Pharmacy Program Manager Clinical - Purchasing

Montgomery College; United States; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Vanderbilt Health is seeking a Pharmacy Program Manager Clinical to lead medication purchasing, drug shortage management, and supply continuity across the health system. You will liaise between pharmacy operations, wholesalers, vendors, and clinical teams to ensure reliable medication supply while driving cost-saving initiatives.

The role requires 3+ years of pharmacy experience, a PTCB or NHA certification, and strong analytical and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Certified Pharmacy Technician credential through PTCB or NHA with at least 3 years of pharmacy experience.
• Strong analytical and negotiation skills with ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Experience in hospital or health system purchasing and cost management.

Responsibilities

• Lead system-wide drug shortage management efforts and oversee meetings with stakeholders.
• Monitor supply trends, shortages, inventory concerns and market conditions.
• Develop sourcing strategies to maintain medication availability and minimize disruptions.
• Manage relationships with manufacturers, wholesalers and 503B facilities for supply continuity.
• Review pricing and purchasing data to identify cost savings and efficiency gains.
• Coordinate bulk purchasing and support supply planning across locations.
• Communicate supply issues and mitigation plans with pharmacists and leadership.

Skills

Pharmacy purchasing

Drug shortage management

Inventory management

Vendor relations

Cost optimization

Education

PTCB or NHA certification

Tools

Purchasing software

Job description

Discover Vanderbilt Health: With eight hospitals and over 180 clinics, we are the region’s largest comprehensive academic health system. Vanderbilt Health has a long tradition of providing world‑class care to the people of the Mid‑South, living out our mission of moving medicine forward through preeminent programs in patient care, education and research. Here you’ll find a spirit of collaboration and a supportive community where your expertise is valued, your knowledge expanded and your uniqueness celebrated. We are committed to fostering an environment where talented, compassionate people are united in bringing the most advanced care to our neighbors throughout the region.

Organization: Pharmacy Purchasing Job Summary: Plans, develops and executes ongoing program(s) that impact a significant segment of the organization under occasional guidance.

Pharmacy Program Manager Clinical

Join our pharmacy team in a highly visible role focused on medication purchasing, sourcing, supply continuity, and drug shortage management across the health system. This position serves as a key liaison between pharmacy operations, wholesalers, manufacturers, vendors, and clinical teams to ensure a reliable medication supply while driving cost‑saving initiatives and operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist with leading system‑wide drug shortage management efforts, including facilitating regular drug shortage meetings and providing updates to pharmacy stakeholders.
• Proactively monitor medication supply trends, emerging shortages, inventory concerns, and market conditions.
• Develop and implement sourcing strategies to maintain medication availability and minimize disruptions to patient care.
• Build and maintain relationships with pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, 503B outsourcing facilities, and other vendors to support supply continuity.
• Oversee 503B vendor relationships, reserve inventory, and designated inventory stock levels to ensure appropriate supply management.
• Review wholesaler out‑of‑stock reports and identify alternative sourcing opportunities.
• Evaluate medication costs, pricing discrepancies, and purchasing strategies while identifying opportunities for cost savings and operational efficiency.
• Manage drug pricing inquiries and ensure accurate pricing data is maintained within purchasing systems.
• Coordinate bulk purchasing initiatives and support supply planning across hospital and clinic locations.
• Serve as a liaison for sourcing and purchasing activities across hospital and clinic settings.
• Participate in operational meetings and collaborate with key stakeholders to address supply chain challenges and implement solutions.
• Lead or support quality improvement projects and product implementation initiatives, ensuring project milestones and timelines are achieved.
• Provide coverage and support for pharmacy buyers and system support technicians as needed, including weekend ordering support and continuity of operations during staff absences.
• Professionally communicate with pharmacists, technicians, leaders, vendors, and customers across all hospitals and clinics regarding supply issues, shortages, and mitigation plans.

Qualifications

Certified Pharmacy Technician credential through the PTCB or NHA. Minimum of 3 years of relevant pharmacy experience. Strong analytical, organizational, critical thinking, and problem‑solving skills. Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced environment. Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills. Demonstrated ability to take initiative, work independently, and drive projects to completion.

Preferred Qualifications

Hospital/inpatient pharmacy experience. Pharmacy purchasing, inventory management, or medication sourcing experience in a hospital or retail setting. Experience managing or responding to medication shortages and supply chain disruptions. Project management or process improvement experience.

What We're Looking For

The ideal candidate is a self‑motivated professional who is passionate about solving complex supply chain challenges. This individual thrives in ambiguity, anticipates issues before they arise, thinks critically, and develops creative solutions to ensure uninterrupted patient care. Success in this role requires strong business acumen, attention to detail, initiative, and the ability to build productive relationships with both internal and external partners.

Schedule

Monday through Friday, day shift. Occasional weekend support as needed for placing orders (approximately 1‑hour). Hybrid work opportunity with the ability to work remotely 1-2 days per week based on business needs and departmental requirements. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced pharmacy professional interested in taking a leadership role in medication sourcing and drug shortage management.

Key Responsibilities

Provides budgetary management to the program. Provides training and guidance for individuals supporting the program. Promotes growth and expansion of the program. Oversees the creation, coordination and execution of the program. The responsibilities listed are a general overview of the position and additional duties may be assigned.

Technical Capabilities

• Networking (Intermediate): Build relationships through industry contacts, professional organizations and individuals.
• Quality Management (Intermediate): Developing a systematic process of checking to see whether a process or service is meeting specific requirements.
• Peer Leadership (Intermediate): The ability to show leadership and influence people of equal rank in an effort to accomplish team goals.
• Program Management (Intermediate): Planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific program goals and objectives.
• Financial Processes (Intermediate): Ability to monitor costs, expenses and revenue as well as the ability to manage those costs and expenses in relation to budgeted amounts.
• Process Improvement (Intermediate): Identifies, analyzes and improves upon existing business processes for optimization and to meet standards of quality.

