Overview
Employer Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Site Pharmacy Practice Unit
Town Liverpool
Salary £55,690 - £62,682 per annum
Salary period Yearly
Closing 24/09/2025 23:59
Band 8a
Job overview
Interviews will take place w/c 6th October 2025
We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic pharmacist (Band 8A) to join NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS). This is a fixed term (12 months) and newly established post (1.0 WTE) working across the Medicines Use and Safety (MUS) team. 12 month secondments will also be considered.
This post is hosted by NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, but it is expected that the successful candidate will work fully remotely. This is one of two similar posts that SPS is advertising (the other being a permanent post working across the MUS and Medicines Advice (MA) functions).
We are looking for a pharmacist with substantial experience in a relevant MUS workstream (medicines governance/medicines mechanisms, medication safety, medicines optimisation and network engagement) and who has a passion for supporting the development of safer and optimised use of medicines with the NHS.
You will have a broad and varied role working in collaboration with colleagues across the MUS team, other functions of SPS and key external stakeholders. You will apply your experience and knowledge to deliver high quality SPS resources. You will build strong working networks across organisations to realise the aims of the SPS Medicines Use and Safety programme.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will:
* Work across the MUS workstreams (medicines governance, medicines safety, medicines optimisation and medicines network engagement) producing quality assured resources and ensuring continuity of service.
* Contribute to the development, delivery and maintenance of quality assured MUS workstream resources to support commissioners, organisations, and health professionals. Resources may include webinars, podcasts, videos, website articles and workspaces on NHS Futures.
* Support the SPS workstream enquiry answering services, including those related to Patient Group Directions (PGDs) and other medicines mechanisms and medication safety.
Working for our organisation
About SPS
The NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS) supports the NHS to develop best practice systems of work-related to buying, making and using medicines. The service provides leadership, instructive and informative specialist input and operational support to the sourcing, supply and use of medicines across the system.
Our strengths are borne out of connecting national expertise with policy teams and arm’s length bodies to ensure consistency and high standards. The service supports both regional and local connections to ensure that the service’s outputs resonate with and support local NHS organisations which deliver care to patients. The key successes of SPS are through the development and delivery of their “Do Once and Share” methodology.
Medicines Use and Safety (MUS) team
Our Medicines Use and Safety (MUS) team are a well-respected team who work closely with policy makers, regulators and strategic leaders and engage with an extensive range of clinical networks to share experience and expertise. We interpret legislation and deliver practical guidance and support to NHS organisations and practitioners in providing safe patient care across the entire medicines pathway. Our resources support healthcare professionals to assess and improve medication safety culture, strategy and policy within the healthcare system.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
* Delivers outcomes within agreed timescales, liaising with stakeholders across England.
* Exercises professional judgment and makes decisions in complex situations where information is partial or conflicting, or when ethical issues are involved. Provides expert guidance on aspects of content planning, maintenance, and management in specialist medicines related fields. Includes consideration of clinical governance implications, to frontline practitioners, managers and directors in provider and commissioner settings.
* Contributes to uniting and integrating SPS outputs to ensure all resources are shared across the country, thus maximising efficiency, and productivity.
* Develops and contributes to the outputs of the MUS workstreams e.g. medicines mechanisms template development (including PGDs), medication safety resources and events, medicines optimisation resources and events, networking events.
* Develops and maintains appropriate resources on the SPS website, ensuring accuracy of information which is up to date with current policy and best practice and applies all governance requirements.
* Is highly proficient in methods of data capture, analysis, and communication and able to deal with large amounts of information on a continuous basis, including internet, email, word-processing, presentation (PowerPoint), database and spreadsheet applications.
* Presents reports and data that have been collected or supported by the MUS team at national meetings and conferences and is able to defend controversial findings and justify views and performance in a variety of forums, including large audiences.
* Contributes to local and national task groups and workstreams when requested by the MUS Director.
* Engages with practitioners and subject matter experts across organisational boundaries to gather intelligence e.g. through regional networks or short life working groups (SLWGs).
* Maintains a robust understanding of health policy developments that impact on the delivery of the MUS outputs and informs the business planning and service needs assessments for the team.
* Undertakes any other duties as required by the Director of Medicines Use and Safety.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Vocational master's degree in pharmacy or equivalent
* Pharmacist (registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council)
* Postgraduate diploma in clinical pharmacy or other relevant field e.g. management or equivalent experience of working in a specialist area
* Additional post graduate qualification i.e. MSc in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent experience e.g. RPS Core Advanced Pharmacist curriculum
Experience
* Demonstrable diploma level experience related to the practice of clinical pharmacy in a range of settings
* Multidisciplinary working (e.g. MDT working) and an ability to work across both professional groups and across organisational boundaries
* Demonstrable experience in relevant MUS workstream e.g. medicines, governance/medicines mechanisms, medication safety, medicines optimisation and network engagement
* Managing complex and potentially contentious situations
* Experience of working in a complex matrix type working environment within a diffuse national organisation
Knowledge
* A clear understanding of programme and project management
* A clear awareness and appreciation of the roles of other healthcare professionals in the delivery of healthcare services to patients
* Contemporary knowledge of NHS policy and understanding of it's application in primary, secondary and tertiary care, including an appreciation of the relationship between national bodies (e.g. the DHSC) provider and commissioner organisations
* Prior use of online content management systems to create, manage and publish online article and digital publications with knowledge of the principles of good online publishing
Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
Posts advertised to ‘internal staff’ are open to employees of hospitals within University Hospitals of Liverpool Group and you should confirm your employment within your application form.
Note: Under current Home Office Immigration Rules we are currently unable to offer right to work visa sponsorship for Band 2 and 3 roles with a salary of less than £25,000 pa as they do not meet the UK Visas & Immigration criteria.
Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview.
We reserve the right to close any vacancies from further applications when we have received a minimum number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.
Candidates applying for the role of Healthcare Assistant on the staff bank should note that due to the nature of the role, workers must be aged 18 or above when commencing in post. Applicants are therefore welcome from those aged over 18 or within 3 months of their 18th birthday.
The Trust is committed to promoting a healthy work-life balance and achieve fair, equitable and consistent practice. We welcome flexible working requests and will consider a variety of flexible working arrangements from day one of your employment. Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working.
The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24.
Trust policy requires that the cost of submitting & processing the successful applicant/s DBS application be recovered via salary deduction following start in post. The amount of £23 (standard disclosure) or £43 (enhanced disclosure) will be deducted from salary, in manageable monthly instalments for up to 3 months following commencement of employment. Bank posts require upfront payment. DBS applications submitted from 2nd December will be subject to the new DBS fee of £26.50 (standard) and £54.50 (Enhanced).
From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years.
Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.
This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults’ policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures.
Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation.
All employees (and volunteers) are expected to maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action.
As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence.
If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on 0151 706 4666 at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post.
Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
Name Kieran Reynolds Job title Adv. Specialist Pharmacist, Medicines Governance Email address kieran.reynolds@nhs.net Telephone number 0151 706 4666
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