC).
• Postgraduate diploma or master’s qualification relevant to clinical pharmacy practice, or equivalent demonstrable postgraduate learning and experience.
• Leadership / Management qualification relevant to the NHS or equivalent management qualification or experience.
• Registered Pharmacy nonmedical prescriber.

Responsibilities

• Lead medicines optimisation and improve prescribing pathways across hospital and community care.
• Develop shared-care arrangements and support access to high-cost medicines.
• Deliver medicines cost improvement programmes and oversee formulary/homecare governance.
• Provide professional advice to procurement and strategic leadership within the pharmacy directorate.
• Shape service development and translate priorities into measurable improvements for patients.

Skills

Leadership

Change management

Budget forecasting

Communication

Collaboration

Prescribing knowledge

Strategic planning

Education

Degree or master’s in Pharmacy

GPhC Registered Pharmacist

Postgraduate diploma/master’s in clinical pharmacy

NHS leadership qualification

Registered Pharmacy prescriber

Tools

Blueteq knowledge

Job description

Employer West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site West Suffolk Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Town Bury st Edmunds Salary £66,582 - £77,368 Per annum, pro rota Salary period Yearly Closing 12/11/2026 23:59

Principal Pharmacist: High Cost Drug & Medicine Optimisation

8B

Job overview

Would you like to lead improvements in medicines use and help patients receive safe, timely treatment across hospital and community care?

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced pharmacist to lead medicines optimisation and strengthen collaboration between primary and secondary care. This varied role combines senior pharmacy leadership with 18.75 protected hours each week for commissioned interface work.

Main duties of the job

Working with clinical teams and ICB colleagues, you will improve prescribing pathways, develop shared-care arrangements, lead joint formulary implementation and support appropriate access to high-cost medicines. You will also deliver medicines cost improvement programmes, provide leadership for formulary and homecare services, and contribute professional advice to procurement.

As a member of the pharmacy senior management team, you will help shape service development, support colleagues and turn agreed priorities into measurable improvements for patients.

We are looking for a pharmacist with strong clinical judgement, experience of leading change and the confidence to influence across organisational boundaries. If you are committed to collaborative working, developing people and improving the quality and value of medicines use, we would welcome your application.

Working for our organisation

#BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. By us. By our patients. By our community

We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings.

The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward). It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge.

Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.

We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and team work guide how we work and behave as a team.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

With nearly 5,000 staff, from all over the world, we strive to make our organisation a great place to work. Whatever your role or ambition, we want to help you be the best you can be.

We promote a diverse and inclusive community where everyone's voice counts and you can #BeKnown for whoever you are.

Join us. What will you #BeKnown for?

Person specification

Education and qualifications

• Educated to Degree or master’s level in Pharmacy
• Registered Pharmacist (GPhC)
• Postgraduate diploma or master’s qualification relevant to clinical pharmacy practice, or equivalent demonstrable postgraduate learning and experience.
• Leadership / Management qualification relevant to the NHS or equivalent management qualification or experience.
• Registered Pharmacy nonmedical prescriber

Experience and knowledge

• Significant senior pharmacy leadership experience relevant to medicines commissioning, interface transformation and service management, with acute-care expertise appropriate to the agreed clinical duties.
• Experience of clinical and medicines financial management, including analysis, forecasting and benefits assessment.
• Recent experience of both operational and strategic planning
• Experience of working across the wider health economy including partnership work
• Recent responsibility for managing transformational change programmes
• Knowledge of national pharmacy transformation and medicines optimisation priorities.
• Knowledge and experience of medicines commissioning and HCD funding and approval requirements, using Blueteq or equivalent systems, and homecare governance appropriate to the leadership remit.
• Experience of leading change management processes
• Understanding of challenges present at the interface between primary and secondary care relating to prescribing.
• Understanding of the current challenges facing primary care and the broader NHS.
• Experience across acute and commissioner sectors.
• Advanced experience of high-cost medicines commissioning and development of prior approval systems.
• Experience of holding and managing a formally delegated budget.
• Experience of managing and facilitating change
• Experience of communicating highly complex drug information or medicine related information to prescribers, clinicians, where professionals may challenge the advice

Skills and abilities

• Communication of highly complex information to senior managers, other professionals, and patients
• Proven leadership skills
• Able to demonstrate effective management of staff
• Critical appraisal of medicines evidence, interpretation of commissioning policy and complex financial data, business case preparation and sound judgement when clinical and financial priorities conflict.
• Concentration required frequently interrupted with urgent requests
• Acts appropriately in distressing or emotional circumstances
• Proven ability to influence and negotiate with relevant senior clinicians, managers, and key stakeholders
• Organisational awareness
• Ability to forecast and innovate including long term service planning
• Strong influencing skills and the ability to sensitively handle difficult conversations.
• Awareness and respect for colleagues, patients and relatives cultural, religious, and emotional needs and beliefs

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

Please note that this advert may close early if we receive a high number of applications.