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Job summary

Main area
Pharmacy
Grade
Band 8b
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Full time
  • Part time
22.5 hours per week
Job ref
427-7890107-B
Employer
Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Royal United Hospitals Bath
Town
Bath
Salary
£66,582 - £77,368 PA
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
26/06/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust logo

Lead Pharmacist - Clinical Commissioning and Medicines Value

Band 8b

Job overview

We are seeking an experienced and motivated Lead Pharmacist for Clinical Commissioning and Medicines Value to join our senior pharmacy leadership team. This is a key role providing expert leadership for high‑cost drugs, medicines optimisation, formulary management, and commissioning processes across the Trust.

Our Culture

We are committed to providing a compassionate and inclusive working environment. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are dedicated to supporting staff wellbeing, professional growth and a sense of belonging.
We want all staff to feel valued, treated fairly, and supported to reach their full potential.

Flexible Working

We encourage applications from individuals seeking a range of flexible working options, including part‑time hours, job‑share, compressed hours, or flexible start and finish times. We are happy to discuss how flexibility can work for you and the service at interview.

What we offer

  • Supportive senior pharmacy team
  • Opportunities for leadership development
  • Involvement in system‑wide optimisation projects
  • Participation in research, QI and teaching
  • A culture that prioritises wellbeing, teamwork and continuous improvement

Main duties of the job

About You

You should have:

  • Significant hospital pharmacy experience
  • Strong understanding of medicines commissioning, HCD processes and funding flows
  • Experience in formulary management and implementation of NICE guidance
  • Excellent communication, negotiation and leadership skills
  • The ability to influence and work effectively with senior clinical and managerial colleagues
  • A postgraduate clinical pharmacy qualification or equivalent experience

You will be committed to high‑quality patient care, medicines value, and inclusive leadership.

·       Responsible for providing professional expertise to the Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS England and RUH to ensure the best possible patient outcomes and value for money for the NHS from medicines.

·       To lead on implementation for High Cost Drugs, NICE TAs and medicines activity data by working with commissioners to develop and deliver efficiency savings plans on the High Cost Drugs (HCD) budgets.

·       Manage the process for approval, appropriate use and audit of High Cost Drugs associated with Payment By Results (PBR) excluded medicines commissioned by BSW ICS

·       Manage related training provision to all operational staff within the facility. 

·       Actively engage in service evaluation and business planning with the Pharmacy Senior Management Team

·       Support training and teaching activities of the Pharmacy Department

·       Line manage and undertake the annual appraisal of allocated staff

Working for our organisation

We are proud to be part of BSW Hospitals Group - a formal partnership between the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. With a combined workforce of over 17, 600 colleagues, and budget of 1.6 billion the Group is united by a common purpose to deliver the best possible care to over 1 million people.

We are creating a health and care system that works with the people we care for, reducing the differences people currently face in access, experience and outcomes, improving the experience of our colleagues and tackling shared challenges like sustainability and finances. Every improvement we make across our Group will be guided by what creates the greatest benefit for our colleagues, our patients, our communities and our partners.

By working together, we make a real difference for our patients, each other, and our community. Every role matters in delivering the exceptional, person‑centred care we’re proud of.

We’re committed to a compassionate, inclusive culture where kindness is championed, differences are valued, and diversity makes us stronger.

We want to support you to thrive, taking your career to its full potential. We prioritise staff wellbeing  – and yes, we even have a pool! 

Discover what it’s like to live and work in Bath, explore our RUH staff benefits, and learn how we’re building healthcare for the future through the Dyson Cancer Centre and our commitment to research.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please find attached to the vacancy a detailed person specification and job description for further information about this role.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • GPHC Registered
  • Masters level Qualification

Knowlesge

Essential criteria
  • Significant post‑registration hospital pharmacy experience, including involvement in medicines commissioning, formulary management, or high‑cost drug processes.
  • Proven leadership and management capability, including supervising pharmacists/technicians, contributing to service development, and delivering quality improvement or change projects.
  • Strong understanding of national medicines policy, NICE guidance processes, and the ability to interpret and apply commissioning requirements to ensure safe, effective, and cost‑efficient use of medicines.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardWe offer Wagestream - A financial wellbeing benefit which lets you access your pay as you earn it.Disability confident employerWomens Staff Network

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
Uzoma Ibechukwu
Job title
Director of Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation
Email address
[email protected]
Additional information

We welcome informal discussions about the role. Please contact:

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