Chief Pharmacist

Job overview

Permanent or long-term secondment

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced Chief Pharmacist to lead our pharmacy services. This is an exciting leadership role in a large acute hospital Trust with four main sites and several satellite campuses including: Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Health, Worthing Hospital, Worthing, St Richards Hospital, Chichester.

The role offers an excellent opportunity to join a Trust committed to improvement and further strengthening our pharmacy services ensuring alignment with our clinical divisions. The Trust already has robots at three of our hospital sites and ensuring that we continue to embrace technology and innovation will be a key part of the role.

Interviews are scheduled in person on 30th September 2025

Stakeholder presentation is scheduled via teams on 25th September 2025

Main duties of the job

The Chief Pharmacist will provide proactive and engaging leadership ensuring compliance with all relevant legislation and standards. They will also lead work related to medicines optimisation, patient safety, quality assurance, risk management and pharmacy efficiency.

Demonstrating a real passion for service improvement, our new Chief Pharmacist will manage a programme of transformation ensuring that we develop a positive team culture with a shared sense of purpose and vision across all sites.

To succeed in the role, you are likely to be a Deputy Chief Pharmacist or Chief Pharmacist looking to further develop your career in one of the largest hospital Trust’s in the Southeast.  You will role model a transformational and inclusive leadership style and be ready to drive change and improvement at scale for the benefit of our staff and patients.

If this sounds like you, please get in touch with:

Professor Catherine Urch – Chief Medical Officer - [email protected]

Dr John Laurie - Chief of Service- Clinical Support Services Division - [email protected]

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

please refer to the main job description attached

Act as the Trust’s most senior expert in Medicines Optimisation, with delegated corporate responsibility from the Chief Executive, including all statutory duties.

• Fulfil the duties of Superintendent Pharmacist as required by the General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Provide strategic and professional leadership for all pharmacy and medicines optimisation services across the Trust and to external customers.
• Ensure pharmacy services are patient-centred, safe, progressive, cost-effective, and delivered within agreed budgets by competent staff.
• Lead business planning, including budget setting, developing cases of need, and resource procurement based on evaluation and evidence.
• Drive continuous improvement and innovation in pharmacy services, embedding quality improvement and R&I principles.
• Provide professional leadership and development support to all pharmacy staff.
• Maintain accountability for audit, research, and service evaluation activities related to medicines optimisation.
• Lead and manage strategic project planning for pharmacy services, assessing resource requirements and potential impact across the Trust.
• Oversee pharmaceutical education delivery, ensuring alignment with educational contracts and standards.
• Positively influence stakeholders to achieve high standards in medicines optimisation across the organisation.
• Lead on business planning, formulating cases of need and submitting bids for procurement of additional resources based on evaluation, research, quotations and established contracts.
• Lead on the strategic planning of the pharmacy department’s projects, identifying potential impacts on the Trust and wider organisations, resource requirements and building in contingency and adjustments as necessary
• Appraise and evaluate service delivery and role development.