Specialist Clinical Pharmacist General Medicine

Role description

Here at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, we are proud to provide expert, compassionate care for our local population. We are ranked as the third in the country for research, embedding education and training across the organisation. Our main hub is the Queen Alexandra Hospital, which is one of the largest hospitals on the south coast employing over 8,700 staff.

Our patients come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds because it makes our hospital stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for getting it right for patients, colleagues, and our community, you will find a home at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust.

NHS Band 8a Salary: £57,528 - £64,750 per annum

Hours Per Week: Full time 37.5 hrs

Contract Type: Permanent

Job Purpose

The post-holder is an advanced-level clinical pharmacist providing expert pharmaceutical care within a busy acute general medicine service in a high-pressure, high-throughput NHS Trust. The role combines advanced clinical practice, operational service management, team leadership, and service development.

The post-holder will:

Lead and develop a high‑quality, safe, effective and patient‑centred clinical pharmacy service to General Medicine.

Act as the named senior pharmacist for the speciality.

Provide day-to-day leadership and line management for a small clinical pharmacy team, ensuring delivery against service priorities despite fluctuating workload and operational pressures.

Work closely with the Pharmacist Team Lead and Clinical Services Lead to implement strategic objectives, workforce plans, service redesign and quality improvement.

Responsible for

Day-to-day operational and clinical leadership of the General Medicine pharmacy team (rotational pharmacists and trainees)

Delivery, quality, performance and ongoing development of the General Medicine clinical pharmacy service

Key Outcomes and Impact

Safe, timely and effective medicines optimisation for complex acute medical patients.

Resilient and well-led clinical pharmacy team capable of working under pressure while maintaining quality and staff wellbeing.

Continuous service development aligned to Trust priorities, CQC standards and national guidance.

Measurable improvement in medicines safety, clinical outcomes and financial stewardship.

For further information about the role please refer to the Job Description

Essential:

MPharm, BPharm or equivalent accredited pharmacy degree.

Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent demonstrable experience at advanced practice level.

Evidence of ongoing Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

Desirable:

Independent Prescriber.

RPS Faculty membership or portfolio submission in progress.

Relevant postgraduate qualification in leadership, education or service improvement.

Experience

Essential:

Significant post‑registration experience delivering clinical pharmacy services in an acute hospital setting.

Substantial experience within General Medicine or acute medical specialties.

Experience managing complex patients with polypharmacy, high‑risk medicines and co‑morbidities.

Demonstrated ability to practise at an advanced clinical decision‑making level with minimal supervision.

Desirable:

Experience across multiple medical subspecialties

Experience contributing to medicines optimisation across care transitions (admission, transfer, discharge)

Leadership & Management Experience

Essential:

Experience of leading or supervising pharmacists in a clinical environment.

Experience of day‑to‑day operational management, including workload prioritisation, rota planning or service coordination.

Evidence of managing performance, supporting staff development and addressing challenges constructively.

Ability to lead effectively in a high‑pressure, high‑workload environment.

Desirable:

Formal line‑management responsibility for clinical staff.

Experience contributing to workforce planning, recruitment or service resilience planning.

Service Development, Quality & Governance

Essential:

Evidence of leading or contributing to service development or quality improvement projects.

Experience of audit, service evaluation or QI with demonstrable impact on patient care or safety.

Experience developing or reviewing clinical guidelines, SOPs or pathways.

Strong understanding of medicines governance, risk management and patient safety frameworks.

Ability to analyse and interpret data to influence service decisions.

Desirable:

Experience contributing to business cases or Trust‑wide strategic initiatives.

Experience delivering medicines optimisation or cost‑effectiveness initiatives.

Education, Training & Professional Development

Essential:

Experience supporting the training and development of junior pharmacists.

Ability to provide effective clinical supervision, feedback and coaching.

Willingness to contribute to undergraduate and postgraduate education programmes.

Desirable:

Experience as an educational supervisor, practice supervisor or assessor.

Experience delivering education to multidisciplinary teams.

Knowledge & Skills

Essential:

Advanced knowledge of acute medical therapeutics

Excellent clinical reasoning and decision‑making skills

Strong organisational skills with ability to manage competing priorities

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including influencing senior clinicians

Ability to analyse risk, make judgements under pressure and escalate appropriately

High level of professional credibility and autonomy in practice

Desirable:

Experience using clinical information systems and data to inform service improvement.

Experience supporting research or evaluation activity.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equality and DisAbility, and awards ceremonies to recognise your achievements. We believe we can offer support to all of our staff when they need it the most.

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.

For more information, please see our People and OD Strategy 2026