Principal Clinical Pharmacist Mental Health – Division Lead

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and enthusiastic mental health pharmacist to join Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) as a Principal Clinical Pharmacist – Division Lead for our Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Community Perinatal Mental Health Service and Mother & Baby Unit.

This is a senior leadership role within the Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation Team, providing strategic, clinical and operational leadership across a diverse portfolio of specialist services. The post holder will lead the development and delivery of high-quality, evidence-based and patient-centred pharmacy services, ensuring the safe and effective use of medicines across both inpatient and community settings.

The successful candidate will work closely with senior clinicians, managers and multidisciplinary teams to influence prescribing practice, improve patient outcomes and drive medicines optimisation initiatives across the service.

This is an excellent opportunity for a pharmacist looking to progress their career within specialist mental health services whilst contributing to innovative service development and quality improvement programmes.

Main duties of the job

As a Divisional Lead Pharmacist, you will:

• Provide highly specialist clinical pharmacy expertise in mental health, learning disabilities and forensic services
• Lead and develop pharmacy services across assigned divisions, 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

Person Specification

QUALIFICATIONS/EDUCATION/TRAINING

Essential

• BPharm / MPharm / BSc Pharmacy
• Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) (no restrictions)
• Postgraduate clinical pharmacy certificate/ diploma or equivalent experience.
• Demonstrates own CPD record/ or documented CPD

Desirable

• Postgraduate Certificate/diploma in Psychiatric Therapeutics or equivalent experience
• Postgraduate diploma in Advanced Clinical Practice
• Leadership or Management Qualification
• Independent prescribing qualification (or working towards)
• Member of the RPS Education and Standards Committee
• Post-registration Foundation or Core advanced credentialed with RPS

EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Experience of working in a secondary care setting, (demonstrable post qualification hospital pharmacy practice)
• Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team
• Evidence of involvement in clinical pharmacy provision and in operational management
• Writing and reviewing of policies, guidelines, and procedures
• Documented evidence of completed audit work and research practice
• Good, broad clinical knowledge and ability to apply to a ward, community and dispensary setting
• Experience in managing workload

Desirable

• Experience of working as a member of a multidisciplinary team in mental health and learning disabilities
• Evidence of education, training, performance management and development of staff
• Good management skills – including recruitment, supervision, and appraisals
• Experience showing leadership skills or equivalent
• Managing quality and cost effectiveness initiatives
• Experience in incident analysis and investigation
• Awareness of current issues facing the NHS
• Experience of project management
• Experience of carrying out clinical supervision
• Experience of chairing committees

SKILLS / COMMUNICATION

Essential

• Advanced IT skills and comprehensive use of Microsoft office including power point and excel
• An ability to organise and prioritise own workload and that of others
• An ability to lead, inspire and motivate a team
• Engaging, compassionate and caring communication skills when dealing with patients/family/carers on complex/sensitive issues
• Experience of delivering training to staff
• Highly developed physical skills in dispensing, preparing, and checking of medicines involving a high level of accuracy.
• English language competency sufficient to communicate effectively with all staff and deliver education sessions in an appropriate form
• Advanced computer, keyboard and mouse skills
• Good interpersonal skills
• Confident, able to influence and assertive when dealing with other professionals.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral
• Team player with leadership skills
• Able to prioritise and meet deadlines
• Demonstrates empathy towards client groups
• Shows initiative and has well-developed problemsolving skills
• Demonstrates attention to detail, accuracy, and numeracy skills

Desirable

• Ability to analyse highly complex information, both clinical, financial, and managerial

KNOWLEDGE

Essential

• Advanced theoretical and technical, clinical and pharmaceutical knowledge relating to the promotion of high quality, effective and cost-efficient use of medicines, including a wide range of work procedures and practices
• An awareness of NHS Plan, and clinical governance priorities
• Good knowledge of all medicines legislation relating to the supply and storage of medicines

ABILITY

Essential

• Able to deal with conflicting demands on workload and frequent interruptions
• Ability to work under pressure
• Able to influence other professionals
• Able to communicate with service users
• Able to impart complex information in a manner understandable to junior staff and students.

ANALYTICAL SKILLS

Essential

• Able to make judgements involving complex facts or situations which require analysis, interpretation, and comparison of a range of options
• Able to critically appraise clinical trial data and research papers.

PHYSICAL EFFORT

Essential

• Moving handling of laptop and other materials
• Driving across Hertfordshire to different bases/units
• Able to work late duties/ bank holidays/weekends as per rota/take part in annual stock take

MENTAL EFFORT

Essential

• The job will require frequent use of VDU equipment every day and intense concentration in a sometimes-noisy open plan office environment
• The post holder may encounter challenging/hostile service users when visiting the mental health units
• Communication of complex information about medicines regarding individual service users within own organisation and across other organisations for example commissioning organisations, acute trusts, or community pharmacy

VALUES/MOTIVATIONAL/PERSONAL QUALITIES /DIVERSITY

Essential

• Welcoming/Kind/Positive/Respectful/Professional

Closing Date: 10 August 2026