Lead Pharmacist – Children’s and Young People Cancer Network

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and motivated oncology pharmacist to join the West Midlands Children's and Young People's Cancer Network as the Network Lead Pharmacist.

This new regional role will provide strategic and clinical leadership for Children's and Teenage & Young Adult (TYA) cancer pharmacy services across the West Midlands, working closely with Principal Treatment Centres, Paediatric Oncology Shared Care Units (POSCUs), TYA Designated Hospitals, the Cancer Alliance and NHS England.

The postholder will lead and support key regional workstreams relating to systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) governance, medicines optimisation, protocol standardisation, ePrescribing/ChemoCare development, workforce development and quality improvement. The role offers the opportunity to shape and influence regional cancer pharmacy practice, improve consistency of care, and support safer and more effective CYP and TYA cancer services across the Network.

Applicants should be experienced oncology pharmacists with strong leadership, communication and influencing skills, alongside significant experience in cancer services, SACT governance and multidisciplinary working.

This is an ideal opportunity for an ambitious senior pharmacist seeking to develop regional and network-level leadership experience within specialised cancer services.

Job description

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification to view the full details for this opportunity at Birmingham Womens and Childrens NHS Foundation Trust.

When completing your application, please ensure you have evidenced how you meet the job description and person specification to include transferable experience, qualifications, skills along with professional registration details (if applicable).

Occasionally we receive a large number of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• MPharm or equivalent or BPharm/BSc Hons for those qualified before 2002
• Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Postgraduate Diploma/MSc in Clinical Pharmacy or Independent Prescriber
• Demonstrates continued professional development
• Member of relevant national specialist pharmacist group and playing an active role in developing specialist pharmacy practice
• To be qualified as a pharmacist independent prescriber and actively prescribing in practice

Desirable

• Holds a position of office in a relevant national network / specialist pharmacist group
• Leadership and/or management qualifications
• MSc in clinical pharmacy or higher research degree (MPhil or PhD)
• Postgraduate qualification in relevant clinical speciality
• Training undertaken to obtain further clinical skills, e.g. clinical examination
• To hold evidence of practice at advanced stage II, as part of the RPS Advanced Pharmacy framework, or to be working towards credentialing

Experience

Essential

• Extensive previous hospital Pharmacy experience
• Extensive experience of delivering clinical pharmacy services at a specialist level to adult and/or paediatric oncology/haematology, both on an individual patient and a wider service basis
• Demonstrates in-depth pharmaceutical skills and knowledge within the speciality. This will include provision of highly specialist review and advice relating to the safe use of medicines.
• Expert knowledge of national policy, strategy, guidance and evidence-base relating to the speciality Broad knowledge base of a wide range of clinical areas
• Experience of working with electronic prescribing and administration systems
• Experience of developing and implementing medicines and service-related policies for a speciality / directorate and managing risk.
• Experience of leading projects and managing change, with evidence of completed outcomes

Desirable

• Publication of audit/research/clinical work at national level
• Experience of working actively on national groups
• Experience of leading and delivering a clinical pharmacy service to a directorate / cluster of services

ANALYTICAL AND JUDGEMENT SKILLS

Essential

• Works with a high level of professional autonomy
• Experience of assessing and minimising risk associated with service provision and within medication processes
• Experience in making judgements involving highly complex facts, which require critical evaluation, interpretation and options appraisal
• Able to critically analyse information and evidence and to communicate the findings clearly in simple terms
• Evidence of incorporating innovative and 'best practice' into current practice.

Desirable

• Assessing/adjudicating at national level

PROFESSIONAL / MANAGERIAL / SPECIALIST KNOWLEDGE

Essential

• Ability to be flexible and manage change in a complex and changing healthcare environment.
• Motivated by the desire to improve patient outcomes
• Excellent organisational skills, able to motivate others, to manage time effectively and work to deadlines, even when under pressure

Desirable

• Skills to assist in departmental and service level budget planning for resource (e.g. staff, medicines)

PERSONAL SKILLS / ABILITIES AND ATTRIBUTES

Essential

• Competent ICT skills
• Good level of computer literacy and word processing /keyboard skills.
• Sound Word, Excel and Power-point skills and be able to retrieve information from the internet.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Essential

• Well-motivated, conscientious, accurate and reliable
• Professional, credible, accountable, responsible and confident
• Commitment to life-long learning and professional development
• Prepared to work flexible hours over 7 day shifted pattern of work
• Ability to concentrate for long periods of time

About the employer

Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust is the first of its type in the UK. Our Trust was formed in February 2017 to drive forward our commitment to provide the highest quality, world-class physical and mental health care for our women, children and families. Uniting our hospitals means more seamless care; more investment to make greater advances in our specialist treatment and world-leading neo-natal and fetal work. Importantly, it also gives us a greater voice in shaping the future of family-centred care.

Birmingham Children's Hospital is a UK leading specialist paediatric centre with an international reputation in several areas.

Birmingham Women's Hospital is one of two dedicated women's hospitals in the UK, with the busiest single site maternity unit, delivering more than 8,200 babies a year offering a full range of gynaecological, maternity and neonatal care.

Our Trust is committed to creating the best place to work. We believe in promoting and enhancing inclusion, diversity and equality and encourage applications from all areas of the community, who meet the criteria for the role, regardless of age, gender identity, disability, race, religion or sexual orientation.