Director of Pharmacy Ambulatory

Children's Hospital Colorado; Aurora (CO); On-site; USD 158,636 - 264,393; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Base pay

Incentives

Paid time off

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Parental leave

Retirement plan

Wellness program

Education benefit

Job summary

Children's Hospital Colorado seeks a Director of Pharmacy to provide strategic and operational leadership of the system-wide pharmacy services. The role oversees budgeting, HR, quality improvement, and compliance to ensure safe, effective, and cost-efficient medication use across all sites.

The director partners with executive leadership to drive continuous improvement, optimize resources, and advance clinical pharmacy practice while maintaining robust regulatory and accreditation standards.

Qualifications

• BSPharm or PharmD required.
• Minimum five years as a pharmacist with at least three years in leadership over a pharmacy service.
• PGY1 and/or PGY2 residencies or HSPAL equivalent count toward experience.
• Colorado licensure or eligibility.

Responsibilities

• Leads pharmacy services across multiple sites in alignment with strategic goals.
• Advises executive leadership and drives cultural and operational transformation.
• Oversees formulary governance, medication-use policy, and safe, cost-effective care.
• Guides system-wide quality, safety, and regulatory initiatives and performance standards.
• Directs budgeting, procurement, inventory, and revenue integrity processes.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Communication

Regulatory knowledge

Education

BSPharm or PharmD

Job description

Job Overview

The Director of Pharmacy provides strategic and operational leadership for system-wide pharmacy services. This role oversees departmental operations including fiscal management, human resources, and quality improvement, ensuring safe, effective, and cost-efficient medication use in compliance with regulatory standards. Through cross-departmental collaboration, the Director drives continuous improvement, executes strategic initiatives, and optimizes the use of personnel, materials, and financial resources to support high-quality pharmaceutical care.

Responsibilities

1. Leads pharmacy services across multiple sites, aligning departmental goals with the organization's strategic vision and mission.
2. Serves as a key strategic advisor and partner to executive leadership, resolving escalations, and driving cultural and operational transformation.
3. Leads enterprise-wide communication strategies for pharmacy, ensuring timely, accurate, and transparent updates on strategic priorities, system initiatives, and emerging issues while cultivating strong partnerships with peers and executive leadership.
4. Provides director oversight for the development, performance, and succession planning of pharmacy leaders and staff, promoting a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and professional advancement.
5. Defines and governs departmental strategy, policies, and performance standards while leading system-wide quality, safety, and regulatory initiatives. Ensures optimized clinical services and operations, exemplary outcomes, and continuous compliance with all regulatory, accreditation, and organizational requirements (e.g., Joint Commission, CMS).
6. Provides system-level oversight for formulary governance, medication-use policy, and controlled substance management, ensuring robust stewardship and full compliance with all federal, state, local, and DEA regulations.
7. Champions interdisciplinary collaboration to advance clinical pharmacy practice, driving evidence-based, safe, and cost-effective medication therapy and optimizing patient outcomes across the continuum of care. Directs system-wide financial stewardship including budgeting, drug procurement, inventory management, revenue integrity processes to ensure sustainability and fiscal accountability.
8. Oversees the strategic planning, implementation, and optimization of pharmacy technologies and automation, evaluating emerging innovations to enhance reliability, safety, and performance. Provides leadership for complex program development and enterprise initiatives providing technical expertise and ensuring effective change management, and alignment with system strategy and compliance standards.
9. Drives uninterrupted continuity of pharmacy operations across a 24/7 care environment, establishing robust leadership coverage models, escalation pathways, and decision-making frameworks that support real-time issue resolution and maintain seamless service delivery at all times.

Guidelines

Guidelines are in the form of stated vision and goals for the operation.

Complexity

Work assignment is unstructured and leader is responsible for developing, directing, and managing outcomes and multi-year strategies in order to achieve the objectives of the operation. Duties performed include operational planning; developing standards, priorities, guidelines, processes, measurement (evaluation) systems; implementation of production and performance management standards; and allocating resources. Work is strategic and operational in nature.

Decision Making

Employee is responsible for managing multiple functions that requires developing and implementing strategies, business plans, and policies; determining required resources; defining and evaluating performance standards; and resolving complex business problems.

Communications

Communication at this level is internally and externally focused. Involves establishing and maintaining effective, collaborative working relationships with team members, peers, and executives. Provides information and negotiates solutions to functional issues that have major consequences or long-term significance.

Supervision Received

Responsible and accountable for driving strategy and achieving results for function(s). Work is reviewed for soundness of judgment and conclusions, fiscal accountability, and the attainment of goals and objectives of the operation.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (BSPharm) or Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
• Experience: Five (5) years of experience as a pharmacist, plus three (3) years of leadership experience over a pharmacy service.
• Equivalency: Completion of a Postgraduate Year One (PGY1) pharmacy residency is considered equivalent to two (2) years of professional pharmacy experience in a hospital setting.
• Completion of a Postgraduate Year Two (PGY2) pharmacy residency is also considered equivalent to two (2) years of professional pharmacy experience, for a total of up to four (4) years when combined with PGY1.
• Completion of a combined Health-System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership (HSPAL) residency is considered equivalent to four (4) years of professional pharmacy experience.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy (BSPharm) or Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)

Experience

Five (5) years of experience as a pharmacist, plus three (3) years of leadership experience over a pharmacy service.

Equivalency

• Completion of a Postgraduate Year One (PGY1) pharmacy residency is considered equivalent to two (2) years of professional pharmacy experience in a hospital setting.
• Completion of a Postgraduate Year Two (PGY2) pharmacy residency is also considered equivalent to two (2) years of professional pharmacy experience, for a total of up to four (4) years when combined with PGY1.
• Completion of a combined Health-System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership (HSPAL) residency is considered equivalent to four (4) years of professional pharmacy experience.

Licensure(s)

Licensed pharmacist in the state of Colorado

Salary Information

Pay is dependent on applicant's relevant experience.

Annual Salary Range (Based on 40 hours worked per week): $158,635.92 to $264,393.21

Benefits Information

Here, you matter. As a Children's Hospital Colorado team member, you will receive a competitive pay and benefits package designed to take care of your needs that includes base pay, incentives, paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, company provided life and disability insurance, paid parental leave, 403b employer match (retirement savings), a robust wellness program, and access to professional development tools, including an education benefit to help you advance your career.

As part of our Total Rewards package, Children's Colorado offers an annual employee bonus program that rewards eligible team members based on organizational performance. If organizational goals are met for the year, the bonus is paid out the following April.

Children's Colorado delivers annual base pay increases to eligible team members based on their performance over the previous year.

EEO Statement

It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions be based on job-related factors. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or any other status protected by law or regulation. Be aware that none of the questions are intended to imply illegal preferences or discrimination based on non-job-related information. The position is expected to stay open until the posted close date. Please submit your application as soon as possible as the posting is subject to close at any time once a sufficient pool of qualified applicants is obtained.

Colorado Residents: In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.