Senior Specialist Pharmacist Medicines Advice & Medicines Use & Safety

NHS; United Kingdom; Remote; GBP 55,000 - 63,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization is seeking an enthusiastic pharmacist (Band 8A) to join the Specialist Pharmacy Service. This permanent role focuses on delivering critical medication advice and safety functions remotely while collaborating across teams to improve healthcare practices. The ideal candidate must possess a registered pharmacist qualification and experience in clinical pharmacy.

Qualifications

• Registered pharmacist with experience in clinical pharmacy.
• Demonstrable experience in delivering medicines advice.
• Knowledge of NHS policies related to pharmacy services.

Responsibilities

• Deliver against workplan of MA and MUS functions.
• Develop quality assured MA and MUS resources.
• Answer medication-related queries and solutions.

Skills

Clinical pharmacy

Communication

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Project management

Education

Vocational master's degree in pharmacy

Pharmacist registration

Postgraduate diploma in clinical pharmacy

Tools

Content management systems

Job description

Job summary

We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic pharmacist (Band 8A) to join NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS). This is a newly established post (1.0 WTE), creating a cross function role within the Medicines Advice (MA) function and the Medicines Use and Safety (MUS) function.

This post is hosted by the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust but it is expected that the successful candidate will work fully remotely. This is one of two similar posts that SPS is advertising (the other being a fixed term post).

Main duties

The post holder will:

• Sit within both the MA and MUS functions of the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service; working with key individuals to deliver against the workplan of both functions, including pan-SPS projects
• Contribute to the development, delivery and maintenance of quality assured MA and MUS resources to support commissioners, organisations, and health professionals. Resources may be webinars, podcasts, videos, website articles and workspaces on NHS Futures
• Support senior colleagues with the preparation of information to support the management of national drug shortages and in the preparation of the Medicines Awareness Daily Bulletin (MAD)
• Answer medication related queries, including those related to medicines supply issues, Patient Group Directions (PGDs) and other medicines mechanisms and, medication safety

About us

Medicines Use and Safety (MUS) team

Our Medicines Use and Safety (MUS) team are a well-respected team who work closely with policy makers, regulators and strategic leaders and engage with an extensive range of clinical networks to share experience and expertise. We interpret legislation and deliver practical guidance and support to NHS organisations and practitioners in providing safe patient care across the entire medicines pathway. Our resources support healthcare professionals to assess and improve medication safety culture, strategy and policy within the healthcare system.

Medicines Advice (MA) team

The MA team supports the provision of a national medicines clinical enquiry answering service. This includes providing long standing support to the Medicines Supply team at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Medicines Procurement and Supply Chain (MPSC) on medicines shortages. We produce a current awareness bulletin (Medicines Awareness Daily) that has been in circulation for over two decades, helping readers keep up to date with the latest developments in clinical and pharmacy practice, horizon scanning, safety alerts, and regulatory news. We also contribute towards writing and updating of SPS webpages to support best practice and the safe use of medicines.

Details

Date posted: 11 September 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 8a

Salary: £55,690 to £62,682 a year per annum

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time, Home or remote working

Reference number: 287-PPU-8-25

Job locations: Pharmacy Practice Unit, 70 Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L69 3GF

Job responsibilities

• The post-holder will sit within both the Medicines Advice (MA) and the Medicines Use and Safety (MUS) functions of the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service; working with key individuals to deliver against the workplan of both functions, including pan-SPS projects.
• Contributes to the development, delivery and maintenance of quality assured MA and MUS workstream resources to support commissioners, organisations, and health professionals. Resources may be webinars, podcasts, videos, website articles and workspaces on NHS Futures.
• Supports the MA and MUS team to improve legacy material and create new website content. Achieves this by working closely with the SPS Digital Team, by applying an agile approach, and through reference and application to NHS Digital and aligned gov.uk content standards.
• Answers medication related queries, including those related to medicines supply issues, Patient Group Directions (PGDs) and other medicines mechanisms and, Medication Safety.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Essential: Vocational masters degree in pharmacy or equivalent
• Essential: Pharmacist (registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council)
• Essential: Postgraduate diploma in clinical pharmacy or other relevant field e.g. management, or equivalent experience of working in a specialist area

Desirable

• Additional post graduate qualification i.e. MSc in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent experience

Experience

Essential

• Demonstrable diploma level experience related to the practice of clinical pharmacy in a range of settings
• Multidisciplinary working and an ability to work across both professional groups and across organisational bodies
• Significant experience of delivering medicines advice to healthcare professionals
• Experience of supporting healthcare professionals and organisations in the management of medicines shortages and NHS supply issues

Desirable

• Managing difficult situations and motivating others for service delivery
• Experience of working in a complex matrix type working environment within a diffuse national organisation
• Demonstrable experience in relevant MUS workstreams e.g. medication safety, PGDs, medicines optimisation, network engagement

Knowledge

Essential

• In depth knowledge of medicines optimisation as it pertains to both primary and secondary care
• A clear awareness and appreciation of the roles of other healthcare professionals in the delivery of healthcare services to patients
• A clear understanding of programme and project management
• Contemporary knowledge of NHS policy and understanding of its application in primary, secondary and tertiary care, including an appreciation of the relationship between the DHSC, NHSE, provider and commissioner organisations
• Contemporary knowledge of the provision of medicines advice across the NHS provided through SPS. Understanding how this supports medicines optimisation

Desirable

• Prior use of content management systems to create, manage and publish online article and digital publications with knowledge of the principles of good online publishing

Disclosures

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).