Deputy (to the) Chief Pharmacist for Business and Operational Services

Deputy (to the) Chief Pharmacist for Business and Operational Services The closing date is 03 April 2026

We are looking for a motivated, dynamic, and innovative individual capable of leading a team and representing pharmacy internally and externally to become our Deputy (to the) Chief Pharmacist for Pharmacy Business and Operational Services.

You must be a registrant with the General Pharmaceutical Council (pharmacist or pharmacy technician) and will need excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to organise and prioritise your work as well as that of others within your team.

The successful candidate will be based at either our Southport or Whiston sites and will be expected to participate in seven day working, late duty rotas and an on call service provision.

Assessment Centre will take place on Wednesday 22nd April, 2026

Main duties of the job To assist the Chief Pharmacist in their duties including providing input to strategic and operational management of Pharmacy Services including:

• budgetary control of Pharmacy Services
• business case preparation
• provision of management information to managers, clinicians and the Finance Department
• objective and key performance indicator setting across all activities within portfolio

To provide professional leadership and management of Pharmacy Business and Operational services including (but not limited to) the following:

• Aseptics
• ePharmacy & related technology systems, including informatics and automation
• Medicines Optimisation (including Homecare and High Cost Drugs)
• Managing and developing the Pharmacy Accommodation and its assets (including environmental control e.g. temperature monitoring)
• Deputise for the Chief Pharmacist in their absence at local, regional and national meetings

About us Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9,000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our Services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Job responsibilities

• Assist the Chief Pharmacist in the operational & strategic management of the pharmacy service. The Pharmacy Service is provided by 250 WTE staff and an annual budget of approximately £15M.
• Deputise for the Chief Pharmacist to ensure continuity of service during leave/absence.
• To be responsible for the efficient and effective day to day running of their portfolio which includes:
• Dispensary (including Outpatient Services)
• Stores, procurement and ward supply
• Aseptics
• ePharmacy & related technology systems, including informatics, & automation
• Medicines Optimisation (including Homecare and High Cost Drugs)
• Managing and developing the Pharmacy Accommodation and its assets (including environmental control e.g. temperature monitoring)
• Represent the Chief Pharmacist within and outside the Trust.
• Be an active member of the Senior Pharmacy Leadership Team.
• Be an active member of the Pharmacy Operational Group and function as Chair in the Chief Pharmacist's absence.
• Assist the Chief Pharmacist in developing pharmacy services in line with ICS, Regional and National Guidance.
• Assist in the production of business plans, development & capital bids for the pharmacy service and to support medicines management within the Trust.
• Work with Trust Directors and Assistant Directors to ensure that the Pharmacy service contributes to achievement of the Trust's strategic objectives.
• Lead major Pharmacy related informatics projects e.g. automation of dispensing processes.
• Provide managerial advice, mentoring and support to the leadership team and to ensure that departmental and Trust objectives are achieved.
• Be the pharmacy representative on Divisional and Trust wide groups e.g. CIP Council, Procurement Council, Capital Council.
• Be an authorised financial signatory for the Pharmacy Department (up to £50k or in Chief Pharmacist's absence £100k).
• Lead on the creation of the annual Pharmacy CIP plan and its delivery.
• Be responsible and accountable for the MWL Pharmacy budget lines developing and managing those budgets alongside the Pharmacy Senior Leadership team to meet the strategic and operational business plans.
• Lead on health & safety issues within the Pharmacy Departments and consult with the managers of other service users, e.g. porters, to ensure their safety.
• Monitor and review ePACT data providing assurance that FP10 prescribing data is clinically and financially appropriate.
• Function as a primary contact for MWL regarding maintenance of Organisation Data Service (ODS).
• Participate in Northwest Deputy Chief Pharmacist network and any sub groups as needed.
• Be an active member of the MWL and ICS Place Leads Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention meeting ensuring delivery of shared workplan.
• Develop, implement and assess policies and procedures for medicines management relevant to areas of Pharmacy Service within portfolio and as requested by the Chief Pharmacist for other areas. This will include leading on policies which impact across the Trust and Regionally.
• Manage the safe & secure handling of medicines within the Trust to ensure that legal standards and the requirements of the CQC are met.
• Through managing the Pharmacy Systems Manager ensure that the information needs to support effective medicines management are met.
• Report and investigate dispensing/drug errors on the incident reporting system emanating from their portfolio.
• Respond to complaints relating to pharmacy services within portfolio.
• Provide guidance to senior clinicians (medical, nursing, pharmacy) on issues relating to medicines management.

Person Specification Qualifications

• Masters degree in Pharmacy or relevant healthcare leadership
• Registered with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) as a Pharmacist or Pharmacy Technician
• Postgraduate Leadership/Management qualification or equivalent experience (such as MSc or MBA)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent acquisition and use of higher levels of specialist knowledge
• Evidence of continuing professional development to comply with GPhC requirements
• Membership of Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain / Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK

Knowledge and Experience

• Substantial leadership and operational management experience in a hospital pharmacy setting
• Extensive experience of managing operational pharmacy services e.g. aseptic, dispensary, homecare, procurement services
• Experience of and ability to manage highly complex operational situations that involve staff from all levels within the organisation and across a range of professional and organisational boundaries
• Experience of leading and managing substantial service change and redesign in a complex environment.
• Understanding of current NHS National Policies and their impact on provision of health care across primary, secondary and tertiary care.
• Knowledge and experience of drug funding within the NHS.
• Experience of developing and delivering on CIP and QIPP projects
• Experience of budgetary management alongside drug reporting and financial management to divisions and directorates
• Demonstrable experience of audit and practice research
• Demonstrable experience in producing guidelines, policies, protocols
• Extensive experience in supervising and managing pharmacists & pharmacy technicians and performing appraisals.
• Experience of interviewing and staff selection.
• Evidence of publication

Skills

• Ability to express written information concisely and accurately
• Able to motivate self and others
• Ability to work alone and as part of a team in a challenging environment
• Completer/finisher
• Able to work in a multi disciplinary setting
• Able to prioritise and delegate
• Ability to achieve demanding tasks and objectives against deadlines
• Able to take difficult decisions and manage the consequences
• Ability to express written information concisely and accurately
• Able to motivate self and others
• Ability to work alone and as part of a team in a challenging environment

Ability

• To be able to travel across sites
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