# Head of the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service for England > NHS job listing from Job Clerk for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. ## Canonical URLs - **HTML:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/head-of-the-nhs-specialist-pharmacy-service-for-england/7c69b453-792f-46b4-9eb7-643aeecd065f - **Markdown:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/head-of-the-nhs-specialist-pharmacy-service-for-england/7c69b453-792f-46b4-9eb7-643aeecd065f.md ## Summary - **Status:** Live - **Employer:** Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - **Town:** Liverpool - **Region:** North West - **Country:** England - **Profession:** Pharmacy - **Grade:** Band 9 - **Salary:** £112,782 - £129,783 per annum - **Contract type:** Permanent - **Employment type:** Full time, Flexible working, Home or remote working, 37.5 hours per week - **Closing date:** 2026-06-09T23:59:00.000Z - **Posted:** 2026-05-26T10:43:21.962Z - **Source information URL:** https://www.healthjobsuk.com/job/UK/Merseyside/Liverpool/Liverpool_University_Hospitals_NHS_Foundation_Trust/Specialist_Pharmacy_Service/Specialist_Pharmacy_Service-v7952417 - **Application URL:** https://apps.trac.jobs/job-advert/7952417?ShowJobAdvert=&feedid=9002 - **Employer website:** https://www.liverpoolft.nhs.uk ## Job Content ### Job overview A fantastic opportunity has opened up to lead the NHS England commissioned national Specialist Pharmacy Service, the case for and strategic development of which are mandated in the 2014 NHS England paper: The review of specialist pharmacy services in England and in line with a further commissioning arrangement. The successful candidate will be enthusiastic, hard-working and have a strong track record of service development and innovation. They will have extensive experience and understanding of managing across boundaries in the NHS. The post-holder would work with the SPS Service Leads and the Office of the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer in developing and leading SPS. The service has 100 wte staff currently hosted through nine acute hospitals across England. Specialities include, medicines procurement, pharmaceutical quality assurance, medicines advice and medicines use and safety. The service has website www.sps.nhs.uk which attracts 8.5 million views per annum and hosts several medicines related tools, key articles and information for front line health care professionals. The post is based in the Pharmacy Practice Unit, Liverpool, where it is hosted by Liverpool University Hospital Group. Remote working is possible with a commitment to attend site for key meetings monthly. ### Main duties of the job The purpose of this role is to lead the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS) in successful delivery of the national contract with NHS England and enable access to specialist pharmacy expertise on behalf of the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England. ### Detailed job description and main responsibilities The key aspects of this role will be to: - Provide leadership and strategic direction for SPS in England - Lead and oversee functional delivery to ensure that SPS is deployed to meet the needs of patients, providers, commissioners and clinical and professional networks. - Ensure that service requirements and key performance indicators are delivered and collated to enable oversight by the SPS contract management board. - Manage the Chief of Staff of SPS, the SPS function Hub Leads employed in the Pharmacy Practice Unit, Liverpool. To include Medicines Use and Safety, Medicines Advice and Quality Assurance and Procurement. - Lead the SPS Operational Group, comprising the Assistant Head of SPS and nominated leads from Medicines Use and Safety, Medicines Advice, Quality Assurance, Procurement and Website and Digital. - Contribute to NHS England's Pharmacy Senior Management Team and interface effectively with the CPhO Pharmacy Advisory Group, Acute Providers' Pharmacy Advisory Group, ICB Chief Pharmacists Group and NHSE policy teams. - Liaise with Regional Medical Directors, Regional Chief Pharmacists (or their equivalent) and regional pharmacy workforce leads on the equitable delivery of SPS across England. - Liaise with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society on the contribution of SPS to the work on professional standard sand the appropriate recognition of expertise in within the Society's faculty programme. - To provide managerial oversight to the Pharmacy Practice Unit (Liverpool) to include Quality Control Northwest (QCNW) Liverpool. ## Job Details A fantastic opportunity has opened up to lead the NHS England commissioned national Specialist Pharmacy Service, the case for and strategic development of which are mandated in the 2014 NHS England paper: The review of specialist pharmacy services in England and in line with a further commissioning arrangement. The successful candidate will be enthusiastic, hard-working and have a strong track record of service development and innovation. They will have extensive experience and understanding of managing across boundaries in the NHS. The