Principal Pharmacist - Safety, Governance and Audit

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust; Bury St Edmunds; On-site; GBP 64,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional NHS Trust in Bury St Edmunds is seeking a Principal Pharmacist focused on safety, governance, and audit. This role involves shaping medication safety initiatives and leading the pharmacy team to enhance patient safety and compliance. The ideal candidate will be a registered pharmacist with significant hospital management experience and will oversee critical safety-related projects and policies. This permanent position offers a competitive salary and the chance to make a meaningful impact in local healthcare.

Qualifications

• Registered Pharmacist with GPhC.
• Significant experience in hospital pharmacy management and medication safety.
• Proven ability to communicate complex information effectively.

Responsibilities

• Manage risk registers and chair the Pharmacy Governance Group.
• Oversee medicines optimisation standards.
• Lead the pharmacy clinical audit programme.

Skills

Empathy

Communication

Leadership skills

Analytical skills

Education

Degree or Masters in Pharmacy

Registered Pharmacist (GPhC)

Postgraduate qualification relevant to hospital pharmacy practice

Leadership/Management qualification

Job description

Principal Pharmacist – Safety, Governance and Audit

We are looking for a motivated and experienced pharmacist with a genuine passion for patient safety to join the West Suffolk Pharmacy team. This role offers an exciting opportunity to shape and deliver both local and national medication safety priorities, working alongside a dedicated team of pharmacists and patient safety specialists. You will join us at a pivotal moment as we lead key patient safety and digital medicines initiatives across the Trust.

To thrive in this post, you will bring:

Empathy, curiosity, and a commitment to understanding the systems around you.

Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to build positive relationships.

Knowledge of the NHS Patient Safety Strategy, along with practical experience of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework

Experience--or a readiness to develop expertise--in human factors, ergonomics, improvement and implementation sciences, and project management.

Confidence with digital systems and data management

Flexibility and adaptability, enabling you to respond to evolving priorities, partnerships, and organisational needs.

Main duties of the job

This role offers meaningful opportunities for both personal and professional growth. You will work closely with colleagues and patients across the Trust to design and deliver improvement initiatives and contribute to the development of risk and safety expertise. You will also have the chance to shape Trust-wide policies and guidelines, promote safe medicines use, and represent the Medication Safety and Pharmacy teams at local, regional, and national levels.

The post holder will serve as the Trust's Medication Safety Officer, leading the organisation's approach to medicine safety and acting as the key link to national medication safety networks. They will oversee medication incident reporting and learning, provide expert analysis of medicine-related risks, and guide the work of the Medication Safety Committee. A core part of the role involves shaping, maintaining, and promoting Trust-wide medicines policies, contributing specialist advice to a range of governance groups, and ensuring compliance with national guidance and safety alerts. The post holder will also lead the pharmacy clinical audit programme and support medicine safety audits across the Trust.

About us

#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.

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 everyones voice counts and you can #BeKnown for whoever you are.

Join us. What will you #BeKnown for?

Job responsibilities

Alongside their corporate responsibilities, the post holder will play a senior leadership role within the pharmacy service. This includes managing risk registers, chairing the Pharmacy Governance Group, overseeing medicines optimisation standards, and driving quality improvement programmes to reduce harm from medicines. They will contribute to strategic planning, business cases, and transformational change initiatives, while supporting the development and delivery of the pharmacy strategy. The role also involves line management responsibilities, leading recruitment of senior staff, performance management, workforce planning and occasionally deputising for the Deputy Chief Pharmacist.

To view full main responsibilities of role, please see job description attached.

Person Specification

Education & Qualification

• Educated to Degree or Masters level in Pharmacy
• Registered Pharmacist (GPhC)
• Postgraduate qualification relevant to hospital pharmacy practice
• Leadership / Management qualification relevant to the NHS or equivalent management qualification or experience
• Advanced Clinical Skills Course
• Registered Pharmacy non-medical prescriber

Experience & Knowledge

• Significant experience in a senior hospital pharmacy management role and medication safety
• Significant experience in both clinical and financial management
• 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
• Familiarity with the Hospital Pharmacy Transformation Programme
• Familiarity with national and local medicine commissioning requirements
• Experience of leading change management processes

Skills & Abilities

• Communication of highly complex information to senior managers, other professionals and patients
• Proven leadership skills
• Able to demonstrate effective management of staff
• Analytical and judgement skills
• 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

Personal Qualities

• Awareness and respect for colleagues, patients and relatives cultural, religious and emotional needs and beliefs
• Ability to travel within locality on occasions

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.

West Suffolk Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

£64,455 to £74,896 a yearPer annum pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Reference number

179-7688026-C

Job locations

West Suffolk Hospital NHS Foundation Trust