Lead Clinical Pharmacist - Bethlem & Croydon

Job summaryWe are recruiting two Band 8a Lead Clinical Pharmacists to join the pharmacy department at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. These senior clinical roles offer the opportunity to lead pharmacy services and improve the safe, effective and person-centred use of medicines.Both post holders will be based mainly at Bethlem Royal Hospital and will take professional responsibility for an agreed portfolio, which may include inpatient wards, specialist services and dispensary services. They may also support Croydon community mental health teams and work at other Trust sites when service need requires.Bethlem Royal Hospital supports a broad range of specialist pathways. The final portfolios will be agreed after appointment. Each post holder will have defined core responsibilities and may, over time, develop deeper expertise in one or more specialist areas, according to service need, experience and agreed development objectives.We are looking for experienced mental health pharmacists with strong clinical judgement, leadership skills and a practical approach to service improvement. You should be confident advising on complex psychotropic medicines, influencing senior colleagues, supporting staff and working with patients and carers.Regular professional supervision and development will be provided, with opportunities to contribute to teaching, quality improvement, research and publication.Main duties of the jobYou will lead and maintain a high-quality clinical pharmacy service for allocated wards or specialist services, working as part of the multidisciplinary team and providing evidence-based advice on complex medicines-related issues. You will support patients and carers to take part in informed decisions about treatment. Responsibilities may include leadership and development of dispensary services alongside ward-based or specialist clinical servicesYou will lead medicines optimisation, medicines safety, audit, quality improvement and service evaluation. You will collect and report meaningful outcome data, contribute to research and medicines evaluation, and share findings through reports, presentations, posters or publications where appropriate.You will manage, supervise and develop pharmacists and other pharmacy staff as allocated, deliver medicines-related education, and contribute to policies and procedures. The role may include clinical support to Croydon community mental health teams, liaison with partner organisations, travel between Trust sites and participation in relevant pharmacy rotas.About usSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust provides a wide range of local and specialist mental health services. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners.Our pharmacy department provides clinical and dispensing services across inpatient and community settings. It has nationally and internationally recognised expertise in psychotropic medicines, specialist medicines information, education, research and clinical trials.The Bethlem and Croydon portfolio includes acute and psychiatric intensive care, complex care and rehabilitation, forensic medium- and low-secure care, the National Autism Unit, the National Psychosis Unit, adolescent acute and PICU services, older-adult dementia care and perinatal services.You will join an established pharmacy department and work closely with multidisciplinary teams and partner organisations. Your portfolio will reflect service need, and you may be supported to build deeper expertise in an allocated specialist area over time.The roles are full time, 37.5 hours a week. We are happy to discuss flexible working at interview, subject to service requirements. Regular professional supervision and opportunities for teaching, quality improvement, research, publication and service innovation are available.DetailsDate posted26 October 2026Pay schemeAgenda for changeBandBand 8aSalary 63,665 to 70,887 a year per annum inclusive of HCAs (Outer) ContractPermanentWorking pattern Full-time Reference number334-CLI-8359214Job locationsBethlem Royal HospitalBeckenhamBR3 3BXUnited KingdomJob descriptionJob responsibilitiesThe post holders will lead pharmacy services for agreed portfolios, primarily at Bethlem Royal Hospital. Portfolios may include inpatient wards, specialist services and dispensary services, with support to Croydon community mental health teams or other Trust services as required. Each post holder will report to the relevant Principal Pharmacist or Pharmacy Site Lead and may manage or supervise Band 6 and Band 7 pharmacists and other pharmacy staff as allocated.Clinical pharmacy and patient careLead and maintain clinical pharmacy services for allocated wards, teams or specialist services in line with local and national priorities.Maintain high standards of practice and implement the Trust's medicines optimisation programme, medicines safety priorities, clinical guidelines and agreed procedures.Apply advanced clinical knowledge and a person-centred approach, keeping patients' needs and preferences central to the service.Provide specialist medicines information and evidence-based advice to patients, carers and healthcare professionals.Keep patient safety and experience central, provide timely pharmacist input and support safe transfers of care and medicines-related communication across organisational boundaries.Prescribe within Trust policy and the post holder's scope of practice if registered as an independent prescriber.Leadership and supervisionProvide clinical and operational leadership for allocated services and manage, supervise and develop pharmacy staff as agreed.Support pharmacists and other staff with clinical decision-making, recognising when further advice or escalation is required.Provide and participate in clinical and professional supervision and contribute to appraisal and staff development.Make accountable clinical and service decisions and respond to changing priorities, including support to Croydon community mental health teams or other Trust services when required.Lead