Job summary
Assistant Director of Pharmacy - Clinical Services
The Trust is embarking on an exciting transformation of its pharmacy services, led by the recent appointment of a new Director of Pharmacy and the creation of several new clinical pharmacy roles.
As part of this strategic change, we are seeking an experienced hospital pharmacist with strong leadership and management credentials to shape and implement our clinical pharmacy strategy. This role involves leading the clinical pharmacy team and working collaboratively across disciplines - including medical, nursing, IT, and finance - to drive measurable improvements in patient care and safety.
We are looking for a visionary and dynamic leader who can inspire and influence a wide range of healthcare professionals. Proven experience in delivering service improvements within defined timeframes is essential.
As Assistant Director of Pharmacy - Clinical Services, you will be a key member of the senior pharmacy leadership team, contributing to directorate-wide discussions and decision-making.
The successful candidate will be supported to develop leadership, management, and professional skills through tailored training and mentorship.
If you are passionate about making a large-scale impact on patient safety and ready to take on a high-profile leadership role, we encourage you to apply.
- Interview Date Tuesday 23 September 2025
- 37 Hours 30 Minutes/Week (>= 30 hours per week)
NO AGENCIES PLEASE
Main duties of the job
Key Responsibilities
- Provide strategic leadership to the clinical pharmacy team.
- Manage a group of Band 8b lead clinical pharmacists, ensuring their teams deliver high-quality outcomes across the Trust.
- Use Power BI dashboards to demonstrate improvements in key clinical pharmacy metrics, such as medicines reconciliation within 24 hours, clinical interventions, DMS referrals and delivery of cost improvement programmes (CIP).
- Present outcome reports to the Trust Medicines Management Oversight Group every six months, highlighting achievements to executives and areas requiring attention.
- Network with regional and national clinical pharmacy service leads to share best practices and support innovative change within Newcastle.
- Actively contribute to the senior pharmacy leadership team, participating in strategic discussions and decisions across all directorate areas in pharmacy.
- Lead and support clinical research initiatives (with University support if required) and ensure regular audit activity within the clinical pharmacy team.
- Work closely with the lead medicines management nurse to help resolve identified issues at ward level.
- Deliver teaching sessions to medical, nursing, and pharmacy staff to support multidisciplinary learning.
- Work as a clinical pharmacist, focusing on patients with the greatest need for clinical review.
As a flexible working employer, Pharmacists wishing to work slightly reduced hours (>= 30 hours per week) would be welcomed to apply.
About us
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Our staff oversee over 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:
- Freeman Hospital
- Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
- Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)
- Newcastle Dental Hospital
- Newcastle Fertility Centre
- Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
- Northern Genetics Service
- Cramlington Manor Walks
These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under 'Documents to download' or 'Supporting documents'.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit:Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle HospitalsandNewcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Responsible for the provision, management and leadership of the Trust inpatient clinical pharmacy service
- Ensure the inpatient clinical pharmacy service works closely with the GP practice / PCN pharmacy team to deliver safe transfer of care for patients
- Responsible for the strategic development of the inpatient clinical pharmacy service in line with local, regional and national priorities
- Develop strategies and plans to enable the effective recruitment, retention, development and training of staff
- Contribute at the highest level to the strategic development of the Trust wide Pharmacy service by attendance at Senior Pharmacy Management Team meetings
- Responsible for ensuring the inpatient clinical pharmacy team contribute to maintaining good standards of ward medicines management governance, including undertaking regular MDT audits
- Responsible for presenting the impact of the inpatient clinical pharmacy service at monthly KPI meetings (e.g. rates of medicines reconciliation within 24 hours), taking remedial action to address and improve any performance issues
- Responsible for maintaining inpatient clinical pharmacy staff costs in line with budget
- Responsible for ensuring the inpatient clinical pharmacy team identify and deliver medicines related CIP
- Overall responsibility for Trust Non-Medical Prescribing and PGD approvals
- Overall responsibility for inpatient pharmacy clinical education & training
- Drive improvements in quality & safety, innovation, and levels of stakeholder satisfaction
- Work with the pharmacy medication safety team to investigate ward-based medicine-related errors/incidents
