Job summary
- Main area
- Pharmacy and Medicines
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8D
- Contract
- Fixed term: 8 months (Until 31 March 2027 - Secondment only for current NHS employees)
- Hours
- Part time - 15 hours per week
- Job ref
- 990-MED-EC2501-E
- Employer
- NHS England
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Wellington House
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £103,102 - £117,560 pro rata (inclusive of London Weighting)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 22/06/2026 23:59
Employer heading
National Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer Lead
NHS AfC: Band 8D
Our Organisation
We share the core values set out in the NHS Constitution, which all colleagues are expected to demonstrate.
We support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you and your colleagues. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement, whether that’s a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern.
Job overview
The National Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer Lead will work as part of the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer England’s team to provide system wide professional and clinical leadership in relation to the safe use and management of controlled drugs in the NHS.
Please be aware that should you be successful in this position, you will be hired to the job title of National Lead for CDAO and this job title is advertised to attract the right skills needed for the role.
Main duties of the job
This includes:
- Ensuring the role and function of the controlled drugs accountable officer within NHS England is delivered at regional and national levels.
- Leadership of the Local Intelligence Function with a wide range of stakeholders including NHS, police, organisational and professional regulatory bodies
- High quality, authoritative, professional policy guidance and advice on issues relating to controlled drugs with particular reference to public inquiries, incidents of concern and professional conduct.
- Clinical input into areas including legislation that defines how controlled drugs are used in health settings
- Service delivery – Professional leadership and strategic input into NHS England’s direct commissioning of controlled drugs.
- Support to NHS England and DHSC
- Identifying and defining opportunities to optimise care and maximise outcomes
- Identify and drive innovation but more importantly create innovative partnerships across and within NHS England
- Maintaining public confidence in quality of NHS England’s management of controlled drugs.
- Maintaining commitment of public engagements and speaking events, national and local
To do this, the role acts as the lead for pharmacy professionals within NHS England at national and local level exercising the controlled drugs accountable officer function
Working for our organisation
NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.
Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms — enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.
In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.
If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.
Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
Secondments
Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Qualified and GPhC Registered Professional
- In‑depth expert knowledge acquired over a significant period
- Should be able to contribute their expertise in the following areas: Legislation and regulation on controlled drugs
- Advice to NHSE & Government policy teams
Desirable criteria
- Extensive experience of working with external stakeholderss
- Understanding of the wider stakeholder groups in relation to controlled drugs including the Home Office statutory advisory group, police etc
- Good communication and interpersonal skills for both internal and external communications Good organisational skills
Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria
- • Legislation and regulation on controlled drugs
- • Advice to NHSE & Government policy teams
- • Understanding of the wider stakeholder groups in relation to controlled drugs including the Home Office statutory advisory group, police etc
- • Professional leadership for NHS England regions and wider NHS infrastructure
Desirable criteria
- • Working across systems to support effective utilisation of pharmacy workforce and services
- • Inclusive Pharmacy Practice and Health Inequalities
- • Support workforce recruitment, retention and training.
Skills abd Abilities
Essential criteria
- Good communication and interpersonal skills for both internal and external communications
- Good organisational skills
- Good engagement skills
Desirable criteria
- • Working across systems to support effective utilisation of pharmacy workforce and services
- Maintaining commitment of public engagements and speaking events, national and local.
- Ability to lead pharmacy professionals within NHS England at national and local level exercising the controlled drugs accountable officer function.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Cleo Gurbuz
- Job title
- Pharmacy Business Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07500954199
- Additional information
For details of the job role, please contact the following:
William (Bill) Rial on: [email protected]
and
Richard Cattell on: [email protected]
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