Principal Clinical Pharmacist Mental Health - Division Leads

We are seeking an experienced and motivated clinical pharmacist to join our pharmacy team as a Division Lead Pharmacist (Band 8a).

Our Division Lead Pharmacists provide senior clinical leadership across the following divisions: Adult Acute and Urgent Care Services; Specialist Services (Children and Young People and Older People); Learning Disabilities and Forensic Services; and Adult Community Services. The current vacancy is within Adult Acute and Urgent Care Division.

The role is suited to a forward‑thinking pharmacist keen to influence practice, develop services and progress as a senior clinical leader. Experience in mental health or learning disabilities is desirable but not essential, and applicants with strong transferable clinical and leadership skills are encouraged to apply.

Working closely with the pharmacy management team, senior clinicians and multidisciplinary teams, you will lead the safe, effective and person‑centred use of medicines across the Division. You will provide specialist clinical expertise, influence prescribing practice and support delivery of the Trust’s Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation Strategy.

You will join a supportive and progressive pharmacy team with strong links to multidisciplinary colleagues, senior Trust leaders and academic partners, offering opportunities to develop leadership, research and advanced practice aligned with national credentialling frameworks.

As a Division Lead Pharmacist, you will provide highly specialist clinical pharmacy expertise in mental health, learning disabilities and forensic services

You will lead and develop pharmacy services across the assigned division, ensuring high-quality, evidence-based and cost-effective medicines use

Influence prescribing practice and contribute to Trust-wide medicines optimisation strategy and governance

Use Independent Prescribing skills (where qualified) within agreed scopes and Trust policy

Support medicines safety through incident review, learning, audit and quality improvement initiatives

Line manage and develop Band 6/7 pharmacists and other pharmacy staff, fostering a strong learning culture

Deliver and oversee education and training for pharmacists, technicians and wider healthcare professionals

Contribute to policy development, formulary management and Trust committees (e.g. Drugs \& Therapeutics)

Work collaboratively across services and systems to support safe and seamless transfer of care

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust is one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of ‘Outstanding’ from the Care Quality Commission

Our family of over 4,000 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. E verything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

In return, we can offer you:

leadership and management training opportunities

5% on top of basic salary high cost allowance supplement (subject to a minimum and a maximum payment pro rata)

27 days holiday rising to 33 days (depending on NHS Trust service) plus bank holidays (pro rata where applicable)

One of the UK's best pension schemes

Free Pilates lessons

Comprehensive health and wellbeing services

Special leave for family and personal reasons

NHS Car Lease Scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Our staff survey results tell a story of highly engaged, motivated, passionate people working at HPFT. The survey has shown that staff overwhelmingly believe that their role makes a difference to service users, to the extent that HPFT had the best score nationally for this question.

To work with the Chief Pharmacist and a team of clinical pharmacists and technicians to provide and support the integrated delivery of pharmaceutical care initiatives to patients with mental and physical health needs and learning disabilities in identified areas of HPFT to ensure safe, appropriate and cost-effective use of medicines.

To provide highly specialist pharmaceutical advice concerning the care and treatment of service users in Mental Health (including Forensics) and Learning Disabilities Services and to promote safe, effective and evidence-based cost effective use of medicines within the Trust.

To actively lead the provision and development of pharmaceutical services to a specific division.

To provide highly specific advice to clinical team members on the management of complex medicines related issues, such as complex drug interactions, medicines use in pregnancy, unlicensed/off-label use of medicines etc.

To provide and receive highly complex, highly sensitive or highly contentious information, where developed persuasive, motivational, negotiating, training, empathetic or re-assurance skills are required. This may be because agreement or co-operation is required or because there are barriers to understanding. This may also involve presenting complex, sensitive or contentious information to a large group of staff, service users or carers.

To work as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide clinical pharmaceutical support to designated areas in order to maximise benefits and minimise risk to service users. This will include medicines reconciliation, prescription review, medication reviews, identification and management of drug interactions and adverse effects, advice on clinical monitoring, medicines information, advising on supply problems, compliance with legislation, compliance with Trust policies and guidelines and participation in multidisciplinary team meetings where appropriate.

For a more detailed description, please see attached job description and person specification or contact Nicola Headland, [email protected] , or 07827 880328, Harsha Patel [email protected] , 07779 555393