Flexible Location
0.6 FTE Grade 8A/B Pharmacist Professional Advisor
Location: Flexible location
Salary: £65,125 - £70,303 (8A) to £76,888 - £82,251 (8B) Pro Rata
An opportunity has arisen for a Scottish Government funded post within Public Services Delivery (PSD) Scotland for a 0.6 FTE Grade 8A/B pharmacist as a professional advisor to provide policy and practice support to further develop effective and sustainable prescribing across the NHS in Scotland. The post will be based within PSD Scotland and will take direction from the Effective Prescribing and Therapeutics team in Scottish Government. PSD Scotland will employ the successful candidate, however the post will be delivered at / managed by Scottish Government.
The Effective Prescribing and Therapeutics team is responsible for supporting the delivery of safe and effective prescribing and use of medicines, within the NHS in Scotland. They have a strong emphasis on care based on value, clinical effectiveness and environmental sustainability. The team adds pace and scale to the work of Health Boards, providing tools, analysis, evidence-based guidance, information and strategic direction. They also have a role in assisting Health Boards that need additional support in the value-based use of medicines.
Close working with other Scottish Government teams, primary care GP leads, Scottish Practice Pharmacist Prescribing Advisors Association, Public Health Scotland (PHS), Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), territorial Health Boards and other organisations is essential.
The team is seeking a pharmacist who has proven experience in a leadership capacity within either a primary or secondary care pharmacy setting, can evidence a system wide approach to developments in prescribing, is well networked across the system, can demonstrate using data and evidence to effect change and who will maintain 0.2 to 0.4 FTE working as a pharmacist. To be eligible for this post a candidate must be affiliated to a Health Board.
The postholder will provide pharmaceutical leadership, including integration of key environmental and sustainability policies throughout the units work areas including innovative tools such as pharmacogenomics and consideration of environmental sustainability and prescribing.
The role is to ensure a focus on national clinical and pharmaceutical priorities, to manage a co-ordinated approach and to provide expertise and support to policy colleagues and other clinicians in the team. The postholder will also provide input for the EU funded project IMPROVE, which builds on the previously EU funded SIMPATHY and iSIMPATHY projects to embed pharmacogenomic testing in medication reviews.
Key result areas include:
1. Ensure that prescribing strategies and tools are developed to support key national and regional organisations
2. Ensure prescribing indicators are developed in response to national clinical priorities
3. Ensure development of training and peer support to implement innovations in prescribing such as pharmacogenomics
4. Aid negotiation with clinical and managerial staff to implement therapeutic strategies
5. Provide Health Boards with support needed to address areas of prescribing
6. Work proactively with the Sustainable Prescribing Board in particular contributing pharmacist expertise on how policies can be implemented in practice
Professional supervision will be provided from within the team to ensure the postholder receives appropriate and regular clinical support.
This is a great opportunity to work across prescribing and related policy areas, with a range of internal and external partners, using your practical and professional expertise as a pharmacist to further benefit the citizens of Scotland.
Application
Please submit a CV and covering statement outlining how you feel that you would be suited for this role to
Provisional Sift & Interview Dates
Applications to be received before 23:59 22nd June 2026.
Interview dates to follow.
Travel Expectations
The postholder will be expected to attend meetings in-person in Edinburgh, one day per week (currently Tuesday/ Wednesday). You may be expected to travel to other locations on occasion.
Further Information
Further information about this opportunity is available from Stuart Law at @
7. Please be advised that if you are successful in being offered the role following the recruitment process, you will be expected to attend the office prior to your start date to complete face-to-face pre-employment checks. If you require any adjustments to support this, please let us know.
8. To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.
As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the websitehere.
For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licenced Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or going rate. Further information on these criteria can be foundhere.
It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsoredBEFORE submitting your application form.
If you have any queries regarding the NHS Scotland National Recruitment Portal or the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to contact our recruitment partners, the East Region Recruitment Service, at: @