Lead Clinical Pharmacist - Renal Transplant

Job overview

We are offering an exciting opportunity for a clinical pharmacist to lead and advance renal transplant pharmacy services within our established renal pharmacy team. This role reflects a key investment in enhancing care for transplant patients, focusing on high-quality, patient-centred pharmaceutical care throughout the transplant journey.

As the transplant pharmacy lead, you will play a strategic role in shaping services that meet the complex and evolving needs of renal transplant patients across care settings—including inpatient, outpatient, pre- and post-operative phases. You’ll address medicines management challenges at each stage, ensuring safe, effective use of medicines and better patient outcomes.

This is a pivotal role in a forward-thinking department aiming to set regional and national standards in renal transplant care. We seek a dynamic, innovative, and strategic pharmacist with a passion for service development and multidisciplinary collaboration.

Based at the Royal Liverpool site, you’ll work closely with transplant and surgical teams to deliver a proactive clinical pharmacy service, while contributing to the long-term vision and continuous improvement of our renal transplant pathway.

If you're ready to lead, influence, and transform transplant pharmacy services, we’d love to hear from you

Main duties of the job

• Take a lead role in the development and strategic direction of pharmacy services and medicines management within the Renal Transplant Care Group.
• Provide a safe, effective, and advanced clinical pharmacy service to renal transplant patients, supporting complex care needs across all stages of the transplant pathway.
• Support the Consultant Nephrology Pharmacist Lead in managing and developing renal pharmacy services across Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
• Develop, implement, and evaluate medicines management policies and procedures within the department and Renal Transplant Care Group.
• Assist in managing pharmacists at the Royal Liverpool site and support the development of pharmacy teams aligned with renal transplant services.
• Contribute to achieving performance targets within the Clinical Business Unit of Pharmacy.
• Coordinate and lead research, audit, and quality improvement initiatives related to medicines management in renal transplant care.
• Act as lead pharmacist for Patient Group Directions (PGDs) relevant to renal transplant care.
• Ensure compliance with Trust, regional, and national medicines management standards and legal requirements.
• Support workforce planning and ensure appropriate staffing to deliver core pharmacy services across the Renal Transplant Care Group

Working for our organisation

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients.

UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.

For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West.

Liverpool Women’s Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK’s largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

For roles at Liverpool Women’s, visit their careers page.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To lead Medicines Management within the Renal Transplant Care Group, including compliance with relevant controls assurance standards.
• Within the Renal Transplant Care Group, investigate, promote and reduce the risk of medication errors by ensuring safe systems are in place for prescribing, dispensing and administration of medicines, and ensure appropriate investigation and follow-up of any medication-related incidents.
• To provide an advanced clinical pharmacy service in accordance with professional, departmental and Trust policies as required.
• To act as an independent prescriber in accordance with the Trust’s Non-Medical Prescribers policies and guidelines (if appropriate).
• To deputise for the Consultant Nephrology Pharmacist Lead/ Pharmacy Site Director at the Royal Liverpool site and undertake related duties as necessary.
• To assist in the operational and strategic management and development of the pharmacy service and pharmacy staff. To support effective communication within the pharmacy department.
• To represent the pharmacy service on Trust and external committees, particularly those relevant to renal transplant and surgical care.
• Work in partnership with other NHS bodies and external organisations to improve service delivery and patient outcomes for renal transplant patients.
• Collaborate with medical and nursing colleagues in the development of integrated care pathways, ensuring a smooth and effective journey for transplant patients across care boundaries.
• To develop, authorise, implement and maintain departmental and Trust-wide policies, procedures and Standard Operating Procedures relating to medicines optimisation within the Renal Transplant Care Group.
• To assist in the development, implementation and governance of Patient Group Directions and support the appropriate extension of prescribing rights for non-medical staff working within renal transplant services.
• To contribute to the recruitment, selection and appointment of pharmacists within the pharmacy workforce, especially those involved in renal services.
• Participate in ensuring that appropriate managerial cover is maintained for Pharmacy at all times.
• Ensure that care group and directorate-level planning, reporting and performance monitoring requirements are met for pharmacy services within agreed timeframes.
• Provide professional and legal clinical supervision in the dispensary, acting as the designated Responsible Pharmacist when required.
• Participate in the pharmacy on-call, weekend, bank holiday and emergency duty rotas. Core hours are Monday to Friday 8:45am–5:00pm, and Saturday/Sunday 9:00am–4:00pm.
• Comply with all legal and regulatory requirements related to the purchase, supply, safe custody, and destruction of medicines across the pharmacy and wider Trust environment.

