Head of Pharmacy
The closing date is 24 November 2026

Job summary
Responsible to the Chief Pharmacist and Head of Professions for Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Head of Pharmacy has corporate responsibility for the provision, leadership and performance of the Trust Pharmacy service and the Medicines Optimisation agenda for The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The post holder will operate within a developing group model across Chelsea and Westminster and Hillingdon and the North West London Acute Provider Collaborative (NWL APG), leading the delivery of consistent, high-quality and sustainable pharmacy services across organisational boundaries.

This includes strategic planning, operational delivery and governance for safe, secure, evidence-based and cost-effective use of medicines across the Trust and in collaboration with APG partner organisations, primary care and community services.

The post holder is the professional head of service and acts as Superintendent Pharmacist in line with medicines legislation and General Pharmaceutical Council standards.

Main duties of the job
1 Vision, Strategy and Business development

• Strategically and operationally accountable for Pharmacy department performance and delivery of the Trust's strategic direction.
• Leads the development, implementation and review of the strategic vision and long-term Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation strategies, ensuring alignment with Trust, group, system and national priorities.
• Provides professional leadership, advice and assurance to the Trust Board and Executive Directors on Pharmacy and Medicines Management.
• Leads local business planning including annual plans, service level agreements and business cases for developments involving Pharmacy or Medicines Optimisation.
• Leads the pharmacy-related components of the Trust New Hospital Programme.
• Promotes opportunities for collaborative working across the NWL APG, including shared services, pathway standardisation and efficiency programmes.
• Contributes to the development of group-level pharmacy strategy across Chelsea and Westminster and The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts.

About us
The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the only acute Hospital in the London Borough of Hillingdon and offers a wide range of services including accident and emergency, inpatient care, day surgery, outpatient clinics and maternity services. The Trust's services at Mount Vernon Hospital include routine day surgery, delivered at a modern treatment centre, a minor injuries unit and outpatient clinics.

The safety and well-being of our patients and of our staff is paramount and we are making urgent improvements to address this - particularly in infection prevention and control. We are making progress and going forward by working in partnership with local GPs, charities, community services, academic partners, our local authority, neighbouring hospitals and the wider North West London Integrated care system, and ensuring that we listen and work in partnership with our local population. We are absolutely focused on ensuring that our hospitals provide high quality, safe and compassionate care, while drive forward the building of the new Hillingdon Hospital.

We have over 3,500 members of staff that are proud to care for nearly half a million people, with a vision to be an outstanding provider of healthcare through leading health and academic partnerships, transforming services, to provide the best care where needed.

Please note: Once a sufficient number of applications have been received the vacancy may be closed prior to the published closing down date.

Details
Date posted: 13 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8d
Salary: £94,356 to £108,814 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 394-CSS8401072-SG
Job locations: Hillingdon Hospital, Pield Heath Road, Uxbridge, UB8 3NN, United Kingdom

Job description
Job responsibilities
Responsibilities and key result areas to include:
1. Vision, Strategy and Business development

• Strategically and operationally accountable for Pharmacy department performance and delivery of the Trusts strategic direction.
• Leads on the implementation of the strategic vision for Pharmacy and for Trustwide Medicines Optimisation, reflecting legislative changes and national/local priorities.
• Provides professional leadership, advice and assurance to the Trust Board and Executive Directors on Pharmacy and Medicines Management.
• Leads local business planning including annual plans, service level agreements and business cases for developments involving Pharmacy or Medicines Optimisation.
• Leads the pharmacy-related components of the Trust New Hospital Programme.
• Promotes opportunities for collaborative working across the NWL APG, including shared services, pathway standardisation and efficiency programmes.
• Contributes to the development of group-level pharmacy strategy across Chelsea and Westminster and The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts.