Allied health

Allied health is among the fastest growing occupations in healthcare today. This area can be defined as credentialed professionals who perform supportive, diagnostic, and therapeutic health care services to promote health and prevent disease in a variety of settings. These areas are crucial to Vanderbilt Health’s reputation for excellence in these areas that has made us a major center for patient referrals from throughout the Mid‑South. Each year, people throughout Tennessee and the southeast choose Vanderbilt Health for their health care because of our leadership in medical science and our dedication to treating patients with dignity and compassion.

Core Accountabilities

Organizational Impact: Executes job responsibilities with the understanding of how output would affect and impact other areas related to own job area/team with occasional guidance.

Problem Solving/ Complexity of work: Analyzes moderately complex problems using technical experience and judgment.

Breadth of Knowledge: Has expanded knowledge gained within a professional area.

Team Interaction: Provides informal guidance and support to team members.

Core Capabilities

• Supporting Colleagues:- Develops Self and Others: Invests time, energy, and enthusiasm in developing self/others to help improve performance e and gain knowledge in new areas.
• Builds and Maintains Relationships: Maintains regular contact with key colleagues and stakeholders using formal and informal opportunities to expand and strengthen relationships.
• Communicates Effectively: Recognizes group interactions and modifies one’s own communication style to suit different situations and audiences.
• Delivering Excellent Services:- Serves Others with Compassion: Seeks to understand current and future needs of relevant stakeholders and customizes services to better address them.
• Solves Complex Problems: Approaches problems from different angles; Identifies new possibilities to interpret opportunities and develop concrete solutions.
• Offers Meaningful Advice and Support: Provides ongoing support and coaching in a constructive manner to increase employees' effectiveness.
• Ensuring High Quality: - Performs Excellent Work: Engages regularly in formal and informal dialogue about quality; directly addresses quality issues promptly.
• Ensures Continuous Improvement: Applies various learning experiences by looking beyond symptoms to uncover underlying causes of problems and identifies ways to resolve them.
• Fulfills Safety and Regulatory Requirements: Understands all aspects of providing a safe environment and performs routine safety checks to prevent safety hazards from occurring.
• Managing Resources Effectively: - Demonstrates Accountability: Demonstrates a sense of ownership, focusing on and driving critical issues to closure.
• Stewards Organizational Resources: Applies understanding of the departmental work to effectively manage resources for a department/area.
• Makes Data Driven Decisions: Demonstrates strong understanding of the information or data to identify and elevate opportunities.
• Fostering Innovation:- Generates New Ideas: Proactively identifies new ideas/opportunities from multiple sources or methods to improve processes beyond conventional approaches.
• Applies Technology: Demonstrates an enthusiasm for learning new technologies, tools, and procedures to address short‑term challenges.
• Adapts to Change: Views difficult situations and/or problems as opportunities for improvement; actively embraces change instead of emphasizing negative elements.

Position Qualifications

Responsibilities: Certifications: LIC-Pharmacy Technician - Tennessee Work Experience: Relevant Work Experience Experience Level : 3 years Education: Graduate of an approved discipline specific program This role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact within Vanderbilt Health, supported by a comprehensive benefits package which may include health, disability, retirement and/or wellness offerings to enhance your well‑being and professional growth.

Vanderbilt Health is committed to fostering an environment where everyone has the chance to thrive and is committed to the principles of equal opportunity. EOE/Vets/Disabled.

PEOPLE ARE AT THE HEART OF ALL WE DO. Great health care takes great people.

We’re looking for like‑minded individuals driven to make a difference. We invite you to explore careers at Vanderbilt Health, where we value collaboration, embrace continuous learning and foster an environment where everyone can thrive. We’re the largest private employer in Middle Tennessee, with a growing team and an expanding footprint across towns and communities throughout the region. We employ more than 43,000 people who work in inpatient and outpatient clinical care, research and graduate medical education. Our employees also serve in critical supporting roles in administration, information technology and informatics, finance, legal and community affairs, communications and marketing, fundraising, groundskeeping and facilities, and many other departments.

Our growing academic health system has more than 2,100 licensed hospital beds at eight hospitals: Vanderbilt University Hospital Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton Hospital Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital Vanderbilt Health is the Mid‑South's largest provider of specialty care, with hundreds of outpatient clinic and surgical locations throughout the region, and Tennessee’s only National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center for adults and children.

We are one of the nation’s busiest critical care centers, home to Middle Tennessee’s only Level1 Trauma Center and Burn Center for adults and children, and Middle Tennessee’s only LevelIV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. We are the nation’s largest transplant center, and last year we performed the most heart transplants than any center worldwide. Vanderbilt Health is an epicenter for biomedical research, winning over $1billion in annual research awards from government, industry, foundations and donors. We are also a national leader in medical training and education, with the largest clinical training center in the Mid‑South and the only training center in Tennessee for many adult and pediatric specialties. We’re honoredto be consistently consideredamong the nation’s best hospitals for quality, safety and patient satisfaction. Three of our hospitals — Vanderbilt University Hospital, Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital and Vanderbilt Wilson CountyHospital —havebeenawardedaFive‑StarQualityRatingfromMedicare. We support each other and encourage excellence among every member of our workforce. High‑achieving employees stay at Vanderbilt Health for professional growth opportunities, competitive compensation and benefits, and a sense of community and purpose. Join us in advancing health care.

Our vision: The world leader in advancing personalized health Our mission: Personalizing the patient experience through our caring spirit and distinctive capabilities