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Job summary

Main area
Pharmacy
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (weekends, bank holidays rota and late shifts pro-rata)
Job ref
193-8263886NCG
Employer
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Royal Berkshire Hospital
Town
Reading
Salary
£57,528 - £64,750 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
20/09/2026 23:59

Employer heading

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust logo

Lead Pharmacist for Children's Services

NHS AfC: Band 8a

At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust we put our patients at the heart of every element of health and care that we provide. The Trust works together as a community to deliver its vision which is “Working together to provide outstanding care for our community.”

Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our CQC inspection we have been rated ‘Good’ with inspectors reporting that we have made significant improvements.  The Trust’s overall rating has also improved to ‘good’.  

We are Compassionate in our thoughts, words and actions

We are Aspirational and have a true desire to be dynamic and to innovate

We are Resourceful and responsible in the way we work and live

We are Excellent in our development, fairness and sharing best practice

At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, we value candidates who bring their unique personalities, skills, and experiences to the Trust. When completing your application, we encourage you to highlight your individual achievements and strengths, showing us how they align with the requirements outlined in the job description and person specification. While we recognise that some applicants may use AI tools during the process, please be mindful that AI-generated responses can often lack the personal detail and relevance needed to demonstrate your suitability for the role. AI generated content is discouraged by the Trust and may diminish the candidates chances of success.

Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people so why don’t you come and join us.  We offer a range of learning and development for all employees may you be clinical or non-clinical.  

Please note: all vacancies automatically close when 50 applications have been received.

Job overview

Band 8A Lead Pharmacist for Children's Services

We have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced and motivated pharmacist to join our team as Lead Pharmacist for Children’s Services.

This is a varied senior clinical leadership role with the opportunity to make a real impact across paediatric services. You will provide specialist pharmacy leadership, support the safe delivery and governance of paediatric chemotherapy, and work closely with multidisciplinary teams to continuously improve medicines optimisation and patient care.

The role will also contribute to medicines governance and service reviews across Women’s Services, providing an opportunity to influence quality and safety across the wider Women’s and Children’s portfolio.

We are looking for someone with strong clinical skills, a passion for paediatric pharmacy and the confidence to lead, develop others and drive service improvement.

If you are ready for your next leadership challenge and would like to help shape the future of pharmacy services for children and families, we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

To lead and develop the Paediatric Pharmacy services at Royal Berkshire Hospital, including the Neonatal Care Unit and Special Care Baby Unit

To act as a clinical pharmacy leader in the field of Children’s Services.

To provide leadership and training to junior team members, rotating through these clinical areas and support the wider pharmacy department with any Paediatric issues.

To support the wider MDT with any Medicines Management activities and any medication related enquiries.

To act as a senior member of the wider Pharmacy department.

To support implementation of any national or regional medicines management activities (audits, CQC recommendations).

To support the safe and cost-effective use of medications within Paediatrics.

To work collaboratively with patients and their families to help them obtain the most benefit from their medications.

To support the education and training of undergraduate pharmacy students, pharmacy staff and the wider MDT with lead pharmacist for Education, Training and Workforce development.

To provide support with  pharmacy related governance issues within Women’s Service as requested.

Working for our organisation

Reading sits on the river Thames and is served by great road and rail links to London, Oxford and Southampton. With excellent leisure and shopping facilities, and a thriving cultural scene, Reading is a wonderful place to live, work and play and provides excellent facilities for families, including some of the best state and private schools in the UK.

The CQC rated the care provided by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust as Good.

Our Trust "CARE" values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Resourceful, Excellent, reflect the type of Trust we aspire to be and you can join our dedicated and talented staff to make this happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for further details of the job role.

Person specification

Qualifications and Training

Essential criteria
  • Master Degree in Pharmacy
  • Member of GPhC
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy
  • Independent Prescriber
Desirable criteria
  • Member of UKCPA
  • Member of NPPG
  • Postgraduate qualification in leadership , eg, MBA or Level 5/6 Senior Leadership
  • Educational Supervisor Certificate/Diploma

Knowledge and Expereince

Essential criteria
  • Extensive Hospital Pharmacy Experience
  • Experience in working as IP in MDT context
  • Experience in paediatrcs and neonates in hospital setting
  • Experience of contributing to service development, quality improvement, or implementation of change
  • Ability to supervise, support and develop junior staff
  • Experience in writting clinical guidelines
  • Experience in line management
  • Experience of finance management of medicines expenditure within healthcare
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of supporting the safe provision of chemotherapy to paediatric patients.
  • Understanding of how digital tool can improve clinical practice
  • Ability to evaluate and to plan service developments and to articulate their role in this process
  • Experience of involvement in research, audit, or practice-based publication

Skills and abilities

Essential criteria
  • Advanced clinical reasoning
  • Ability to influence prescribing and negotiate
  • Excellent attention to detail
  • Ability to work independently and to prioritise under pressure
  • Excellent communication skills
Desirable criteria
  • Contributes positively to team culture, supporting colleagues and promoting a learning environment
  • Ability to articulate their own leadership style
  • Able to set realistic goals and outcomes and use these to motivate themselves and their team

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Gold AwardMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.Florence Nightingale FoundationNational Preceptorship for Nursing Quality Mark 2024

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

This vacancy will automatically close when 50 applications have been received.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Bilyana Doncheva
Job title
Senior Lead Pharmacist - Clinical Services
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01183228299
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