Job summary
- Main area
- Chief Pharmacist
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 9
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Employer
- Airedale NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Airedale General Hospital
- Town
- Steeton
- Salary
- £109,179 - £125,637 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 22/10/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 14/11/2025
Employer heading

Chief Pharmacist
NHS AfC: Band 9
Be part of our future landscape
At Airedale, we are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion. We actively encourage applications irrespective of people’s age, lived experience of living with a disability or long-term conditions, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances.
Increasing our diversity and supporting our organisation to be more inclusive is a key priority here at Airedale and our teams are at the centre of how we work towards this.
We appreciate all people may have diverse and individual needs and we pride ourselves on supporting all people to thrive and flourish at work. We have frameworks in place that support reasonable adjustments and flexible working for colleagues throughout their working lives which starts at recruitment.
These are exciting times for Airedale. We have the once-in-a-career opportunity to be involved in the planning and building of a completely new hospital here on our Steeton site by 2030. By joining us now you’ll be a key part of our journey over the next few years, with the chance to input into a state-of-the-art, modern healthcare facility that will deliver care to our communities for decades to come. We are also on the journey to a new electronic patient record, part of our wider ambition for our digital future – a future that builds on our significant telemedicine and digital care success. Ultimately, what makes Airedale special is our people. Not just our staff, but our volunteers, patients, visitors, and wider population who make up the Airedale family. This is a Trust that sits at the heart of our community, and our communities are very proud of their Trust.
Please read the attached AI statement prior to submitting any application
Job overview
Join Our Team as Chief Pharmacist at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust!
Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, is seeking a dynamic, inclusive and innovative Chief Pharmacist to lead our Pharmacy Department and hold corporate responsibility for medicines management across the Trust.
This is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact on patient care for a highly motivated, enthusiastic, experienced pharmacist with strategic vision, drive and excellent leadership skills. You will have a proven record of leading and transforming services.
This is an exciting time for Airedale, as plans for a new hospital are well underway, along with a significant amount of collaborative working with system partners.
You will report to the Executive Medical Director with strong links with the Chief Nurse and Chief Operating Officer.
Main duties of the job
Responsible for the strategic leadership, management, performance, and development of the pharmacy service to recognised professional standards. This includes having overall responsibility for the operational management of the department, the staff and overall accountability for the budget.
Holds corporate responsibility for:
1. Ensuring safe systems are in operation for the procurement, prescribing, dispensing, storage, handling, administration and destruction of medicines.
2. Medicines management across the Trust ensuring compliance with all statutory responsibilities.
3. Policy development and implementation in relation to medicines management and pharmacy services.
Superintendent Pharmacist for the GPhC registered pharmacy premises in the Trust.
Trust Accountable Officer for Controlled Drugs.
MHRA WDA(H) Authorisation Holder
As the organisation expert provides advice to the Trust Board and its officers on all matters related to national standards and statute relating to medicines.
Provides strategic leadership in medicines management to promote the safe and cost-effective use of medicines; including the oversight and control of drug expenditure across the Trust.
Provides professional clinical leadership for the pharmaceutical service.
Working for our organisation
We are delighted to offer a wide range of benefits to employees including:
- Cycle to Work
- Travel Scheme
- Childcare Vouchers with Salary Sacrifice
- Onsite Nursery
- Buying and Selling Annual Leave
- Car Leasing
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Employee Health and Wellbeing
- Extensive Reward Scheme
- Counselling Service
- Financial packages including Vivup and Wagestream
- Staff Networks, Enable, Rainbow, Gender, Race Equality Ecoaware & Admin Network.
Our values:
We understand that it’s down to the hard work, effort and dedication of our staff that makes a difference for our patients. Our people really do make our Airedale experience – we take pride in fostering a friendly, effective and caring work environment. Our values are part of our DNA, which are:
- Committed to Quality of Care
- Compassion
- Working together for patients
- Improving Lives
- Everyone Counts
- Respect and Dignity
Got questions before you apply, please contact the recruiting manager to find out more.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. Strategic Service Development
Responsible for the development and delivery of the Pharmacy strategic plan.
Corporate responsibility, delegated by the Chief Executive, across the Trust for all aspects of medicines management including policy, all aspects of policy development and implementation in relation to pharmacy services and the efficient, appropriate and effective delivery of clinical and technical services by pharmacy staff according to relevant standards.
Provides regular medicines management reports and performance information to the Trust including the achievement and tracking of all Pharmacy performance standards.
Represents the Pharmacy Department and develops effective relationships between Pharmacy and all key internal and external users, and key stakeholders to promote the Pharmacy Department and Trust.
Responsible for ensuring the involvement of patients and the public in design and delivery of pharmacy services, medicines management and medicines optimisation.
Responsible for the introduction of new technologies across the Trust required for the safe and secure storage and use of medicines.
Identifies and delivers pharmacy modernisation strategies that link to Trust, CCG and NHS priorities for medicines management.
Collaborate with partner organisations in primary and secondary care to integrate medicines optimisation across the Integrated Care system, in turn supporting the delivery of system cost reduction.
2. Professional Leadership
Is the professional role model for all pharmacy staff and is responsible for the provision of professional leadership to all pharmacy staff.
Identifies, drives, and promotes continuous improvements in the care of patients with the optimal use of medicines in all clinical specialities.
3. Business Planning and Service Development
Formulates service strategies, plans, and policies in line with Trust Objectives and leads pharmacy business planning, ensuring consolidation with the Trust process.
Lead a culture of service improvement, which produces new ideas, approaches, and innovations, ensuring that plans are developed and taken forward to improve patient care and services.
Ensures there is an agreed performance management framework to effectively monitor the delivery of the annual business plan.
Leads effective capital planning for pharmacy services within the Trust and ensures that appropriate submissions are made to relevant committees.
