ICB Chief Pharmacist

Job Summary
We know many use AI to enhance their applications. While AI brings efficiency, we value authenticity and urge applicants to reflect their true skills and experiences. NHS Dorset evaluates each application fairly, acknowledging AI's benefits and limitation.

Could this exciting opportunity be for you? A chance to join the senior clinical leadership of NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board and bring your pharmacy expertise and experience to continue our journey of collaboration, linking across sectors to drive safe and efficient use of medicines and maximising the skills and opportunities available to us in our pharmacy workforce.

If you have the passion, drive and vision to be our expert leader, contributing to and shaping our need to address prevention, reduce inequalities, unite colleagues across the system, ensure the wider benefits of medicines and pharmacy are realised and want to be part of a team who believe we can make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of our population then we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

You will have a key role in working across the system bringing together key leaders such as provider Chief Pharmacists and Primary Care Network and Community Pharmacists to develop cross organisational and cross sector relationships and work programmes. We recognise that the role of pharmacy and medicines is far wider and so similar system relationships with other clinicians and patient groups, working closely with the Chief Medical Officer, will also be key.

You will also need to work closely with regional and national colleagues and arms length organisations including NHS England, the regional Chief Pharmacist and NICE. NHS Dorset has a responsibility for ensuring a system approach to research, much of which involves medicines, and so we would expect you to work closely with our research leads and the newly formed Wessex Health Partners (a partnership of local NHS organisations and academic institutions across Dorset and Hampshire).

You will also lead the ICB Medicines team and be responsible for the safe and effective use of medicines including the system medicines budget, leading on medicines safety, quality and risk issues, commissioning and the community pharmacy contractual framework.

About Us

We are joining up to tackle all the things that affect our health and wellbeing, make real change, and improve things for our communities.

Dorset ICS Is Made Up Of

• NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board
• University Hospitals Dorset Foundation Trust
• Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust
• Dorset HealthCare University Foundation Trust
• Dorset Council
• Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Council
• 194 town and parish councils
• 18 primary care networks (made up of 73 GP practices)
• Southwestern Ambulance Service Foundation Trust
• Dorset Police
• Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service
• 7,300 voluntary organisations

What We Do

The Health and Care Bill puts ICSs on a statutory footing empowering them to better join up health and care services, improve population health, and reduce health inequalities.

ICSs Have Four Core Purposes

• Improve outcomes in population health and healthcare
• Tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access
• Enhance productivity and value for money
• Help the NHS support broader social and economic development

Date posted: 05 March 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 9

Salary: £105,385 to £121,271 a year

Contract: Permanent

Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number: D9467-ICB-030-25

Job locations: NHS Dorset - County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1XJ; NHS Dorset - Canford House, Wallisdown Road, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5AG

Job Description

Job responsibilities

The Chief Pharmacist will be a key member of Integrated Care Board (ICB) leadership team across Dorset. This post is accountable to the ICB Chief Medical Officer. It is expected that the ICB Chief Pharmacist will work by engaging with all partners in line with the ICB 5-year plan and Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) strategy. This includes developing a pharmacy and medicines optimisation system-wide strategy and operational plan. This will involve clinical and patient engagement while linking with national policy, regional and local priorities to deliver maximum value and outcomes for patients, the local population, and the NHS. They will lead as an authoritative expert in pharmacy and medicine with the respect of peers and senior national leaders.

The postholder carries key corporate responsibilities and is the lead for:

• Safe and effective use of medicines including the system medicines budget.
• Antimicrobial stewardship
• Transfer of care and related medicines risk issues
• Delegated or transferred responsibilities for commissioning, including any delegated or transferred responsibilities for the community pharmacy contractual framework.
• Accountability for regulatory compliance and acts as the accountable officer for controlled drugs for the ICB, working closely with local across organisations.
• Co-ordination of pharmacy input to key delivery programmes e.g. public health, covid or influenza vaccination, mental health or learning disability priorities such as STOMP
• Delivery of national pharmacy medicines optimisation strategies and programmes such as overprescribing, Aseptic Transformation, Value for Money and sustainability initiatives.

Person Specification

Experience Essential

• Extensive knowledge of specialist areas, acquired through post graduate diploma or equivalent experience or training plus further specialist knowledge or experience to masters level equivalent.
• Acknowledged by peers as an authority/expert in pharmacy and medicines use.
• Understanding of the background to and aims of current healthcare policy and appreciate the implications of this on pharmacy services.
• Experience of working as part of a multi-professional senior leadership team is essential.
• Experience of managing highly sensitive situations with patients, families, or carers and/or with wider agencies.
• Experience of effective partnership working with internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience of providing leadership, mentorship, and professional development at a very senior level with demonstrable outcomes.
• Experience of leading and delivering complex change and strategy development across organisational boundaries in a politically sensitive and complex environment.
• Experience of developing and maintaining a safety culture
• Experience of delivering significant change across organisational boundaries

Qualifications Essential

• Pharmacist registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
• Hold a postgraduate or management qualification, or equivalent experience or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
• Evidence of sustained personal and professional development
• Senior leadership experience in different NHS/Healthcare settings

Skills, abilities and knowledge Essential

• In-depth understanding of the NHS, social care, and local authority landscape and interdependencies.
• Highly developed communication skills with the ability to communicate on highly complex and sensitive matters.
• Ability to provide and receive, convey, and present complex, sensitive and/or contentious information to large groups, responding openly to questions to ensure full understanding and engagement.
• Ability to communicate with clinical, academic and all levels of staff including statutory partners.
• Extensive successful experience in a demanding role or equivalent managerial role at a senior level within a complex organisation.
• Ability to promote compassionate working practices and cultures that encourage and enable individuals and teams to thrive at organisation, partnership, and system levels.

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.

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.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.

Employer name
NHS Dorset
Address
NHS Dorset - County Hall, Colliton Park, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 1XJ
Employer's website
https://nhsdorset.nhs.uk/