Job overview
Barts Health is offering an exciting opportunity to lead the Quality team within Pharmacy Technical Services. Based at the Royal London Hospital, with cross-site responsibilities at St Bartholomew’s and Whipps Cross Hospitals, this role is crucial in delivering high-quality pharmacy services in line with regulatory standards across our MHRA-licensed units.
The successful candidate will lead a dynamic team to ensure compliance with GMP/GCP standards and improve our Quality Management System (QMS). Key responsibilities include overseeing audits, validation processes, and maintaining quality control in the production of pharmacy products. You will also manage staff training, ensuring competency and adherence to regulatory guidelines.
This role offers excellent professional development opportunities, including exposure to various quality assurance activities and collaborative projects with senior leaders. You'll have the chance to influence strategic decisions within Pharmacy Technical Services and access further training and leadership development initiatives.
As a key member of the Pharmacy Technical Services senior leadership team, you will work closely with the Head of Quality to support the department’s goals.
If you are passionate about maintaining regulatory compliance and driving continuous improvement in MHRA-licensed environments, we encourage you to apply.
For more information, please contact Nick Cooley, Deputy Chief Pharmacist ()
Main duties of the job
Through effective leadership and collaboration, the post holder will:
• Lead and manage the Quality team, providing leadership, team development and representation at internal/external meetings.
• Ensure regulatory compliance and quality governance, including GMP/GCP, risk management, incident handling, complaints, and continuous improvement.
• Manage and maintain the Quality Management System, including audits, SOPs, documentation control, validation, change control and technical agreements.
• Be responsible for QA/QC service delivery, ensuring product quality, QC release, equipment qualification, KPI monitoring, reporting and support for projects and service improvements.
• Deliver training and support professional development, ensuring competency, supervision, CPD and effective training programmes across the team.
• Be professionally accountability to the Head of Quality, working collaboratively with the head of quality to provide assurance in Quality service delivery to meet regulatory standards. Ensuring delivery of KPIs and keeping abreast of and implementing regulatory changes updates.
Working for our organisation
Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.
The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.
Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.
We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.
We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates as they are underrepresented within Barts Health at this band.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.
Person specification
Experience
Essential criteria
1. Proven experience of good performance in previous posts and managing teams in GMP environments
2. Experience of working in a busy pharmaceutical cGMP environment, including providing Quality advice to manufacturing units to maintain GMP and patient safety
3. Demonstrates experience in the application of People Policies and Procedures
4. Demonstrates ability to manage a Quality Management System including incidents/ deviations from protocol, change controls and developing and reviewing action plans
5. Experience of working in a hospital environment
Desirable criteria
6. Experience of working with radio-pharmaceuticals
7. Demonstrated knowledge of Pharmaceutical microbiology
8. Demonstrates experience in developing and managing validation master plan within a cGMP environment
Skills
Essential criteria
9. Staff Management skills including developing objectives and personal development plans and maintaining a good working environment, developing PDPs
10. Demonstrated ability to identify problems, analyse root cause and propose solutions for complex problems
11. Able to complete, review and approve GMP documentation accurately with attention to detail
12. Able to develop and review option appraisals and identify the most appropriate option
13. Good team working skills
14. Demonstrates ability to prioritise workload and meet deadlines
15. Able to work effectively in stressful situations
Knowledge
Essential criteria
16. Demonstrated expert technical knowledge of GcLP and cGMP, and a proven ability to apply this knowledge to maintain, develop and validate quality systems
17. Knowledge of the eight core principles of ISO9001 Quality Management
18. Working knowledge of how to conduct a gap analysis and develop appropriate action plans
19. Knowledge of Aseptic Practices
20. Knowledge of relevant regulatory Standards
21. Knowledge of how to develop, lead and conduct audit and quality improvement
22. Expert knowledge of validation methods (for process, operator and facilities & equipment) and how to maintain a validation master plan document
Desirable criteria
23. Knowledge of medical gas pipeline systems
24. Project management skills
Qualifications
Essential criteria
25. Pharmacist - MPharm (or equivalent) OR Pharmacy Technician – Level 3 Diploma in Pharmacy Services (or equivalent) OR Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians - Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council OR relevant Science Degree OR relevant occupational experience AND Registration with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) or Biology (RBS)
26. Postgraduate qualification in relevant area or equivalent experience.
Desirable criteria
27. Specialist postgraduate Diploma/MSc in Technical Services (e.g. National Course in Pharmaceutical Technology and Quality Assurance) or equivalent work based technical experience and underpinning knowledge
28. Specialist training in leadership
Other
Essential criteria
29. Values-led
30. Experience in giving presentations to diverse audiences.
31. Required to wear specialised clean room clothing and appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
**Visa Sponsorship Information**
Recent changes to UK immigration policy on the Health and Care Visa and Skilled Worker Visa could mean that this role is not eligible for sponsorship or that you may not meet the eligibility criteria.
Sponsorship can only be offered if this post and any individual offered employment meet all the Home Office’s requirements under the UK Skilled Worker visa scheme.
If you are applying from outside the UK or will require sponsorship, please mention this clearly in your application.
To be eligible for sponsorship, the following conditions must be met:
32. Eligible role: The position must be on the UK Skilled Worker visa list. You can check your eligibility here: -.
33. Salary threshold: The role must meet the minimum salary set by the Home Office. Please note that for roles employed under Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions, the High-Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) is not included when calculating the basic salary for the purposes of sponsorship.
34. Skill level: The role must meet the minimum skill requirement of RQF Level 6 or above (graduate level).
35. English language: Applicants must demonstrate English proficiency at CEFR level B1 or higher.
36. Other criteria: Applicants must meet all other criteria as set out by the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)