Deputy Chief Pharmacist Population Health and Medicines Transformation
The closing date is 24 June 2026.
Provide strategic system leadership for population health, medicines optimisation and transformation at scale, operating at a senior level across the Integrated Care System (ICS). Lead the development and delivery of long‑term, population health‑driven commissioning strategies that optimise medicines use, improve outcomes, reduce inequalities and deliver value across the healthcare system.
Act as a senior professional lead within medicines optimisation, shaping system‑wide approaches through advanced analytics, innovation, and partnership working across providers, places and system partners. Ensure the integration of medicines strategy within wider clinical, financial and transformation plans, aligning with the ICB's strategic commissioning cycle and IC s priorities.
Deputise for the Chief Pharmacist as required, providing system leadership for medicines optimisation, governance and strategy, representing the ICB at system, regional and national forums, and ensuring continuity of professional and statutory leadership for medicines across the IC s.
The post holder must be a Pharmacist currently registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
Main duties of the job
- Drive implementation and delivery of the NHS Strategic Commissioning Framework and LNR Operating Model.
- Lead a population health intelligence approach to medicines use.
- Shape and deliver system‑wide pharmaceutical public health strategy.
- Drive digital innovation, transformation and research in medicines optimisation.
- Provide senior professional and system leadership.
- Ensure governance, quality and safety in medicines use.
- Drive value, productivity and financial sustainability.
- Deputise for the Chief Pharmacist.
- Participate in the senior manager on call rota.
Key Working Relationships
- The post holder will need to build and maintain constructive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including but not limited to:
- Internal ICB staff including managers, colleagues, and senior management as appropriate.
- National and regional colleagues at NHS England.
- System partners, including portfolio leads, local authorities and provider and place collaboratives.
- Non‑NHS organisations.
- Members of the public and service users as appropriate.
- Matrix work across all other teams to address interdependencies and ensure alignment of mutual objectives.
- External consultancy, as required.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
- Drive implementation and delivery of the NHS Strategic Commissioning Framework and LNR Operating Model.
- Lead a population health intelligence approach to medicines use.
- Lead the use of highly complex population health management, epidemiology, risk stratification and medicines intelligence to identify unwarranted variation, inequalities and unmet need in prescribing and access to medicines.
- Translate complex data insights into strategic commissioning decisions, service redesign and resource allocation, influencing system priorities and investment decisions.
- Provide authoritative system leadership in embedding population health approaches, shaping policy, strategy and clinical pathway redesign across organisational boundaries.
- Shape and deliver system‑wide pharmaceutical public health strategy.
- Lead the development and implementation of a comprehensive long‑term pharmaceutical public health strategy in partnership with public health and system stakeholders aligned to ICB and national policy.
- Provide strategic oversight of services including prevention, sexual health, substance misuse, smoking cessation and contraception, ensuring equitable access and measurable improvements in population outcomes. Advise on contract management and medicines use in council‑commissioned services.
- Influence and lead ICB contributions to the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment and wider system planning, shaping policy and commissioning intentions across the health economy.
- Drive digital innovation, transformation and research in medicines optimisation.
- Provide senior system leadership on the adoption and spread of digital technologies, advanced analytics, data platforms, genomics, digital therapeutics and innovation in medicines use, operating at the forefront of emerging practice.
- Lead complex, large‑scale transformation programmes that redesign pathways towards prevention, community‑based care and personalised medicine, with responsibility for delivery across organisational boundaries.
- Champion and embed research, evaluation and innovation, ensuring translation into practice and measurable system-wide impact.
- Provide senior professional and system leadership.
- Operate as a senior leader across the ICs, influencing at executive level, and building strong partnerships across acute, community, mental health, primary care and VCSE sectors to deliver cohesive medicines optimisation strategies.
- Provide clinical and professional leadership, mentoring senior staff, strengthening analytical and strategic skills and embedding a culture of evidence‑based, value‑focused commissioning. Support wider ICB transformation and strategic leadership programmes.