• Interpret clinical policies and national NHS guidance, and lead the development of pharmacy services within the Renal Transplant Care Group accordingly.
• Support the investigation of complaints and incidents within the care group, contributing to the development of timely responses and implementation of remedial actions where necessary.
• Take the lead on risk management for medicines-related issues in the Renal Transplant Care Group.
• Ensure that patient care standards align with locally developed protocols and national best practice.
• Monitor and ensure the quality and timeliness of medicines-related documentation and recorded patient information, in line with local and national standards.
• Identify opportunities for process redesign and service improvements aimed at enhancing the patient experience and improving safety and outcomes along the renal transplant pathway.
• Participate in and promote continuous professional development and clinical governance activities to maintain competence and professional standards.
• Act as an authorised signatory for the release of unlicensed medicinal products; develop and implement the Trust’s policy on their use. Liaise with Pharmacy Quality Control North West to ensure all unlicensed medicines are suitable for clinical use.
• Act as a Trust-delegated and authorised witness for the destruction of controlled drugs.

• Promote a culture of continuous learning and professional development, including delivery of pre- and post-registration training and vocational education for pharmacy staff within the Renal Transplant Care Group.
• Act as Training Manager for pre-registration pharmacists in accordance with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) standards, including responsibility for training programme development, tutor oversight and assessment.
• Deliver clinical training and educational support to undergraduate and postgraduate pharmacy learners, pre-registration pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians.
• Tutor pharmacists undertaking postgraduate clinical diploma/MSc courses in clinical pharmacy.
• Contribute to the education and training of medical, nursing, and other healthcare professionals, both within the Trust and externally, where appropriate.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Vocational masters degree in pharmacy
• Membership of The General Pharmaceutical Council
• Diploma in clinical pharmacy or equivalent documented clinical experience
• Full NMP qualification

• Membership of a regional or national committee
• MRPharmS
• Management/ leadership qualification or equivalent experiential experience

Experience

• Significant experience in a relevant specialist pharmacist role
• Antimicrobial Stewardship experience
• Demonstrable commitment to continuing professional development / education
• Experience as a NMP

• Publications of articles and/or presenting in regional/ national meetings

Knowledge

• Excellent clinical knowledge and practical clinical skills for the relevant specialist role
• Good all round clinical knowledge and practical clinical skills

Skills

• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of a team
• Self-motivating and able to motivate/ inspire others

Other

• Computer literate

Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.

Posts advertised to ‘internal staff’ are open to employees of hospitals within University Hospitals of Liverpool Group and you should confirm your employment within your application form.

Note: Under current Home Office Immigration Rules we are currently unable to offer right to work visa sponsorship for Band 2 and 3 roles with a salary of less than £25,000 pa as they do not meet the UK Visas & Immigration criteria.

Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview.

We reserve the right to close any vacancies from further applications when we have received a minimum number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

Candidates applying for the role of Healthcare Assistant on the staff bank should note that due to the nature of the role, workers must be aged 18 or above when commencing in post. Applicants are therefore welcome from those aged over 18 or within 3 months’ of their 18^th birthday.

Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working.

The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24.

Bank posts require upfront payment. DBS applications submitted from 2nd December will be subject to the new DBS fee of £26.50 (standard) and £54.50 (Enhanced).

From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults’ policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures.

Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation.

All employees (and volunteers)are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action.

As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence.

If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on 0151 706 4666 at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post.

Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.