You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy
Job description
Job responsibilities
- Responsible for the provision, management and leadership of the Trust inpatient clinical pharmacy service
- Ensure the inpatient clinical pharmacy service works closely with the GP practice / PCN pharmacy team to deliver safe transfer of care for patients
- Responsible for the strategic development of the inpatient clinical pharmacy service in line with local, regional and national priorities
- Develop strategies and plans to enable the effective recruitment, retention, development and training of staff
- Contribute at the highest level to the strategic development of the Trust wide Pharmacy service by attendance at Senior Pharmacy Management Team meetings
- Responsible for ensuring the inpatient clinical pharmacy team contribute to maintaining good standards of ward medicines management governance, including undertaking regular MDT audits
- Responsible for presenting the impact of the inpatient clinical pharmacy service at monthly KPI meetings (e.g. rates of medicines reconciliation within 24 hours), taking remedial action to address and improve any performance issues
- Responsible for maintaining inpatient clinical pharmacy staff costs in line with budget
- Responsible for ensuring the inpatient clinical pharmacy team identify and deliver medicines related CIP
- Overall responsibility for Trust Non-Medical Prescribing and PGD approvals
- Overall responsibility for inpatient pharmacy clinical education & training
- Drive improvements in quality & safety, innovation, and levels of stakeholder satisfaction
- Work with the pharmacy medication safety team to investigate ward-based medicine-related errors/incidents
You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy
Person Specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential
- BPharm / MPharm/ BSc (Pharmacy) or equivalent
- Registered Pharmacist with General Pharmaceutical Council
- Specialist higher degree or portfolio of experience at senior managerial level
- Postgraduate qualification in business or management or equivalent experience
Desirable
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Extensive knowledge of relevant regulations and legislation relating to medicines
- Knowledge of the requirements of national organisations involved in pharmacy e.g. DoH, RPS
- Extensive experience of working at a senior level within a pharmacy department in an NHS Trust
- Knowledge of financial reporting and budget statements
- Knowledge of Pharmacy computer systems eg CMM/Ascribe etc.
- Have experience of disciplinary matters and be able to impart results from them to staff in an appropriate and considered manner
- Demonstrate emotional maturity and resilience when dealing with complex issues
- Experience of working with senior healthcare professionals outside of Pharmacy
- Experience of managing large number of staff
- Experience of managing teams
- Significant experience of performing and supervising projects
Desirable
- Evidence of a range of publications (papers or posters) relevant to stage of career
Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Leadership and organisational skills
- Ability to manage change
- Be able to concentrate on highly complex matters despite frequent interruptions
- High degree of self-motivation
- Organise and prioritise own work and develop ideas into practice
- Pragmatic, methodical, systematic and resilient
- Strong ability to multi-task, prioritise, plan and organise
Desirable
Person Specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential
- BPharm / MPharm/ BSc (Pharmacy) or equivalent
- Registered Pharmacist with General Pharmaceutical Council
- Specialist higher degree or portfolio of experience at senior managerial level
- Postgraduate qualification in business or management or equivalent experience
Desirable
Knowledge & Experience
Essential
- Extensive knowledge of relevant regulations and legislation relating to medicines
- Knowledge of the requirements of national organisations involved in pharmacy e.g. DoH, RPS
- Extensive experience of working at a senior level within a pharmacy department in an NHS Trust
- Knowledge of financial reporting and budget statements
- Knowledge of Pharmacy computer systems eg CMM/Ascribe etc.
- Have experience of disciplinary matters and be able to impart results from them to staff in an appropriate and considered manner
- Demonstrate emotional maturity and resilience when dealing with complex issues
- Experience of working with senior healthcare professionals outside of Pharmacy
- Experience of managing large number of staff
- Experience of managing teams
- Significant experience of performing and supervising projects
Desirable
- Evidence of a range of publications (papers or posters) relevant to stage of career
Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Leadership and organisational skills
- Ability to manage change
- Be able to concentrate on highly complex matters despite frequent interruptions
- High degree of self-motivation
- Organise and prioritise own work and develop ideas into practice
- Pragmatic, methodical, systematic and resilient
- Strong ability to multi-task, prioritise, plan and organise
Desirable
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
