East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

General Manager - Pharmacy

The closing date is 11 November 2025

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen in Pharmacy for a new General Manager to join the team.

We are looking for you to have a unique set of skills that can operationally drive income generation, new business opportunities for the pharmacy manufacturing unit, transforming clinical services and opportunities for consolidation across ESNEFT.

You will report up through the Trusts operational structure and will join the silver on call rota exposing you to wider operational challenges across the organisation. You will work collaboratively with the Chief Pharmacist and senior pharmacy team in the delivery of day to day operational business as well as delivering the annual business plan and long term vision.

If you have a passion for seeking out new business opportunities, leading services through transformation and visible leadership this could be the post for you.

This post will require you to be present at both the Ipswich and Colchester site throughout the working week.

Main duties of the job

You will have responsibility for managing all aspects of the operational delivery within Pharmacy but will work collaboratively with the Chief Pharmacist and Heads of Service to agreed quality standards and within the resources and income base available, to support the Trust development of a clinically led organisation.

You will lead on the development, implementation, establishment and review of performance management systems within the relevant clinical speciality, It is critical this is done collaboratively with the Chief Pharmacist and other clinical teams within the Division and across other Division.

About us

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A

Date posted

28 October 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8b

Salary

£64,455 to £74,896 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

432-HR838-25

Job locations

Colchester and Ipswich

CO4 5JL

Job description

Job responsibilities

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Job description

Job responsibilities

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Management/leadership qualification or equivalent experience at post graduate level
Evidence of continued professional development
Further relevant training
Educated to masters level or equivalent experience

Desirable

Project management qualification

Experience

Essential

Proven experience working in a management/leadership role
Proven experience of working across the acute/community sector or public/private sectors to implement significant changes in service delivery
Experience of managing and motivating a large team or teams
Leading changes in practice in a complex environment to improve performance/services
Leading complex projects
Responsible for a significant budget and budget setting
Identifying and interpreting national policy and implementing required changes
Business case development

Knowledge

Essential

Financial procedures including budget setting and working knowledge of financial processes
Experience of designing and delivering CIP plans and related efficiencies
Business planning/annual planning/long term planning.
In depth understanding of change management.
In depth understanding of the current NHS agenda and health policy including transformation and workforce
Understanding of the relationship between providers and commissioning organisations
Demonstrable knowledge of service improvements and project management
Risk management and governance

Desirable

NHS IT systems

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Management/leadership qualification or equivalent experience at post graduate level
Evidence of continued professional development
Further relevant training
Educated to masters level or equivalent experience

Desirable

Project management qualification

Experience

Essential

Proven experience working in a management/leadership role
Proven experience of working across the acute/community sector or public/private sectors to implement significant changes in service delivery
Experience of managing and motivating a large team or teams
Leading changes in practice in a complex environment to improve performance/services
Leading complex projects
Responsible for a significant budget and budget setting
Identifying and interpreting national policy and implementing required changes
Business case development

Knowledge

Essential

Financial procedures including budget setting and working knowledge of financial processes
Experience of designing and delivering CIP plans and related efficiencies
Business planning/annual planning/long term planning.
In depth understanding of change management.
In depth understanding of the current NHS agenda and health policy including transformation and workforce
Understanding of the relationship between providers and commissioning organisations
Demonstrable knowledge of service improvements and project management
Risk management and governance

Desirable

NHS IT systems

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.

Employer details

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Colchester and Ipswich

CO4 5JL

Employer's website

https://www.esneft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Colchester and Ipswich

CO4 5JL

Employer's website

https://www.esneft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)