Senior Pharmacist

Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury; Greymouth; On-site; NZD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is seeking a Senior Pharmacist for Te Nīkau Hospital in Greymouth. This full-time role supports clinical and operational leadership, balancing ward-based work with dispensary duties while developing the service for patients and staff.

The role leads a small team and works within the Canterbury Waitaha Pharmacy Leadership Team, contributing to medicine management and patient safety across the West Coast. Located at Te Nīkau Hospital with on-site duties.

Qualifications

• At least five years of hospital or equivalent clinical experience.
• Advanced clinical knowledge and understanding of NZ Pharmacy Standards.
• NZ registered pharmacist with a current APC.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support pharmacists, technicians and assistants, setting expectations and developing performance.
• Ensure the service is safe, efficient, compliant, innovative and financially sustainable.
• Standardise pharmacy practice, SOPs and processes across West Coast and Waitaha Canterbury.
• Lead quality improvement plans, audits and data-driven service development.
• Support CCDM documentation and workforce planning.
• Oversee inventory, procurement, cold chain compliance and controlled drug requirements.
• Provide medicines information, guideline development and medicines utilization activities.
• Represent the service at meetings and contribute to strategic and operational planning.

Skills

Leadership

Clinical knowledge

Staff supervision

Training

Documentation

IT literacy

Communication

Education

NZ Registered Pharmacist with APC

Job description

Fulltime 6-month secondment or fixed term opportunity for an experienced Hospital Pharmacist. Hours of Work are Monday - Friday 0800 - 1630, with rostered on call. Based at Te Nīkau Hospital, Greymouth. Accommodation and travel supported for applicants from other HNZ districts. Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.

About the Role

We are seeking Expressions of Interest for a Senior Pharmacist (1.0 FTE, fixed term) to provide experienced clinical and operational support at Te Nīkau Hospital Pharmacy. This is a rare opportunity to take on a senior role within a close-knit team where your expertise will directly shape the service and make a real difference for patients and staff. Working in this unique setting you will contribute to a patient centered, medicines focused service whilst supporting and strengthening the pharmacy team. This role combines leadership with hands on clinical practice. You will maintain a regular ward based clinical workload and participate in the dispensary roster as required whilst helping to guide the ongoing development of the service. This position will lead a team of 2 Pharmacists and 3 Pharmacy Technicians and is supported by the Canterbury Waitaha Pharmacy Leadership Team. You will support and influence practice across Te Tai o Poutini and work alongside passionate colleagues who are committed to delivering safe, effective and innovative medicines management.

In this role, you will:

• Lead and support pharmacists, technicians andassistants, setting expectations and developing performanceEnsure the service is safe, efficient,compliant, innovative and financially sustainableStandardise pharmacy practice, SOPs andprocesses across West Coast and Waitaha Canterbury in collaboration with seniorleadersLead quality improvement plans, audits anddata driven service developmentSupport CCDM documentation and workforceplanningManage staff orientation, training,competency and ongoing educationOversee inventory, procurement, cold chaincompliance and controlled drug requirementsProvide medicines information, supportguideline development and undertake medicines utilisation activitiesRepresent the service at meetings andcontribute to strategic and operational planning

About You

You are an experienced hospital pharmacist with advanced clinical knowledge and proven capability in delivering safe, evidence based care. You are confident navigating New Zealand pharmacy legislation, standards and cold chain requirements, and you bring strong organisational skills to a dynamic service. You enjoy supporting others, contributing to service development and maintaining high professional standards. You are comfortable leading, supervising and training staff and you communicate clearly and effectively with colleagues, patients and stakeholders.

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate the following:

• At least five years of hospital or equivalentclinical experience. Demonstrated advanced clinical knowledge andunderstanding of NZ Pharmacy StandardsKnowledge of relevant legislation and coldchain management.
• Proven ability to supervise, train andsupport staffStrong documentation, organisation andprioritisation skills, with the ability to work well under pressureExcellent written and verbal communicationskillsAbility to supervise, coach and support staffin a busy and varied environmentConfidence using IT systems and the abilityto learn new programmesNew Zealand registered pharmacist with acurrent APCWorking for Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. We embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We welcome applications from our diverse Māori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

If you have any questions about the role, please contact Courtney Bell at [e-mail]