4. Financial management
Contribute to the achievement of the Trust financial plan, ensuring resources are deployed efficiently within agreed financial plans and efficiency savings, within the framework of the Waste Reduction Programme (WRP), are realised while working closely with finance and contracting teams.
Directly accountable for all medicines purchase, storage, distribution and dispensing/supply within the Trust in line with statutory requirements.
Has lead responsibility for corporate waste reduction and cost improvement programmes relating to medicines and controls drug expenditure by review of prescribing and provision of managed entry for new drugs and policies through The Drug and Therapeutics Committee.
Identifies, any cost pressures within the service and drugs budget and advises on ways of dealing with these pressures.
Works with NHS England/DHSC and local commissioners on scoping and implementing long term strategic plans and savings including mutually beneficial gain share in relation to the cost-effective use of medicines in the local health economy.
Works with the Finance and Information teams to ensure that local reference costs include the appropriate drug components and that income under payment by results is maximised.
Liaises with the Finance regarding financial procedures and ensures that monthly management information is provided. Participates in setting yearly income targets and expenditure budgets.
Ensures that pharmaceutical and other products or services are procured in accordance with the Trust’s Standing Financial Instructions.
5. Human Resources Management
Lead, develop and motivate the Pharmacy leadership team, setting clear objectives to ensure effective and patient focused care.
In conjunction with colleagues in the Pharmacy leadership team, drive forward positive behaviours, actively promoting the Trust values through a culture of visible and responsive leadership, teamwork, innovation and continuous quality improvement.
Accountable for development of the pharmacy workforce plan, as part of the business planning process and ensures an appropriate skill mix within the constraints of finance and staff availability.
Develop and maintain effective communication across Pharmacy Department, ensuring engagement of staff and that staff feedback is used to improve the quality of services and improving working lives for staff.
Ensure clear lines of accountability and effective management of all direct reports, in accordance with the employment policies and practices of the Foundation Trust. This includes, recruitment, selection, performance management, absence management, identification of training and development needs and setting of annual objectives in line with the Foundation Trust strategic objectives.
Ensure appraisal is embedded within services ensuring 100% compliance for eligible staff.
Promotes team morale and a positive working environment through effective personal leadership, ensuring views and decisions are communicated both up and down the management structure.
Adheres to all elements of the Code of Conduct for NHS Managers.
6. Operational Management
Accountable for the efficient, effective and smooth running of the Pharmacy service.
Responsible for the interpretation of broad clinical and professional policies and NHS guidance at corporate level, provides advice to the Trust Board and develops services locally in line with them.
Through the pharmacy team ensures service standards, operational policies and procedures for key aspects of the service are in place, up to date, monitored and audited regularly.
Ensures that the pharmacy information systems support the operational service delivery and provide useful management information to colleagues across the Trust.
Ensures the pharmacy service remains responsive to the needs of patients and frontline services.
Advises the Trust on the levels and deployment of staff relative to workload, financial allocations and priorities set by the Trust Board.
Provides leadership and direction for the development of pharmacists as non-medical prescribers and works with clinicians and heads of other professions to ensure that appropriate infrastructure is in place to support the role of non-medical prescribers across the Trust.
7. Quality and Governance
Ensure robust arrangements are in place to ensure the highest standards of corporate and clinical governance are maintained in relation to the pharmacy service, medicines management, and medicines use across the whole Trust
Undertakes ongoing monitoring and review of standards of service delivery, risk management and ensures safe practice in accordance with national standards.
Responsible for the coordination and implementation of clinical audit and practice research for the pharmacy service and for the pharmaceutical aspects of clinical trials involving the use of medicines.
Ensures that medication recall and medicine-related NHS England, MHRA and NICE notices are complied with in a timely fashion.
Ensures pharmacy clinical and non-clinical risks are managed to ensure the delivery of high quality, sustainable services in accordance with the Trust quality framework.
Accountable for regular departmental health and safety inspections, risk assessments, mandatory training, investigation of incidents, identification of trends and production of recommendations to the Trust and investigates complaints, identifies trends and produces responses for the Trust.
Complies with Trust policies relating to security, safety and patient confidentiality ensuring that procedures are carried out in accordance with safe systems of work and current legislation.
Ensure that there are systems in place to ensure staff are competent and to maintain and develop clinical competencies.
Ensures robust contingency arrangements are in place to cover breakdowns in business or service continuity.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Pharmacy Degree
- Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council
- Diploma / MSc in Clinical Pharmacy
- Evidence of continuous personal and professional development
Desirable criteria
- Management qualification
- Member of Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of the NHS Constitution & ‘Understanding the New NHS’
- Legislation and professional standards pertaining to the Practice of Pharmacy
- High level of knowledge of therapeutics, medicines management and pharmacy practice
- Financial management
- An understanding of pharmacy practice research and clinical audit
Skills
Essential criteria
- Able to set out a clear vision and translate it into operational deliverables
- Able to exercise strategic vision in the future planning of services
- Highly developed leadership and motivational skills
- Coaching and values led leadership style, encouraging engagement and empowerment amongst staff and stakeholders, and in developing high performing teams.
- Highly developed influencing and facilitation skills at all levels
- Imaginative and innovative in developing new ways of working to meeting patient care and service needs
- Cope with competing priorities and a heavy, demanding and competing workload
- Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team
- Problem solving and analytical skills
- To promote and develop innovation in service delivery
- Highly developed communication, persuasive and negotiation skills
- Meets the GPhC Chief Pharmacist standards
Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant experience as a senior hospital pharmacist with high level of experience of hospital pharmacy practice and management
- Proven track record of successful strategic and operational delivery of performance targets
- Experience of delivering transformational change
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Gavin Miller
- Job title
- Chief Pharmacist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01535 293502
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