University Hospitals of Liverpool Group Chief Pharmacist

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Sefton; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust seeks a forward-thinking Chief Pharmacist to lead medicines management across the Group and WCFT. You will set strategy, oversee governance, and drive medicines optimisation across inpatient, outpatient and community services.

You will deliver professional leadership, oversee safety and regulatory compliance, and work with hospital leadership teams to secure financial sustainability while improving patient outcomes.

Qualifications

• Masters in Pharmacy with registration
• Post-graduate qualification relevant to hospital pharmacy
• Management qualification in NHS or equivalent
• Membership of the Royal College of Pharmacy encouraged
• Strong understanding of medicines governance and safety practices

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical leadership to transform how medicines are managed across the Trusts.
• Lead Medicines Optimisation and pharmacy services within the Group and WCFT.
• Develop and implement Medicines Optimisation strategic plan and governance.
• Lead professional teams and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Collaborate with Integrated Care System partners and primary care networks.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Pharmacy expertise

Medicines optimisation

Governance

Education

Masters in Pharmacy

GPhC registration

Post-graduate qualification

NHS management qualification

Royal College of Pharmacy member

Job description

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

University Hospitals of Liverpool Group Chief Pharmacist

The closing date is 22 November 2026

Liverpool University Hospitals Group and The Walton Centre are seeking an exceptional and forward-thinking pharmacist to join our leadership teams as Chief Pharmacist. As the Group's most senior lead for medicines use and pharmacy services, you will work with Site Directors of Pharmacy and Hospital Leadership Teams to deliver safe, effective and financially sustainable use of medicines.

Significant investments in Pharmacy Services over the last 3 years are delivering real improvements for the population we serve.

As the Group's senior professional lead for pharmacy and medicines management, you will be responsible for ensuring the safe, effective and financially sustainable use of medicines across inpatient, outpatient and community services. You will provide strategic leadership for medicines safety, clinical governance, workforce development, service transformation and medicines optimisation, while acting as the principal adviser on pharmaceutical matters.

This influential leadership role offers the opportunity to shape services across the Group and wider health system, delivering improvements in patient outcomes, operational performance and financial sustainability while ensuring the highest standards of quality, safety and regulatory compliance.

Experienced Chief Pharmacists with a desire to collaborate to influence patient outcomes, operational and regulatory performance and financial sustainability will be essential pre-requisites for this exciting opportunity.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will:

• be the responsible officer for medicines use in the Group Trusts and WCFT
• Have management accountability for the delivery of Pharmacy Services in accordance with the Trust Strategic Plan and the Medicines and Pharmacy Scheme of delegation.
• Provide a comprehensive and high-quality pharmaceutical service, involved in all aspects of medicines management.
• Maintain and strengthen governance and develop the workforce with the right skills, knowledge and experience to ensure safe and effective delivery of medicines management and pharmacy services.
• Provide specialist expertise and, delegated from the Group Chief Executive, and reporting through the Group Medical Director, have corporate responsibility across the Group and WCFT for all aspects of Medicine Optimisation.
• Provide professional leadership for the pharmaceutical services provided to the Trusts and other external customers. This includes performing the duties and responsibilities of the the Superintendent Pharmacist.
• Provide professional leadership and work in collaboration with senior pharmacists in the Integrated Care System and the appropriate Primary Care Networks
• Ensure that services provided are progressive, responsive to internal and external demand, are patient focused, safe, efficient and effective.
• Ensure that the pharmacy workforce is empowered, supported in development and succession planning, trained in quality improvement methodology and the culture values people.

About us

NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group (UHL Group) was formed on 1 November 2024, born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our communities.

We are one of the largest employers in region, with over 18,900 colleagues who are dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.

For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services that extend to more than two million people in the North West.

We operate from five hospital sites:Aintree University Hospitalis the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside, and hosts a number of regional services including an award-winning stroke facility.Broadgreen Hospitalis home to several elective surgical, diagnostic and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation.Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospitalprovide specialist services incardiothoracic surgery,cardiology and respiratory medicine, both in the hospital and out in the community.Liverpool Women's Hospitalspecialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK's largest single site maternity hospital each year. TheRoyal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single en-suite bedrooms and mainly focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

Job responsibilities

For full details, please refer to the attached job description

Provide clinical leadership to transform the way the Trusts handle medicines, in every respect, to optimise their role.

Provide clinical leadership for all aspects of Medicines Optimisation within the Group Trusts and WCFT, within the Primary Care Networks in Cheshire and Merseyside across the Integrated Care System and beyond to other local health communities.

Continue to develop the Medicines Optimisation strategic plan to align MU&PS services to meet Group Trust-wide needs to drive both quality improvement and productivity gains.

Lead and implement the consequent transformational change.

Work with commercial partners to deliver operational efficiencies.

Enable excellent partnerships with national and local commissioners while also building relationships with primary care providers such as GPs and Community Pharmacists as new clinical leadership structures emerge.

Work with the ICB and specialist commissioners to deliver on commissioning intention requirements in respect of high-cost medicines and associated quality and performance targets.

Undertake the statutory roles and responsibilities of the Superintendent Pharmacist as required by all applicable legislation

Act as Controlled Drug Accountable Officer for the Trusts and be the licence holder for the Home Office Controlled Drug Licences.

Be the licence holder for MHRA Wholesale Dealer's Authority, Aseptic Specials Licences for Aintree, Royal ASU and Radiopharmacy.

Provide professional leadership to MU&PS Teams at Group and Sites to meet current statutory obligations.

Deliver, through the Pharmacy Senior Leadership Team, the active management of all aspects of pharmacy service, making optimal use of resources available.

Work with the Group and WCFT executive teams and site HLTs to address issues relating to pharmacy service provision of the wider Medicines Optimisation agenda.

Qualifications

• Masters Qualification in Pharmacy (4 years)
• Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Post-graduate qualification relevant to hospital pharmacy practice
• Management qualification relevant to the NHS or equivalent experience
• Membership of the Royal College of Pharmacy

Experience

• Recent practice in a leadership role within hospital pharmacy as a Chief Pharmacist
• Recent experience in leading transformational quality improvement project work
• Experience of managing multi-stranded situations where there may be conflicts of opinions involving a wide range of stakeholders

Knowledge

• Sound knowledge and understanding of financial management systems relevant to NHS, including understanding of Standing Orders, Standing Financial Instructions and Capital and Corporate Planning procedures
• Evidence of commitment to Continuing Professional Development
• Comprehensive knowledge and practical understanding of financial and commissioning frameworks
• Specialist knowledge and experience with management and response to Medicine Guidance Notes, MHRA Alerts, Care Quality Commission inspections, NHS Improvement, Internal and external auditing, Serious incident investigation and management of untoward events
• Have sound knowledge and understanding of GDP, GMP, Clinical Trials Directives plus national strategies relevant to the delivery of pharmacy services

Skills and Qualities

• Evidence of successful operational management in a senior position
• Strong, inclusive leadership style
• Ability to work under significant pressure and to demanding timescales
• Positive working relationships with senior colleagues
• Ability to monitor, maintain and improve service delivery and to lead service re-design
• Strong understanding of corporate and clinical governance and ability to improve performance across a range of competing programmes of work
• Commitment to own personal and professional development and the development of others
• Professional image and positive approach to problem solving showing tolerance, understanding, tact and diplomacy
• Able to interpret highly complex data and present highly complex information in an informative manner to a wide range of individuals
• Ability to travel independently

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.

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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