Senior Pharmacist Medicines Governance - B8a

Job description Job responsibilities ROLE PURPOSE / SUMMARYThe Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) will be a new organisation formed through the consolidation of areas from three ICBs in response to the NHSs ambition to deliver a more streamlined, strategic and cost-effective model of health commissioning. Serving a population of approximately two million people across the local authority areas of Essex County Council, Thurrock Council, and Southend-on-Sea City Council, the ICB will operate within a reduced running cost envelope and meet new national requirements for ICBs in England. Its focus will be on improving population health outcomes, tackling health inequalities, and ensuring smarter, more sustainable allocation of resources across the system.The postholder will support the development and implementation of a robust medicines governance framework across the system, ensuring statutory compliance, medicines safety, and quality assurance within commissioning decisions and clinical pathways. They will provide expert input into governance structures, risk management, controlled drugs oversight, and antimicrobial stewardship, while driving continuous improvement through data-driven insights. The role requires a strong understanding of national medicines legislation, regulatory standards, and clinical governance principles, alongside the ability to interpret prescribing and outcomes data to identify risks and improvement opportunities. The postholder will contribute to policy development, support management of medicines-related incidents and alerts, and help embed governance requirements into provider contracts and commissioning frameworks. Working collaboratively with system partners, they will champion medicines governance as a core component of medicines optimisation and service transformation, safeguarding patients and promoting evidence-based practice.As the ICB transitions to become a leaner, more focused strategic commissioning organisation the post holder will be expected to support the Director of Pharmacy, Medicines and Clinical Policies in delivering on the three fundamental shifts set out in the NHS 10-year plan:From Treatment to Prevention: Embedding preventative, personalised and population based approaches to commissioning.From Hospital to Community: Championing care model redesign that supports community and neighbourhood health.From Analogue to Digital: Enabling clinically driven transformation through digital innovation, data analytics and evidence based improvement.KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIESTo deliver on the job description set out above, the job holder will be expected to deliver on the requirements set out below:Medicines governance and assuranceSupport the implementation of system-wide medicines governance frameworks, ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements (e.g., Controlled Drugs Regulations, Human Medicines Regulations, Antimicrobial Stewardship) within commissioning arrangementsContribute to the development of governance policies and standards for formulary management, shared care protocols, and prescribing assurance to reduce unwarranted variation and improve patient safety across commissioned servicesAssist in establishing processes for managing medicines-related incidents, complaints, and regulatory alerts, ensuring lessons learned inform commissioning decisions and contractual requirementsProvide support for statutory governance functions, including oversight of Controlled Drugs compliance and assurance of Patient Group Directions within commissioned servicesClinical safety and riskContribute to system-wide medicines safety programmes, ensuring governance requirements for commissioned services align with national safety alerts and PSIRF standardsPromote antimicrobial stewardship, opioid safety, and other national safety priorities by embedding these principles into commissioning frameworks and provider assurance processesSupport the development of a medicines observatory function to monitor prescribing trends, identify early indicators of clinical risk, and inform proactive interventions across the systemData and digital enablementUse prescribing and outcomes data to provide assurance on compliance, identify system-level risks, and inform improvement plans for commissioned servicesSupport the integration of digital tools that strengthen medicines governance, including real-time prescribing intelligence, benchmarking dashboards, and provider reporting mechanismsContribute to horizon scanning for new medicines and technologies, ensuring governance processes and commissioning frameworks anticipate safe and timely adoptionFinancial and resource managementContribute to embedding medicines governance requirements into commissioning frameworks, service specifications, and provider contracts, ensuring these standards are clear, measurable, and consistently applied across all commissioned servicesAssist in evaluating the financial and contractual implications of governance decisions, considering cost-effectiveness, risk mitigation, and statutory compliance. Provide input to business cases and commissioning plans to ensure governance priorities align with system objectives and deliver value for money while safeguarding patient safetyCollaboration and supportWork collaboratively with system partners, including providers, commissioners, and regulatory bodies, to ensure medicines governance standards are consistently applied across all commissioned services and contractual arrangementsAct as a key point of contact for governance issues across care interfaces, supporting alignment of shared care arrangements, formulary compliance, and assurance processes within commissioning frameworksFacilitate engagement between clinical teams and commissioning leads to resolve governance challenges, promote best practice, and ensure governance requirements are embedded in service specifications and provider contractsContribute to system-wide forums and working groups to strengthen governance collaboration, share learning from incidents and audits, and drive continuous improvement in medicines safety and qualityTeam management and capability buildingProvide line management for direct reports, including responsibility for recruitment, induction, development, and performance management, ensuring effective support and professional growth.Support staff through ICB transition, including the development of teams to deliver on new ICB portfolios as agreed through transitionSupport the effective transition of relevant functions to new portfolios within or beyond the ICB to support the new NHS operating model, in line with the requirements of the Model ICB BlueprintWork collaboratively with system partners to facilitate transitional arrangementsMaintain a focus on quality, safety and affordability during transitionSupporting effective Information Asset Management for the teamOtherAble to use initiative and work independently as needed to deliver on requirements of the rolePrimarily desk-based work that requires use of visual display units, focused concentration and frequent participation in on-line or in person meetingsAble to use software required to develop report, including ability to deliver high quality documents through Microsoft suite (word, power point, excel)Flexibility and evolving responsibilitiesAs the ICB continues to evolve, portfolios may be subject to change to reflect the needs of the organisation, the health and care system and national policy direction. This may include adjustments to areas of responsibility or realignment of reporting structures.KEY RELATIONSHIPSThe post holder will need to build constructive relationships with partners from across the health and care system. Key relationships will be with:Principal Pharmacists and wider medicines commissioning teamPrimary Care Networks (PCNs) and neighbourhood teamsCommunity pharmacy and local providersAcute and specialist provider organisationsLocal authority and public health teamsNHS England regional pharmacy teams