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Job summary

Main area
Pharmacy
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Contract
Fixed term: 12 months (weekends, bank holidays and lates)
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (late shifts , weekends , bank holidays pro rata)
Job ref
193-8360735NCG
Employer
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Royal Berkshire Hospital
Town
Reading
Salary
£57,528 - £64,750 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
17/11/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior Lead for Pharmacy Homecare Services - Maternity Cover

NHS AfC: Band 8a

At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust we put our patients at the heart of every element of health and care that we provide. The Trust works together as a community to deliver its vision which is “Working together to provide outstanding care for our community.”

Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our CQC inspection we have been rated ‘Good’ with inspectors reporting that we have made significant improvements.  The Trust’s overall rating has also improved to ‘good’.  

We are Compassionate in our thoughts, words and actions

We are Aspirational and have a true desire to be dynamic and to innovate

We are Resourceful and responsible in the way we work and live

We are Excellent in our development, fairness and sharing best practice

At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, we value candidates who bring their unique personalities, skills, and experiences to the Trust. When completing your application, we encourage you to highlight your individual achievements and strengths, showing us how they align with the requirements outlined in the job description and person specification. While we recognise that some applicants may use AI tools during the process, please be mindful that AI-generated responses can often lack the personal detail and relevance needed to demonstrate your suitability for the role. AI generated content is discouraged by the Trust and may diminish the candidates chances of success.

Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people so why don’t you come and join us.  We offer a range of learning and development for all employees may you be clinical or non-clinical.  

Please note: all vacancies automatically close when 50 applications have been received.

Job overview

PLEASE NOTE: INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY

Band 8A Senior Lead Pharmacy Homecare Services

We are looking for an experienced pharmacy leader-pharmacist or pharmacy technician, to join our team as Senior Lead Pharmacy Homecare Services.

Main duties of the job

  • The post holder provides senior leadership for the Pharmacy homecare medicines services, ensuring safe, timely, appropriate, and cost-effective provision of homecare medicines for Trust patients in accordance with National Homecare Medicines Committee (NHMC) and RPS  standards and Trust governance frameworks.
  • The role holds accountability for service performance, clinical governance, risk management, and continuous improvement across end-to-end homecare medicines pathways, with delegated responsibility for workforce management, clinical pathway oversight, and defined financial controls. 
  • The post holder provides integrated oversight across homecare prescription management, clinical validation processes, contract administration, clinical governance, and supplier performance, ensuring consistent standards, clear escalation routes, and effective controls for patient safety, clinical appropriateness, contract compliance, commissioning alignment, medicines recalls, provider performance monitoring, and homecare service quality standards.
  • The post holder works closely with senior pharmacy leaders, clinical teams, medical consultants, specialist nurses, commissioning colleagues, and corporate teams to maintain service resilience, provide clinical governance leadership for complex homecare pathways, deliver assurance to Trust governance structures, and optimize homecare medicines pathways for patients and the organization.

Working for our organisation

Reading sits on the river Thames and is served by great road and rail links to London, Oxford and Southampton. With excellent leisure and shopping facilities, and a thriving cultural scene, Reading is a wonderful place to live, work and play and provides excellent facilities for families, including some of the best state and private schools in the UK.

The CQC rated the care provided by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust as Good.

Our "CARE" values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Resourceful, Excellent, reflect the type of Trust we aspire to be and you can join our dedicated and talented staff to make this happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for further details of the job role.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Current registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) (Pharmacist or Technician) (A)
  • Master degree in pharmacy/ NVQ level 3, BTEC, or recognised equivalent qualification
  • Post graduate qualifications as per PS
Desirable criteria
  • Further post-graduate qualification in Management or Leadership (A)
  • Practice Supervisor, Educational Supervisor, assessor qualification, or equivalent experience supporting the development of pharmacy staff.
  • Membership of national professional body (e.g. RPS, APTUK)
  • IP qualification/ Homecare validation cerificate

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria
  • Significant experience as a Lead Pharmacy staff member within a hospital environment (Band 7 or above)
  • Experience in leading and managing a team in a complex healthcare environment.
  • Experience in audit, KPI monitoring, performance reporting (A/I)
  • Significant experience working within and leading pharmacy homecare services in an acute NHS setting
  • Extensive experience using medicine stock control and hospital pharmacy systems
  • Proven track record of managing diverse teams to high performance levels and through change
  • Previous experience managing HR processes i.e. sickness management, performance management, recruitment and selection
  • Experience of delivering cost savings in NHS
  • Experience in governance processes, policy/SOP maintenance, or audit (A/I)
Desirable criteria
  • Experience in all aspects of hospital pharmacy
  • Experience of using the CMM homecare module
  • Experience in developing Pharmacy services
  • Experience in using continuous quality improvement techniques (A)
  • Experience of working with external homecare providers (A/I)
  • Budget management experience
  • Experience of contract management

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Excellent leadership skills
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to tailor messages to patients, clinical staff, and senior colleagues
  • Ability to work autonomously and manage a complex workload, prioritising effectively to meet deadlines
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Excellent and effective communication, negotiation, and judgement skills
  • Attention to detail, accuracy, and commitment to high standards of record keeping
Desirable criteria
  • Familiarity with clinical information systems (e.g. EPMA, electronic health records)
  • Advanced data visualisation or dashboard development skills (Power BI, Qlik)
  • Understanding of commissioning arrangements and financial implications of high-cost drugs

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Florence Nightingale FoundationNational Preceptorship for Nursing Quality Mark 2024

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Bilyana Doncheva
Job title
Associate Chief Pharmacist
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0118 322 6970
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