2. Leadership, Culture and Values and People

• Directly manages the Senior Pharmacy Managers and, through them, all Pharmacy department staff.
• Recruits, develops, appraises and motivates staff; leads performance management and ensure appropriate skill mix to meet service needs.
• Leads development of a modern pharmacy workforce model, including advanced practice, consultant roles and flexible cross-organisational working
• Supports group-wide workforce planning and talent development pipelines
• Ensures pharmacists and pharmacy technicians comply with legal requirements and professional standards, including CPD and registration requirements.
• Promotes a culture of continuous improvement, innovation and psychological safety
• Fosters a culture of lifelong learning, supporting education, training, supervision, mentorship and research within Pharmacy.
• Deputises for the Chief Pharmacist as required.

3. Governance, Quality and Performance

• Corporate responsibility for medicines performance standards and associated national and regulatory requirements.
• Ensures practice involving medicines is evidence-based, patient-focused and aligned with national initiatives/directives (e.g., NICE, MHRA, GPhC).
• Leads the development of data-driven approaches to medication safety, performance monitoring and assurance.
• Develops and monitors clinical pharmacy services to promote safe and effective prescribing in conjunction with clinical teams.
• Ensures medicines-related errors, complaints and incidents are managed in line with Trust processes and that risks to safe practice are escalated appropriately.

Please refer to the job description and person specification for further details.

Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential

• MPharm (or equivalent) and current registration as a Pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Member of the Royal College of Pharmacy (RCPharm)
• Postgraduate qualification or equivalent advanced training/experience in clinical pharmacy / medicines management

Desirable

• Relevant leadership/management qualification (e.g. postgraduate management qualification or NHS Leadership Academy programme)

Experience
Essential

• Substantial senior leadership experience within an NHS hospital pharmacy service, including management of multiple teams/services
• Demonstrable experience of leading medicines governance and formulary processes, including chairing/contributing to the Medicines Management /Drugs & Therapeutics committees
• Proven experience of budget management (pay and non-pay) and medicines optimisation/cost-improvement initiatives without compromising quality
• Experience in developing and delivering strategic and operational plans, service redesign and business cases
• Significant people management experience including workforce planning, recruitment, appraisal, performance management and skill-mix review
• Experience of clinical governance, audit and quality improvement, including investigation and learning from medicines-related incidents
• Experience of regulatory compliance and assurance (e.g. CQC, MHRA, GPhC) including superintendent/controlled drugs governance responsibilities

Desirable

• Experience operating at Head of Pharmacy / Deputy Head of Pharmacy (or equivalent) level, providing corporate professional leadership
• Experience of partnership working across organisational boundaries (e.g. Primary Care/ICB/ICS, collaborative formulary work)

Skills, knowledge and abilities
Essential

• Expert knowledge of medicines legislation and professional standards (e.g. Medicines Act/Human Medicines Regulations, GPhC standards, Responsible Pharmacist regulations, controlled drugs governance)
• Ability to provide authoritative professional advice and assurance to Board/executive level; excellent written and verbal communication
• Strong leadership and change-management skills with ability to motivate, develop and influence multidisciplinary teams
• Ability to design and maintain systems for monitoring performance, quality and patient safety, including incident review and risk management
• Strategic planning and project/programme management capability, delivering complex improvement programmes to time and within resources
• Ability to operate effectively across complex organisational and system boundaries, including within an Acute Provider Group model
• Advanced digital and data capability, including use of EPMA systems and analytics to improve safety, quality and efficiency

Desirable

• Advanced financial and commercial skills including procurement, contract/SLA management and value-for-money decision making

Personal qualities
Essential

• High level of integrity, accountability and professionalism; acts as a visible role model for safe, patient-centred practice
• Collaborative approach with strong influencing and negotiation skills; able to build effective partnerships internally and externally
• Resilient and calm under pressure, able to manage competing priorities and make sound decisions
• Strong communication and team building skills
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and to creating a respectful, supportive culture aligned with Trust values
• Commitment to continuous professional development and continuous improvement; reflective and learning-focused
• Commitment to innovation and service transformation
• Enthusiasm for the position

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).

Employer details
Employer name: The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Hillingdon Hospital, Pield Heath Road, Uxbridge, UB8 3NN, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.thh.nhs.uk/index.php (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Chief Pharmacist and Head of Professions, Deirdre Linnard, deirdre.linnard@nhs.net

Supporting documents
Privacy notice: The Hillingdon Hospital NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)