Job overview
We are seeking an experienced and motivated Pharmacy Operations Manager to join our dynamic and innovative team. We are looking for an exceptional leader who will inspire and lead the dispensary and technical pharmacy services at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, ensuring safe, efficient, and high-quality care for our patients.
This post is the operational manager for dispensary, ward and community services delivered from the Bethlem Royal Hospital pharmacy which includes Croydon and Lewisham community mental health services and for Bethlem and Ladywell inpatient sites. You will be the lead pharmacy technician for these areas and will manage all technical staff on these sites.
As a key member of the pharmacy leadership team, you will be responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations, workforce planning, and service improvement initiatives. You will work closely with clinical leads, senior managers, and multidisciplinary teams to ensure compliance with medicines optimisation standards, GPhC (General Pharmaceutical Council) and the APT (Association of Pharmacy Technician) professional standards and regulatory requirements.
This role is ideally suited to candidates who want to extend their experience at a senior management level in a progressive environment.
The successful candidate must have strong interpersonal skills, the desire to network and collaborate, together with the ability to inspire a team towards continuous improvement.
Main duties of the job
You will be a role model and have the desire to utilise and develop practice to improve pharmacy services. You will lead, develop, deliver, and evaluate the provision of pharmacy services provided at the Bethlem Royal Hospital and enhance the reputation of the department to deliver the right medicine at the right time for all our patients
1. Lead and manage the operational aspects of pharmacy services, ensuring efficient workflows and optimal resource utilisation.
·Provide leadership and support to pharmacy staff, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and professional development.
·Ensure compliance with governance, safety, and quality standards, including GPhC and NHS guidelines.
·Drive service transformation projects to enhance patient experience and operational performance.
·Collaborate with clinical teams to support medicines optimisation and safe prescribing practices.
·To regularly review financial reports and to work with finance on budget changes and service planning
South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK. We are a world leading Trust in research, working closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London. Our services include the Maudsley Hospital, Lambeth Hospital and Bethlem Royal Hospital. We are also part of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre.
Working for our organisation
About the
The pharmacy department provides dispensing services from the Maudsley, Lambeth, Bethlem Royal hospitals and Ladywell unit and a clinical pharmacy service to 1,000 inpatients and 3,000 community patients. The Medicines Advice Centre at the Maudsley is the national centre for information on psychotropics. The department produces the Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines, now on its 15th Edition, and is the world’s leading pharmacy centre for research in psychiatry, having published over 300 clinical papers in the past 25 years.
The pharmacy is also part of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Clinical Academic Group (PSCAG) which incorporates more than 1,800 staff and students and includes staff from all four organisations within King’s Health Partners with the aim to integrate the work across all partner organisations to improve practice, research and healthcare/academic education and training strategy.
About the location
Bethlem Royal Hospital is based in a beautiful setting in over 200 acres of green space in the London Borough of Bromley. The hospital has easy access to nearby main roads and offers free parking. The site is within walking distance from of Eden Park and West Wickham overland stations.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
About You
·Registered pharmacy technician with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
·Significant experience in hospital pharmacy, including operational management and leadership roles, experience in a mental health setting would be an advantage.
·Strong understanding of NHS policies, medicines legislation, and pharmacy governance.
·Excellent communication, organisational, and problem-solving skills.
·Ability to lead teams through change and deliver measurable improvements.
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Why Join Us?
·Be part of a forward-thinking pharmacy team committed to innovation and excellence.
·Opportunities for professional development and leadership training.
·Supportive working environment within a respected NHS Trust.
To view the main duties and responsibilities, please see the attached the Job Description and Person Specification.
Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
2. Qualified Pharmacy Technician registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council
3. Member of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians
4. Management qualification or equivalent experience
5. Professional Medicines Management qualification
6. Accredited Checking Technician
Desirable criteria
7. Education and training qualification
Experience
Essential criteria
8. Extensive management experience in hospital pharmacy
9. Extensive service delivery and change management experience
10. Good understanding of root cause analysis and other quality initiatives
11. An extensive and specialist knowledge and understanding of hospital pharmacy services
12. Extensive experience of implementing policy and procedural changes
13. Experience of performance management and effectively line managing staff
14. Recruitment and selection training / experience
15. Expert experience of audit, project management and data analysis
16. Working strategically and effectively within the local and national environment
17. Finance analysis – Can demonstrate expert knowledge in the manipulation of various sources of systems data and experience of budget management
18. Extensive dispensary management experience
Desirable criteria
19. Education and Training Experience
20. E-roster experience
Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria
21. Medicines Management knowledge and experience
22. Knowledge and experience of delivering Ward Pharmacy services
23. Extensive service delivery experience in a hospital pharmacy
24. Proven service delivery skills and change management skills in hospital pharmacy
25. Excellent communication skills written and verbal
26. Promotes and develops medicines safety initiatives
27. Clear vision of the future of pharmacy technician roles and how to affect changes
Desirable criteria
28. Experience with EPMA systems