Job summary
Are you a dynamic and experienced cancer pharmacist, committed to optimising the use of healthcare system resources? If so an exciting opportunity has arisen to join the South West Cancer Commissioning Pharmacist team on a part-time basis acting as a critical link between national strategy and local delivery of SACT treatments. Thisrole supports NHS England (NHSE) commissioning, the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF), and the Managed Access Analyst Team to ensure safe, effective, and equitable access to cancer medicines across the NHS in England.

This role is a part time commitment (0.4WTE/ 2 x 0.2WTE) for a specialised clinical and administrative position.

Banding of current substantive post which would be 8a-8b

Main duties of the job
The postholder(s) will provide senior subject matter expertise on all aspects relating to the provision of Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) services. Main duties include:

• Evaluation of treatment break requests in line with national policy
• Assessing complex clinical exception requests and escalating highly unusual cases to the national NHSE team by exception
• Dissemination of critical updates, policy changes and commissioning decisions from the national team to local provider trusts and regional specialised commissioning teams
• Manage ad hoc clinical or commissioning queries from provider trusts
• Contribute professional expertise to national projects and to advise local commissioners and regional CDF teams where capacity allows
• Actively participate in mandatory monthly national team meetings with the NHSE National Specialty Advise for Cancer Drugs

The postholder(s) will be based at their main operating hospital site but will be required to attend two face-to-face national meetings per year held in London.

About us
Bristol NHS Foundation Trust brings together more than 28,000 staff to deliver over 160 clinical services across thirteen hospital locations, operating from three main sites at Southmead, Bristol city centre and Weston.

With an annual turnover of £2.3 billion, we are now one of the largest NHS trusts in the United Kingdom. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone's throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer.

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust values all people as individuals. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we're meeting our pledge.

Details
Date posted: 10 August 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8a
Salary: £57,528 to £77,368 a year
per annum pro rata
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Part-time
Reference number: 387-D&T6997-GB
Job locations: Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre, Horfield Road, Bristol, BS2 8ED, United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities
For a more detailed job description, main responsibilities, and Person Specification, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.

Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential

• MPharm or equivalent
• Professional Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• MSc/ Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy
• Extensive knowledge of specialist areas, acquired through post graduate diploma or equivalent experience or training plus further specialist knowledge or experience to master's level equivalent

Desirable

• Postgraduate oncology qualification
• MBA/Diploma in Management
• Member of BOPA/MRPharmS

Knowledge, skills and abilities
Essential

• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Must have an understanding of the background to and aims of current healthcare policy and appreciate the implications of this on engagement
• Should have an appreciation of the relationship between the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, NICE, and individual providers
• Extensive Knowledge of current national standards and guidelines relevant to cancer services
• Knowledge of the health and safety aspects related to SACT
• Knowledge of current clinical trial legislation
• Good and effective oral and written communication skills with all stakeholders
• Able to use initiative and show appropriate level of self-reliance
• Demonstrate capability of working at a high level in a large and complex organisation
• Clinical appraisal skills, including critical assessment of research literature
• Effective pharmaceutical care skills
• Demonstrate understanding of pharmaceutical issues around the management of clinical trials
• Effective organisational skills in the workplace
• Ability to work effectively with other colleagues as part of a team
• Ability to demonstrate appropriate clinical knowledge and application
• Ability to prioritise a complex workload and work accurately under pressure
• Empathy towards patients' needs
• Able to achieve objectives
• Leadership and motivational skills
• Negotiation skills
• An ability to maintain confidentiality and trust
• Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change
• Provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups
• Persuade key stakeholders of the respective merits of different options, innovation and new market opportunities
• Negotiate on difficult and very complex and detailed issues
• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands
• Ability to analyse complex facts and situations and develop a range of options
• Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be several courses of action
• Strategic thinking - ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise
• Plans and organises a broad range of complex activities, formulating and adjusting plans to reflect changing circumstances
• Inputs to strategic plans across NHS and within the specific teams
• Good use of available information sources to enable efficient and effective planning
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight and often changing deadlines
• Skills for delivering results through managing through others and using a range of levers in the absence of direct line management responsibility
• Skills for managing relationships with a range of different stakeholders
• Ability to work on own initiative and organise workload, allocating work as necessary
• Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of equality of opportunity and diversity considering and being aware of how individual actions contribute to and make a difference to the equality agenda
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of equality, diversity & inclusion

Desirable

• Research and development skills

Experience
Essential

• Proven experience of good performance in previous posts, where relevant
• Proven post registration clinical pharmacy/ward pharmacy experience, including delivery of services for cancer patients
• Experience of training, managing and motivating staff
• Experience of report writing
• Experience of preparing drug evaluations
• Experience of drug usage reviews and audit
• Experience of project management
• Experience of working across organisational boundaries
• Experience of working strategically and translating vision into effective service delivery
• Experience of formally interacting with senior clinicians and managers

Desirable

• Experience of managing or working in a chemotherapy preparative unit
• Experience of developing business cases

Personal qualities
Essential

• Demonstrable commitment to and focus on quality, promotes high standards to consistently improve patient outcomes
• Demonstrably involves patients and the public in their work
• Consistently puts patients at the heart of decision making
• Values diversity and difference, operates with integrity and openness
• Works across boundaries, looks for collective success, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others
• Uses evidence to make improvements, seeks out innovation
• Actively develops themselves and others
• Self-awareness in terms of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers with cultural sensitivity and awareness
• Demonstrable commitment to partnership working with a range of external organisations

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.