Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, and Essex. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a motivated and enthusiastic individual to join our expanding pharmacy team, which includes innovative roles such as Independent Prescribers and Consultant Pharmacists, to provide comprehensive clinical pharmacy services across community health and mental health specialities.
This post would appeal to those who are ambitious and would like to develop their service development and leadership skills in a supportive environment. The post holder will work closely with the consultant pharmacist for CAMHS as part of a multidisciplinary team, addressing the needs of service users.
The post holder will be responsible for managing patients across Kent as part of the Kent Children and Young Person Mental Health Service.
We welcome applications from experienced pharmacists who have current registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council, a clinical pharmacy diploma and/or Psychiatric Therapeutics postgraduate qualification or equivalent experience, and significant post registration experience in a mental health setting.
The base for this role will be Lenworth Clinic, 329 Hythe Road, Willesborough, however, there will be requirement for periodic travel to other sites around Kent.
From 1st April 2026 Kent CYPMHS will be provided by Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust.
Main duties of the job
The aim of this post is to operate as an advanced pharmacist leading the medication related service for the Kent Children and Young Person Mental Health Services, including medicines information, education, group and one-to-one work with young service users, guidelines and protocols, and links with CYPMHS consultant psychiatrists to support cost effective, appropriate prescribing and to lead and deliver a specialist clinical pharmacy service to the designated clinical teams.
Main duties include:
1. Providing a service to CYPMHS, optimising patient outcomes, improving patient experience, working within patient care pathways across healthcare boundaries within Kent and Kent collaborative healthcare partners.
2. Managing, leading, and co-ordinating the CYPMHS team in the provision of a safe, effective, and efficient pharmacy and medicines optimisation service, in accordance with local and national standards and strategy.
3. Contributing to improving health outcomes for patients using a holistic approach to care, ensuring the safe and effective use of medicine through provision of medicines-related aspects of patient care.
4. Engaging with patients, ensuring their voices are heard and integral to any decisions made about their care.
5. Promoting improvements in quality, safety and cost effectiveness of medicines use and supporting holistic management of clinical conditions, influencing the wider community of practice
Working for our organisation
Our Values 2025 - 2030
Working with our colleagues, patients and carers we have coproduced three new values that we aim to embed within our culture here at NELFT.
They are:
We are kind.
We are respectful.
We work together with our communities.
These three values help us to strive to provide the best care by the best people.
Starting with NELFT
NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust.All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focussing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes.The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer to this when completing your application.
We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Please apply as soon as possible as some posts close early to limit the number of applications.
Certificates of Sponsorship
Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points-based system. When calculating the basic salary for sponsorship, HCAS (High-Cost Area Supplement) is not included to ensure fairness and consistency within our Trust.
Use of AI
Please see attached document regarding acceptable use of AI during the recruitment process.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
6. Masters Degree in Pharmacy
7. Member of the GPhC, with at least 5 years post graduate experience
8. Post graduate qualification in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent specialist knowledge, acquired through a broad spectrum of clinical pharmacy training and experience
9. Non-Medical Prescribing Qualification or working towards
Desirable criteria
10. Member of the College of Mental Health Pharmacy
11. Practice Supervisor Qualification
12. Post graduate qualification in Psychopharmacology
Experience
Essential criteria
13. 2 year's experience of working in mental health services
14. Knowledge of Mental Health therapeutics
15. An awareness of NHS plan, National Services Framework (NSF) and clinical governance priorities
16. Evidence of education, training, performance management and development of staff
17. Proven experience in managing change or developing and delivering pharmacy services.
18. Experience of leading and undertaking clinical audits.
Desirable criteria
19. Experience of budget setting and management of drug's budgets.
20. Experience working in CYPMHS
Knowledge and Skill
Essential criteria
21. Good written and verbal communication skills.
22. High level of analytical skills and problem solving ability, to ensure that the postholder is able to provide advice on complex issues, related to medicines management and Trust policies.
23. Knowledge and experience of Primary and Secondary Care working.
24. Confident and assertive when dealing with other professionals.
25. High level of interpersonal skills, to ensure that the postholder is able to effectively exchange highly complex and sensitive information with patients and relatives, prescribers and senior managers.
26. IT skills - word-processing, Power point, Excel, statistical package and internet use, so that the post holder can communicate effectively with other Health care professionals and for tracking purposes.
27. Up to date knowledge of prescribing issues in Mental Health.
Desirable criteria
28. Good project management skills
Values
Essential criteria
29. Demonstration of at least one of the trust values.
Desirable criteria
30. Demonstration of all of the trust values.
Benefits
We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:
31. A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
32. A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
33. Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
34. Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.