by example, encourage innovation and contribute to the development of pharmacy practice and services.Provide leadership and operational oversight for dispensary services where these form part of the agreed portfolio, supporting safe, efficient and patient-centred medicines supply.Education and trainingIdentify learning needs and coordinate medicines-related training and support for patients, carers, healthcare professionals and other staff.Provide education and training to pharmacy, medical, nursing, occupational therapy and other allied healthcare staff.Use opportunities to teach and share professional knowledge with colleagues.Quality improvement audit and researchLead quality improvement and service evaluation initiatives, including the collection, analysis and reporting of patient and service outcome data.Implement and audit policies and guidelines as directed by the relevant Principal Pharmacist or clinical lead.Contribute to updates of medicines management policies, bulletins and departmental standard operating procedures when requested.Lead or contribute to audit, research and medicines evaluation according to service priorities, disseminating findings through reports, presentations, posters or publications where appropriate.Communication and working relationshipsWork as an integral member of multidisciplinary teams and maintain effective relationships with pharmacy colleagues, primary care, acute hospitals, community pharmacies and partner organisations.Communicate promptly, openly and inclusively, encouraging colleagues to share ideas and keeping relevant people informed of issues affecting the service.Demonstrate excellent verbal, written and non-verbal communication and effective listening skills.Respond promptly to requests and explain when a response can be expected.Professional and service responsibilitiesMaintain high professional standards, undertake continuing professional development and participate in performance review.Comply with Trust policies and procedures relating to confidentiality, information governance, equality and diversity, health and safety, infection prevention and control, safeguarding and finance.Support service standards that remain responsive to patients, carers and clinical teams.Travel between Trust sites and participate in emergency duty, Saturday, late-clinic and bank-holiday rotas as required.Undertake other duties appropriate to the role, as specified by the Chief Pharmacist or Principal Pharmacist.Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for the full requirements of the post. Job description Job responsibilitiesThe post holders will lead pharmacy services for agreed portfolios, primarily at Bethlem Royal Hospital. Portfolios may include inpatient wards, specialist services and dispensary services, with support to Croydon community mental health teams or other Trust services as required. Each post holder will report to the relevant Principal Pharmacist or Pharmacy Site Lead and may manage or supervise Band 6 and Band 7 pharmacists and other pharmacy staff as allocated.Clinical pharmacy and patient careLead and maintain clinical pharmacy services for allocated wards, teams or specialist services in line with local and national priorities.Maintain high standards of practice and implement the Trust's medicines optimisation programme, medicines safety priorities, clinical guidelines and agreed procedures.Apply advanced clinical knowledge and a person-centred approach, keeping patients' needs and preferences central to the service.Provide specialist medicines information and evidence-based advice to patients, carers and healthcare professionals.Keep patient safety and experience central, provide timely pharmacist input and support safe transfers of care and medicines-related communication across organisational boundaries.Prescribe within Trust policy and the post holder's scope of practice if registered as an independent prescriber.Leadership and supervisionProvide clinical and operational leadership for allocated services and manage, supervise and develop pharmacy staff as agreed.Support pharmacists and other staff with clinical decision-making, recognising when further advice or escalation is required.Provide and participate in clinical and professional supervision and contribute to appraisal and staff development.Make accountable clinical and service decisions and respond to changing priorities, including support to Croydon community mental health teams or other Trust services when required.Lead by example, encourage innovation and contribute to the development of pharmacy practice and services.Provide leadership and operational oversight for dispensary services where these form part of the agreed portfolio, supporting safe, efficient and patient-centred medicines supply.Education and trainingIdentify learning needs and coordinate medicines-related training and support for patients, carers, healthcare professionals and other staff.Provide education and training to pharmacy, medical, nursing, occupational therapy and other allied healthcare staff.Use opportunities to teach and share professional knowledge with colleagues.Quality improvement audit and researchLead quality improvement and service evaluation initiatives, including the collection, analysis and reporting of patient and service outcome data.Implement and audit policies and guidelines as directed by the relevant Principal Pharmacist or clinical lead.Contribute to updates of medicines management policies, bulletins and departmental standard operating procedures when requested.Lead or contribute to audit, research and medicines evaluation according to service priorities, disseminating findings through reports, presentations, posters or publications where appropriate.Communication and working relationshipsWork as an integral member of multidisciplinary teams and maintain effective relationships with pharmacy colleagues, primary care, acute hospitals, community pharmacies and partner organisations.Communicate promptly, openly and inclusively, encouraging colleagues to share ideas and keeping relevant people informed of issues affecting the service.Demonstrate excellent verbal, written and non-verbal communication and effective listening skills.Respond promptly to requests and explain when a response can be expected.Professional and service responsibilitiesMaintain high professional standards, undertake continuing professional development and participate in performance review.Comply with Trust policies and procedures relating to confidentiality, information governance, equality and diversity, health and safety, infection prevention and control, safeguarding and finance.Support service standards that remain responsive to patients, carers and clinical teams.Travel between Trust sites and participate in emergency duty, Saturday, late-clinic and bank-holiday rotas as required.Undertake other duties appropriate to the role, as specified by the Chief Pharmacist or Principal Pharmacist.Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for the full requirements of the post.Person Specification Qualifications EssentialMPharm or equivalentRegistration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), with mandatory CPDPostgraduate diploma in clinical pharmacy practice or equivalentDesirablePostgraduate qualification in psychiatric or mental health pharmacyIndependent prescribing qualificationMember of the RCP and/or member/associate member of CMHP Experience EssentialRelevant experience of providing specialist clinical pharmacy services in mental health in an NHS hospital, community or equivalent settingExperience of participating in audit, including developing audit tools and collecting and collating dataExperience of teaching or delivering trainingExperience of leading or coordinating a clinical pharmacy service, service area, workstream or projectExperience of supervising and developing pharmacists or other healthcare professionalsDesirableExperience of formal line management, including appraisal or performance managementExperience implementing and evaluating a service improvement or changeExperience of leading, supervising or improving hospital dispensary or operational pharmacy services Knowledge / Skills EssentialExcellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with patients, carers, the public and colleagues at all levelsGood time-management skills, with the ability to meet deadlines, prioritise and organise their own work and that of others in response to changing service needsAbility to use initiative, provide leadership, make accountable clinical and operational decisions and recognise when to seek further advicePatient counselling skills, with empathy and understanding of the medicines-related issues faced by people with mental health problems and their carersAble to communicate effectively with individuals from all agencies and levels, including patients, carers and the publicDesirableResearch and service-evaluation skills, including critical appraisal, study or project design, and the collection and analysis of dataDemonstrated research or scholarly output, such as peer-reviewed publications, conference abstracts, posters or presentations, or contributions to books or book chaptersMentorship skills Person Specification Qualifications EssentialMPharm or equivalentRegistration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), with mandatory CPDPostgraduate diploma in clinical pharmacy practice or equivalentDesirablePostgraduate qualification in psychiatric or mental health pharmacyIndependent prescribing qualificationMember of the RCP and/or member/associate member of CMHP Experience EssentialRelevant experience of providing specialist clinical pharmacy services in mental health in an NHS hospital, community or equivalent settingExperience of participating in audit, including developing audit tools and collecting and collating dataExperience of teaching or delivering trainingExperience of leading or coordinating a clinical pharmacy service, service area, workstream or projectExperience of supervising and developing pharmacists or other healthcare professionalsDesirableExperience of formal line management, including appraisal or performance managementExperience implementing and evaluating a service improvement or changeExperience of leading, supervising or improving hospital dispensary or operational pharmacy services Knowledge / Skills EssentialExcellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with patients, carers, the public and colleagues at all levelsGood time-management skills, with the ability to meet deadlines, prioritise and organise their own work and that of others in response to changing service needsAbility to use initiative, provide leadership, make accountable clinical and operational decisions and recognise when to seek further advicePatient counselling skills, with empathy and understanding of the medicines-related issues faced by people with mental health problems and their carersAble to communicate effectively with individuals from all agencies and levels, including patients, carers and the publicDesirableResearch and service-evaluation skills, including critical appraisal, study or project design, and the collection and analysis of dataDemonstrated research or scholarly output, such as peer-reviewed publications, conference abstracts, posters or presentations, or contributions to books or book chaptersMentorship skillsDisclosure and Barring Service CheckThis post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.Certificate of SponsorshipApplications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Additional information Disclosure and Barring Service CheckThis post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.Certificate of SponsorshipApplications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).Employer detailsEmployer nameSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation TrustAddressBethlem Royal HospitalBeckenhamBR3 3BXUnited KingdomEmployer's websiteEmployer detailsEmployer nameSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation TrustAddressBethlem Royal HospitalBeckenhamBR3 3BXUnited KingdomEmployer's website