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Job summary

Main area
Pharmacy - Aseptic Services
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 8b
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Full time
  • Flexible working
37.5 hours per week
Job ref
193-7875858NCG
Employer
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Royal Berkshire Hosp9ital
Town
Reading
Salary
£66,582 - £77,368 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
14/04/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior Lead Pharmacist – Oncology and Haematology

NHS AfC: Band 8b

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.  

Job overview

The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an exceptional Senior Lead Pharmacist to take clinical and strategic leadership of our cancer pharmacy service across oncology and haematology.

This is a newly created Band 8b post, reflecting the Trust's commitment to investing in dedicated, specialist leadership for cancer pharmacy at a time of growing demand and increasing complexity in SACT delivery and cancer medicines commissioning.

You will lead a team of specialist pharmacists, driving clinical excellence and professional development across the cancer pharmacy service. You will work in close partnership with clinical and operational leaders across the Trust to ensure patients receive safe, timely and evidence-based cancer treatment.

This is a rare opportunity to take a specialist cancer pharmacy service forward with genuine autonomy, clear accountability and the backing of a pharmacy department that recognises the importance of getting this right. If you are ready for the challenge of building something meaningful, we would welcome your application.

For an informal discussion about this role, please contact Grant Sugiura, Associate Chief Pharmacist and Operations Lead.

Main duties of the job

  • This is a senior clinical leadership role responsible for the strategic direction, operational delivery and continuous improvement of clinical pharmacy services to oncology and haematology patients across the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.
  • The post holder will be the designated clinical lead for the cancer pharmacy team, providing visible, credible and accountable leadership to a multidisciplinary group of pharmacists delivering specialist pharmaceutical care across inpatient wards, day case units and outpatient clinics.
  • The post holder will line manage the Band 8a Lead Pharmacists in oncology and haematology and hold umbrella accountability for the wider clinical cancer pharmacy workforce, including Band 7 and Band 6 pharmacists.
  • The post holder will hold clinical governance oversight for the final authorisation to treat for all systemic anti-cancer therapy, a safety-critical function requiring expert assessment of prescribing appropriateness, blood results and patient fitness.
  • The post holder will provide expert pharmaceutical leadership on cancer medicines, working at the interface of clinical governance, medicines optimisation and commissioning to ensure compliance with NHS England frameworks including the Cancer Drugs Fund, Blueteq and SACT dataset reporting.
  • The post holder will work in close partnership with the Accountable Pharmacist for the Aseptic Unit to ensure the end-to-end SACT pathway operates as a cohesive, patient-centred service.

Working for our organisation

Diversity makes us interesting… Inclusion is what will make us outstanding.

Inequality exists and the journey to eliminate it is not easy. Every step we take will be a purposeful step forward to deliver a truly inclusive culture where all our people are enabled to deliver outstanding care, where background is no barrier, and where everyone can be their authentic self and we truly represent our patient community.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants where possible. All applicants who have a disability and meet the minimum criteria for the post can opt for a guaranteed interview.

If you need additional help with your application please get in touch by calling the recruitment team on 0118 322 6997 or 0118 322 5342.

Our primary method of communication will be via email. However, if you would prefer to be contacted through a different method, please inform the recruitment team.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description for the full list of main responsibilities and the person specification for essential and desirable criteria.

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Current registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) as a Pharmacist
  • Postgraduate clinical pharmacy qualification at diploma or MSc level
  • Independent Prescriber
Desirable criteria
  • Faculty Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
  • Advanced Clinical Practitioner
  • Post-graduate training in leadership and management or a related area or a portfolio demonstrating equivalent through experience at senior management level and relevant short courses taught at postgraduate level
  • Formal change management qualification (Lean, Six Sigma, PRINCE2)

Knowlkedge and Experience

Essential criteria
  • Extensive post-registration hospital pharmacy experience with a substantial period at senior level in oncology and/or haematology (>5 years)
  • Experience of practising as a pharmacist independent prescriber in oncology or haematology within a pharmacist led clinic
  • Advanced specialist knowledge of the pharmaceutical care of patients receiving systemic anti-cancer therapy, including cytotoxic chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy and supportive care.
  • Experience of working with senior healthcare professionals outside of pharmacy to achieve Trust wide developments
  • Experience of implementing new services and procedures
  • Experience of working with clinical trials involving SACT
  • Working knowledge of NHS England commissioning processes for cancer medicines, including the Cancer Drugs Fund and Blueteq.
  • Understanding of clinical governance, risk management and patient safety principles as they apply to cancer pharmacy services
  • Proven track record of managing teams to high performance levels and through change
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of managing cross-functional relationships with medical, nursing and operational stakeholders at senior level
  • Experience providing senior clinical pharmacy service to non-cancer areas
  • Experience of developing business cases for service development or investment in an NHS setting
  • Experience of contributing to or developing guidelines or protocols
  • Experience of carrying out research into practice
  • Budget management experience
  • Experience of presenting at regional or national conferences or professional forums
  • Active involvement in professional networks or national pharmacy organisations relevant to cancer services

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to provide highly complex information on pharmacy services and medicines optimisation issues messages to patients, clinical staff, and senior colleagues
  • Ability to make sound, autonomous clinical judgements on highly complex SACT prescriptions
  • Be able to provide highly complex information on medicines use and financial issues to multidisciplinary groups involving staff outside of pharmacy

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.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early due to the application cap imposed.
Candidates to be capped at 30 applications for each whole time equivalent position being recruited to.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Grant Sugiura
Job title
Associate Chief Pharmacist
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0118 322 7800
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