Chief Pharmacist

The ICS Chief Pharmacist role will provide strategic leadership for pharmacy, medicines commissioning and supply, workforce and a range of key challenges as well as coordinating other medicines and prescribing initiatives and supporting COVID-19 recovery and the restoration of sustainable services. They will lead as an authoritative expert in pharmacy and medicines with the respect of peers and senior national leaders. The post holder will work on a multi-agency and multi-disciplinary basis across the system with all health and social care stakeholders including mental health trusts, care home and care at home providers, public health as well as NHS trusts, community services, PCNs, community pharmacy and the voluntary sector / community engagement groups to improve people’s lives and tackle inequalities in outcomes and access. As a member of the Executive team, the post-holder carries key corporate responsibilities for the delivery of the ICS’s vision, aims and objectives and, in particular, is the Executive Lead for the safe and effective use of medicines including the system medicines budget, antimicrobial stewardship, delegated or transferred responsibilities for commissioning, including any delegated or transferred responsibilities for the community pharmacy contractual framework and accountability for regulatory compliance. The postholder will develop a system-wide vision for medicines optimisation and pharmacy through clinical and patient engagement, linking national medicines policy and local clinical priorities to deliver maximum value and outcomes for the local population. The ICS Chief Pharmacist will lead on the development and implementation of the ICS Medicines and Pharmacy Transformation Plan to create an infrastructure that supports medicines optimisation in all professions in all health and care settings including care homes. To deliver a comprehensive integrated pharmacy service and governance structures to ensure that all of the ICS’s activities are underpinned by a strong culture of high quality care and patient safety. The post holder will sit on the ICS Partnership Board to ensure pharmacy and medicines play a key part in population health management and personalised care. They will represent Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation in the ICS governance structures. Working with partner organisations, the ICS Chief Pharmacist will give direction to Chief Executives and Boards of organisations within the ICS on strategic and operational issues related to pharmacy and medicines optimisation, in particular on consolidated services or joint ventures supporting all organisations within the ICS (e.g. developing cross system clinical pathways). Our vision for the future of Northamptonshire’s health and care services is for a positive lifetime of health, wellbeing and care in our community. Our mission in working together, the reason we do what we do, is to empower positive futures. Wherever we work and whatever our role we all want people in Northamptonshire to be able to choose well, stay well, live well. Each day our values will help to guide our decisions and what is most important to us:

• Our patients and our local population come first
• We work together in an open and accountable way
• We trust, challenge and support each other
• We do what we say we will do.
• The post-holder will provide professional advice and guidance on matters relating to the use and supply of medicines to the Board, in addition, playing a full role in the delivery of the ICS’s corporate agenda as detailed in its strategic plan.
• To provide expert advice to the Board of Directors and wider ICS partners on all matters relating to pharmacy and medicines (professional, clinical and programme) in accordance with national policy, including the changing opportunities for pharmacy and medicines’ roles and responsibilities.
• Responsible for the ICS medicines and pharmacy allocations and commissioning.
• To represent the ICS at regional/national/international levels on issues in relation to pharmacy and medicines.
• To provide highly visible leadership of the ICS’s pharmacy and medicines workforce and foster a culture of compassionate and inclusive practice which values the full range of our people’s skills and experience, continuing professional development and empowers pharmacy professionals to achieve excellence in the delivery of patient care.
• To identify and nurture pharmacy clinical leadership potential and talent feeding into the ICS workforce strategy. They will develop and support pharmacy teams in different institutions, including provider collaboratives, PCNs and community pharmacy, to create a flexible workforce, able to respond to changing population priorities and technologies to deliver resilient and adaptable services. This will build on the duties of collaboration for local organisations and the proposals for mutual aid.
• The ICS Chief Pharmacist will lead on the development and implementation of the ICS Medicines and Pharmacy Transformation Plan to create an infrastructure that supports medicines optimisation in all professions in all health and care settings including care homes. To deliver a comprehensive integrated pharmacy service and governance structures to ensure that all of the ICS’s activities are underpinned by a strong culture of high quality care and patient safety.
• The post holder will sit on the ICS Partnership Board to ensure pharmacy and medicines play a key part in population health management and personalised care. They will represent Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation in the ICS governance structures.
• Working with partner organisations, the ICS Chief Pharmacist will give direction to Chief Executives and Boards of organisations within the ICS on strategic and operational issues related to pharmacy and medicines optimisation, in particular on consolidated services or joint ventures supporting all organisations within the ICS (e.g. developing cross system clinical pathways).
• Furthermore, the role provides direction to ICS public health teams to ensure pharmacy teams, including the community pharmacy network are best placed to help deliver the ICS public health strategy.
• To foster collaborative relationships with academic institutions to ensure alignment of the national, regional and system strategies to initial education and training of pharmacy professionals and research agendas
• The post holder will establish an ICS Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation Programme Board to bring together all medicines interests in the system to ensure strategic alignment with health and care priorities. This will include governance on prescribing, medicines spend, key national policies such as anti-microbial resistance and overprescribing, research, technical services and education and training.
• As a Director of the ICS and member of the Executive Team, contribute to the management and strategic development of the ICS in accordance with local health needs, education, and development and research priorities within available financial resources and the legislative requirements of the statutory authorities in relation to the provision of medicines.
• Work collaboratively with leaders across the ICS to develop and embed inclusive pharmacy professional practice into everyday care for patients and members of the public, to support the prevention of ill-health and address health inequalities within our diverse communities.
• The post holder will have a good understanding and appreciation of the benefits that diverse teams can bring to organisations including the potential to deliver more culturally competent and aware healthcare
• To provide leadership for any commissioning responsibilities for community pharmacy. Lead on ICS aspects of specialised commissioning of medicines and play a key role in the development of further devolvement of specialised commissioning functions in collaboration with neighbouring ICSs.
• With the Director of Human Resources, be responsible for the development of recruitment, retention and return to pharmacy strategies which enhance job satisfaction and career development for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
• With the Director of Human Resources, develop and review workforce plans for the pharmacy professions, advising the ICS Board on issues of skill mix, deployment and utilisation of the pharmacy workforce consistent with General Pharmaceutical Council Standards including the development of further consultant pharmacy roles.
• Work closely with the Directors of Finance to identify and deliver corporate efficiencies in medicines, advising on the implications for service delivery.
• Responsible for budget setting for prescribing and medicines management
• Rigorous analysis to highly complex data and situations, to see cause and effect, to make objective judgements and understand financial and service implic