post-holder would work with the SPS Service Leads and the Office of the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer in developing and leading SPS. The service has 100 wte staff currently hosted through nine acute hospitals across England. Specialities include, medicines procurement, pharmaceutical quality assurance, medicines advice and medicines use and safety. The service has website www.sps.nhs.uk which attracts 8.5 million views per annum and hosts several medicines related tools, key articles and information for front line health care professionals. The post is based in the Pharmacy Practice Unit, Liverpool, where it is hosted by Liverpool University Hospital Group. Remote working is possible with a commitment to attend site for key meetings monthly. ## Job Description The purpose of this role is to lead the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS) in successful delivery of the national contract with NHS England and enable access to specialist pharmacy expertise on behalf of the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England. ## Responsibilities The key aspects of this role will be to: Provide leadership and strategic direction for SPS in England Lead and oversee functional delivery to ensure that SPS is deployed to meet the needs of patients, providers, commissioners and clinical and professional networks. Ensure that service requirements and key performance indicators are delivered and collated to enable oversight by the SPS contract management board. Manage the Chief of Staff of SPS, the SPS function Hub Leads employed in the Pharmacy Practice Unit, Liverpool. To include Medicines Use and Safety, Medicines Advice and Quality Assurance and Procurement. Lead the SPS Operational Group, comprising the Assistant Head of SPS and nominated leads from Medicines Use and Safety, Medicines Advice, Quality Assurance, Procurement and Website and Digital. Contribute to NHS England's Pharmacy Senior Management Team and interface effectively with the CPhO Pharmacy Advisory Group, Acute Providers' Pharmacy Advisory Group, ICB Chief Pharmacists Group and NHSE policy teams. Liaise with Regional Medical Directors, Regional Chief Pharmacists (or their equivalent) and regional pharmacy workforce leads on the equitable delivery of SPS across England. Liaise with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society on the contribution of SPS to the work on professional standard sand the appropriate recognition of expertise in within the Society's faculty programme. To provide managerial oversight to the Pharmacy Practice Unit (Liverpool) to include Quality Control Northwest (QCNW) Liverpool. ## Person Specification ### Experience **Essential** - Extensive and broad post registration experience - Substantive experience of working at a strategic senior management level equivalent to a Trust Chief Pharmacist of a large teaching hospital - Demonstrable track record of success in multidisciplinary clinical settings and in clinical leadership roles in terms of driving forward the development and implementation of clinical strategies to deliver improvements in patient care - Demonstrable track record of leading and implementing change successfully in large and complex organisations - Demonstrable track record of major policy implementation and policy or service development in large and complex organisations - Demonstrable experience of formulating long term strategic plans in large and complex organisations - Demonstrable substantive experience of development of policies, procedures, guidelines and standards - Demonstrable experience of planning and managing budgets - Evidence of working with and engaging patients and the public - Experience of working across several areas of pharmacy practice - Advanced specialist knowledge of the major strategic issues related to pharmacy, prescribing and medicines optimisation including the introduction of new technologies, financial strategy, delivery of CIP and performance management - Detailed knowledge and understanding of clinical governance - Detailed knowledge of the legislative aspects of medicines and technology management and national policy within the NHS reforms - An understanding of workforce, education and training issues relevant to the planning of the future pharmacy workforce ### Qualifications **Essential** - General Pharmaceutical Council Registration - Post graduate diploma or Master's degree - Management qualification or demonstrable equivalent experience - Membership of the Royal College of Pharmacy or equivalent professional leadership body **Desirable** - Higher degree to doctorate level ## Documents - [risk id (pdf, 344.6kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10238005) - [job description (pdf, 440.6kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10233140) - [life at luhft benefits (pdf, 333.2kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=2664) ## Agent Notes - This Markdown page is generated from the same Job Clerk job record as the HTML job detail page. - Use the canonical HTML URL for user-facing references. - Use the application URL when the user wants to apply on the source NHS site.