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Job overview
As the consultant pharmacist for HIV, the postholder will play a key role in developing and implementing the strategic plan for the delivery of HIV services across the Royal Free. They will have leadership and responsibility for the clinical pharmacy service delivered to HIV patients across all sites of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and beyond. Working closely with the multidisciplinary team and divisional managers, the postholder will develop initiatives and guidelines to ensure the safe and cost-effective prescribing of medicines within the specialist area to optimise clinical outcomes and minimise adverse reactions and errors. The postholder will also work alongside the Consultant Pharmacist for Infection to lead the pharmacy service for the High Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID) service at RFH.
Main duties of the job
Key responsibilities include:
- Link with ID alongside the Pharmacy Infection Team
- Promoting the safe use of HIV medicines across the whole sector and acting as a national expert in HIV medicine
- Working with a high degree of autonomy, reviewing own complex caseload to optimise patient care within this setting
- Managing medicine budgets, formulating cost improvement plans and monitoring potential savings. Working collaboratively with other HIV pharmacists to standardise prescribing and deliver savings
- Supporting commissioning processes across sector including the introduction of new drugs
- Developing long term strategic plans to enhance clinical pharmacy services to HIV patients
- Participation in and development of HIV clinics
- Work collaboratively with higher education institutions to develop undergraduate and postgraduate training for future HIV pharmacists
- To provide leadership for the design and implementation of new and innovative pathways of care for HIV patients and identify research opportunities for collaborative working with local academic partners.
- Advise on the development and implementation of NICE guidance, other national and international guidelines for the management of HIV patients.
- Devise a strategy for succession planning to ensure the service continues to develop with a sustainable workforce.
- Co-lead the clinical pharmacy service for HCID at RFH
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached documents for the detailed outline of the main duties and responsibilities of the role.
Person specification
Experience
Essential
- Significant demonstrable experience of working in clinical pharmacy and experience of working as a specialist in HIV/ID medicine
- Expert clinical practice knowledge of HIV/ID medicine
- Experience of managing & leading staff and projects
- Experience of working at a strategic level with senior clinicians and managers including working across primary and secondary care
- Experience of managing change and leading service developments and redesigns
- Experience of writing business cases
- Contribution to managing budgets and rationalization of prescribing, working at a regional level to deliver savings
- Experience of writing / implementing clinical guidelines and government directives
- Experience of multidisciplinary working and participation in consultant ward rounds
- Experience of working autonomously in pharmacy led outpatient clinics, improving medicines outcomes for a complex set of patients
- Evidence of clinical audit/drug evaluation/practice research and the promotion of evidence based practice
- Recognition as an expert nationally through publications / presentations or an office in a national group
- Experience of appraising staff and giving feedback, disciplinary procedures
Desirable
- Committee member of national HIV pharmacist groups
- Experience of providing advice and input at a national level i.e. NICE advisory committees / NHSE
Skills and Aptitudes
Essential
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to communicate highly complex information on both clinical and financial issues in difficult situations
- Excellent presentation skills including presenting complex, sensitive and contentious information at local, regional and national meetings / conferences
- Excellent teaching and training skills and ability to motivate staff
- Ability to work autonomously and manage own caseload
- Ability to work at a national level to develop and implement policy
- Ability to carry out day to day responsibilities and deal effectively with unpredictable/acute demands.
- Ability to justify and reason any advice given should this be challenged
- Excellent negotiation skills and the ability to influence senior pharmacy and medical staff, and the management team
- Ability to contribute to the education and training of future generations of HIV pharmacists
- Ability to lead on the development of business plans and the redesign of services
- Ability to manage time, people and resources to deliver timely outcomes
- Ability to manage budgets, including staff, revenue and prescribing
- Ability to manage staff including poor performance, capability and disciplinaries
- Ability to manage difficult and ambiguous situations including conflict
- Demonstrates innovation and strategic thinking
- Ability to motivate and act as a role model
- Demonstrates initiative particularly in relation to problem solving.
- Ability to identify and implement best practice
- Demonstrates expert clinical knowledge and pharmaceutical care skills
- Undertakes own research
- Critical appraisal skills
- Expert level of clinical reasoning and judgement
- Contributes to policy and activities aimed at reducing clinical risk
- Understanding of health economics
- Understanding of current national standards, guidelines and service delivery issues relevant to HIV/ID
- Participation in the development of national standards, guidelines and service delivery issues relevant to HIV/ID
- Understanding of NHS national and local priorities
- Demonstrates initiative particularly in relation to problem solving
Royal Free shared commitments
Essential
- Demonstrable ability to meet the Trust shared commitments.
Personal Qualities and Attributes
Essential
- Enthusiastic, well-motivated, hardworking, flexible
- Identifies own training needs actively seeks training opportunities and maintains a portfolio of practice
- Flexibility to work weekends, bank holidays, late nights and potential 7 day working
- Reliable with good attendance record
Educational and Professional Qualifications
Essential
- MPharm or equivalent
- Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- Post graduate diploma in pharmacy practice or equivalent
- Registered non-medical prescriber
- Working towards or credentialed as Consultant-ready pharmacist
Desirable
- Advanced qualification in specialist area
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Band 8c Consultant Pharmacist - HIV with Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in London, London, England. It is listed as a Band 8 Pharmacist Infectious Diseases role. The advertised salary is £75,328 - £100,355 Salary is dependent on completion of consultant credentialling. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 27 Jul 2026.
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