- Provide highly specialist advice to senior leaders, Boards and committees on medicines optimisation, population health and transformation, contributing to corporate strategy and policy development.
- Ensure governance, quality and safety in medicines use.
- Support and deputise for the Chief Pharmacist in providing professional and statutory leadership and assurance on medicines governance, safety, quality and risk management across the system, ensuring robust assurance frameworks are in place.
- Drive value, productivity and financial sustainability.
- Lead and support system approaches to optimising medicines value and financial sustainability. Influence and contribute to high‑value financial decision‑making, ensuring optimal use of resources and delivery of efficiency targets across the ICB and ICs.
- Deputise for the Chief Pharmacist: act as deputy to the Chief Pharmacist, exercising authority to represent the organisation at Board, system and regional and national levels as required.
- Maintain strategic oversight of medicines optimisation strategy and delivery in the absence of the Chief Pharmacist, ensuring continuity of leadership and decision making.
- Support statutory and professional leadership responsibilities, including governance, assurance and system accountability for medicines optimisation.
- Participate in the senior manager on call rota.
Operational Responsibility
- Responsible for strategic and operational management for a major area of activity, for example, an operational or geographical division or specialist management unit.
- Responsible for compiling business plan, developing strategy for area of activity, ensuring implementation and that performance targets, strategic objectives are met.
- Contributes to corporate policies and strategy.
- Responsible for staff and budgetary management.
Financial and Physical Resources Responsibility
- Holds and monitors budgets for a major area of activity or several services.
- Responsible for overall budget setting for major area of activity.
Information Management Responsibility
- Regularly use software to develop reports; responsible for one or more information systems.
- Updates information system / uses software to develop performance management reports.
- Responsible for performance management or similar systems.
Planning and Organisation Responsibility
- Formulates long‑term strategic plans, involving uncertainty and impacting on organisation.
- Develops business plan, strategy for area of activity.
- Makes major contribution to corporate policies and strategy.
Policy and Service Development Responsibility
- Responsible for policy implementation and development for a directorate or equivalent.
- Leads the development of policies and procedures for a major area of activity and ensures compliance with corporate policies.
Research and Development Responsibility
- Occasionally/ regularly undertakes research and development activity.
- Undertakes surveys as necessary to own work.
Freedom to Act
- Works within general policies and applies interpretation as required.
- Interprets overall health service policy and strategy.
- Lead manager for major area of activity.
Analytical and Judgemental Responsibility
- Deals with highly complex facts or situations requiring analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options.
- Analyses performance of area of activity in relation to performance targets and strategic objectives.
- Develops strategies and business plans and advises in areas where expert opinion differs.
Communication Responsibility
- Provides and receives highly complex, sensitive or contentious information where there are barriers to understanding.
- Presents complex, sensitive or contentious information to large groups and communicates in a potentially hostile, antagonistic atmosphere.
- Communicates with internal staff and external agencies to ensure compliance with performance targets and strategic objectives.
- Communication involves negotiation and diplomacy.
- Undertakes presentations to staff groups and the public, and conveys highly contentious information in an atmosphere of proposed major change.
Person Specification
Qualifications
- Pharmacist currently registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
- Educated to master's level in relevant subject or equivalent level of experience of working at a similar level in specialist area.
- Member of a relevant professional body.
Experience
- Proven and significant leadership experience.
- Proven board level experience of leading and delivering complex change and strategy development programmes in a politically sensitive and complex environment.
- Significant experience and understanding of proven implementation of project management methodologies.
- Experience of successfully operating in and delivering priorities in a partnership environment.
- Development and delivery of strategy and planning.
- Experience of managing and prioritising a large budget.
- Experience of project and programme management techniques and tools such as Prince 2.
- Managing and delivering successful projects.
Skills
- Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium, and long‑term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly.
- Ability to provide informative reporting on finances and impact to board management.
- Leadership, vision, strategic thinking, and planning with highly developed political skills.
- Ability to analyse numerical and written data, assess options and draw appropriate conclusion to inform initiatives.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board
