Associate Chief Pharmacist

Job overview

This is an exciting time to join the Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation team at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL), one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in the NHS. We are seeking an exceptional and experienced pharmacy leader to join our senior Pharmacy Leadership Team as Associate Chief Pharmacist. The role will support the strategic leadership of a large and diverse pharmacy service, delivering care across multiple hospital sites and serving a population of over one million people.

Working in partnership with the Chief Pharmacist, you will provide senior strategic and operational leadership across clinical, operational and specialist pharmacy services. You will play a key role in shaping and delivering the future direction of pharmacy and medicines optimisation, ensuring high-quality, patient-centred services that support the Trust's ambitions for outstanding care, education, research and innovation.

This is a unique opportunity to influence service development at Trust, system and regional level, leading major transformation programmes and helping to shape the future workforce, digital agenda and models of pharmacy care within one of the largest hospital pharmacy services in the region.

Main duties of the job

The Associate Chief Pharmacist is a key member of the Pharmacy Leadership Team and will work closely with the Chief Pharmacist to provide strategic and operational leadership across all areas of Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation.

The successful candidate will:

• Provide visible leadership for a large multi-disciplinary pharmacy workforce and contribute to the overall strategic direction of the department.
• - Lead the development, implementation and delivery of pharmacy strategies, improvement programmes and transformation initiatives aligned to Trust and system priorities.
• - Support the safe, effective and cost-efficient delivery of clinical, operational and specialist pharmacy services.
• - Lead on service redesign, workforce development and innovation programmes that improve patient care and productivity.
• - Provide professional leadership on cost-improvement and expert advice to senior clinicians, executives and external stakeholders on pharmacy and medicines-related matters.
• - Represent the Trust at local, regional and national forums and deputise for the Chief Pharmacist as required.
• - Ensure pharmacy services continue to meet relevant professional, regulatory and governance standards whilst fostering a culture of continuous improvement and excellence.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Associate Chief Pharmacist will support the Chief Pharmacist in providing strategic leadership for Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation services across University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. The post holder will play a pivotal role in developing and delivering the long-term vision and strategy for pharmacy services, ensuring alignment with Trust objectives, Integrated Care System priorities and national policy.

The post holder will provide leadership across clinical, operational and specialist pharmacy services, ensuring services remain safe, innovative, responsive and sustainable. They will be responsible for driving service transformation, quality improvement and workforce development initiatives that support improved patient outcomes and operational performance.

Working closely with senior clinical and managerial colleagues, the post holder will lead complex programmes of work, develop business cases, contribute to financial planning and support delivery of cost improvement and productivity programmes whilst maintaining high standards of quality and patient safety.

The Associate Chief Pharmacist will provide professional leadership to senior pharmacy staff and support the development of future leaders, ensuring succession planning, education and workforce development remain key priorities. They will champion innovation and service modernisation and work collaboratively with colleagues across organisational and professional boundaries to deliver improved models of care.

The post holder will be a senior representative of the pharmacy profession within the Trust and wider healthcare system, influencing strategic decision-making and contributing to regional and national pharmacy agendas. The role includes deputising for the Chief Pharmacist as required and providing assurance to senior leaders regarding service quality, governance, operational performance and regulatory compliance.

The successful candidate will join UHL during a period of significant opportunity and transformation, including major digital developments, infrastructure investment, service redesign and evolving models of medicines optimisation. They will play a central role in ensuring pharmacy services are positioned to meet the future needs of patients, staff and the wider health economy.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.