Chief Pharmacist and Clinical Director

An exceptional opportunity to lead pharmacy and medicines optimisation at Guy’s and St Thomas’ - this role has people, patients and partnerships at its heart.

We are looking for an exceptional pharmacy leader to join Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust as our Chief Pharmacist and Clinical Director for Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation. This is a role of considerable scale and influence, but just as importantly it is a role centred on people—building trust, creating connection and enabling colleagues to do their very best work for patients.

This is a significant senior appointment, providing professional leadership for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and the wider pharmacy workforce, alongside clinical and strategic leadership of one of the largest and most complex pharmacy directorates in the NHS. The successful candidate will set and uphold professional standards, support safe and effective practice, champion education and career development and lead the continued development of safe, effective, efficient and patient-centred pharmacy and medicines optimisation services across the Trust. Working with colleagues and partners, they will also shape professional and service priorities across South East London and the wider health and care system.

Lead the strategic development of Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation Services within the Trust, ensuring services provided are progressive, responsive to internal and external demand, are patient focused, safe, efficient, effective and well-led.

Hold ultimate professional and corporate accountability for the quality, safety, performance and sustainability of Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation services across all Clinical Groups and cross-cutting portfolios, including clinical pharmacy, medicines supply, children’s services, aseptic preparation, pharmaceutical manufacturing, clinical trials, private practice and hosted specialist services.

Have management accountability for the delivery of pharmacy services in accordance with a 1-3 year business plan that links to the 5 year Trust strategic plan.

Have accountability for implementing and monitoring the effectiveness of the Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation Integrated Governance and Assurance Framework, including strategic risk, regulatory, performance, financial and workforce assurance.

Provide specialist expertise and, delegated from the Chief Executive and reporting through the Medical Director, have corporate responsibility across the Trust for all aspects of medicines optimisation, including associated standards required by regulators, commissioners, and other authoritative bodies such as NICE, General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and Royal College of Pharmacy (RCPharm).

GSTT is one of the UK’s leading and most complex healthcare organisations, bringing together Guy’s Hospital, St Thomas’ Hospital, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospital and Harefield Hospital, alongside a broad range of community services. We are proud of our reputation for clinical excellence, high-quality care, research, innovation and of the contribution our people make to the patients and communities we serve.

Our Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation Directorate is highly regarded, comprising more than 700 staff and providing a comprehensive portfolio of services. These include clinical pharmacy, medicines supply, aseptic services, pharmaceutical manufacturing, governance and safety, medicines information, research, clinical innovation, quality improvement, education and workforce development. The directorate plays a central role in supporting safe, effective and sustainable care across our hospitals, community services and wider system partnerships.

Our services span five acute hospital sites across the populations we serve in South East London - Guy’s, St Thomas’, Evelina and North West London, Royal Brompton and Harefield and community services across South East London. Our reach extends further through renal pharmacy support for team provide care to dialysis clinics as far as Guernsey and our Clinical Homecare service support patients nationwide. Our pharmacy staff also advise patients, healthcare professionals and policymakers across England.

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Louise Dark Job title: CEO, Integrated and Specialist Medicine Email address: sudeshna.ray@nhs.net

Join us

This is an exciting opportunity to lead an ambitious and highly regarded Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation directorate at a pivotal time for the profession, Guy’s and St Thomas’ and for the NHS. You will join a talented, committed team with a strong sense of purpose and a shared ambition to improve care. We want our next Chief Pharmacist and Clinical Director to build on those strengths, help people feel connected to our direction and create the conditions for colleagues to thrive.

If you combine strategic leadership and professional authority with humility and a collaborative approach, we would be very pleased to hear from you. More than anything, we are looking for someone who will care deeply about our patients and our people, lead with integrity and inclusivity and build relationships that turn shared ambition into lasting improvement for the communities we serve.

About You

You will be an experienced and credible pharmacy leader, able to provide clear professional direction and make sound decisions across a large, complex organisation and wider health system. Alongside this senior expertise, we are looking for someone who is approachable, visible and genuinely interested in people. You will listen well, communicate clearly and build trusted relationships with colleagues at every level. To lead a large team of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and the wider pharmacy workforce be able to set clear professional expectations, foster inclusive pharmacy practice, develop professional leadership at every level and represent pharmacy with influence across the Trust, South East London and relevant regional and national networks.

Our Values Are Central To How We Work

• Caring: we put patients first.
• Ambitious: we innovate and strive for excellence.
• Inclusive: we respect one another and work collaboratively.

We welcome applications from candidates who will bring these values to life through their leadership and who are committed to developing a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.

We also recognise the importance of enabling colleagues to work in ways that support patients, services and their own wellbeing. We encourage candidates to discuss potential flexible working arrangements with us.

Further details / informal visits and contact

Name: Louise Dark

Job title: Chief Executive, Integrated & Specialist Medicine Clinical Group

Please email: Sudeshna Ray (Executive Assistant) sudeshna.ray@nhs.net