Medicines and Pharmacy Commissioning Manager
Job overview
Are you passionate about improving the way medicines are used across healthcare settings? We are looking for a Medicines and Pharmacy Commissioning Manager to drive key projects that enhance patient outcomes, improve safety, and ensure the best use of NHS resources.
Medicines optimisation plays a vital role in healthcare, working across clinical, strategic, and operational levels. In this role, you’ll be responsible for leading and implementing medicines optimisation strategies, working closely with healthcare providers, commissioners, and system partners.You’ll oversee service improvements, ensure adherence to national guidelines, and support the commissioning of high-quality pharmacy services.
What you’ll bring:
- Experience in project management, commissioning, or change management within a healthcare setting.
- Strong understanding of medicines optimisation principles, pharmacy services and NHS commissioning.
- Build strong relationships with clinical teams, decision makers and system partners.
- Experience in developing and implementing service improvement initiatives that deliver better patient care and financial sustainability.
- Passion for improving patient safety, reducing health inequalities, and ensuring the effective use of medicines.
This is a fantastic opportunity at the heart of medicines and pharmacy transformation, ensuring patients receive the right treatments while maximising NHS resources.
Interested? Apply now to be part of a team making a real impact.
Main duties of the job
Developing and delivering medicines optimisation strategies to improve patient care and efficiency.
Leading projects and service redesign initiatives, ensuring quality and cost-effectiveness.
Working with clinical teams, providers, and system partners to improve medicines pathways.
Managing contracts and budgets, ensuring services meet national standards.
Supporting community pharmacy development, working to enhance its role in delivering patient-centred care, medicines reviews, and public health initiatives.
Working for our organisation
NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB is a statutory NHS organisation responsible for developing a plan for meeting the health needs of our communities, managing the NHS budget, and arranging for the provision of joined up health services which improve the lives of people who live and work in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
By collaborating as an integrated care system (ICS) our health and care organisations can tackle complex challenges, including:
- improving the health of children and young people
- supporting people to stay well and independent
- acting sooner to help those with preventable conditions
- supporting those with long-term conditions or mental health issues
- caring for those with multiple needs as populations age
- getting the best from collective resources so people get care as quickly as possible.
You can look forward to excellent benefits including discounts in store and online, optional pension and life assurance, flexible working options, salary sacrifice vehicles and cycles and much more.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Commissioning responsibilities:
- Develop and implement medicines optimisation strategies in collaboration with stakeholders across health and social care systems.
- Lead projects to redesign services, ensuring improved pathways of care, quality enhancements, and cost savings.
- Ensure compliance with national and local guidance on medicines use, including NICE guidelines.
- Work with clinical and provider leads to understand current service delivery, identify gaps, and implement innovative solutions.
- Lead on the negotiation and procurement of pharmacy-related contracts, ensuring value for money and adherence to quality standards.
- Monitor performance, address contract breaches, and manage remedial action plans for commissioned services.
- Develop business cases and strategic plans to support the implementation of system-wide medicines optimisation initiatives.
Programme management responsibilities:
- Deliver performance improvement strategies, focusing on medicines safety, system resilience, and operational excellence.
- Provide comprehensive project management for the medicines optimisation portfolio, including documentation, progress tracking, and reporting.
- Regularly present updates and complex data analyses to senior management, boards, and stakeholders.
- Ensure the consistent application of quality improvement methodologies (e.g., Lean, Six Sigma) across programmes.
- Manage interdependencies across portfolios, ensuring alignment with organisational and ICS priorities.
Relationship management responsibilities:
- Build strong working relationships with clinicians, pharmacists, providers, and commissioning teams.
- Engage with stakeholders to co-design and co-deliver medicines optimisation initiatives and community pharmacy services.
- Communicate complex and sensitive information effectively, adapting to diverse audiences.
- Foster collaboration across sectors to achieve shared goals for medicines use and healthcare delivery.
Contracts and budgets:
- Oversee commissioning arrangements for medicines and pharmacy services, ensuring alignment with financial and quality goals.
- Lead on achieving financial recovery and efficiency targets through effective medicines management.
- Ensure robust performance monitoring and regular contract reviews to maximise value for money.
Education and Training:
- Deliver training and development sessions for clinical and non-clinical staff related to medicines optimisation projects and commissioning of community pharmacy.
- Provide mentorship and guidance to team members.
Person specification
Qualifications, training and professional membership- Postgraduate qualification or equivalent experience in health service management, commissioning, or public health.
- Evidence of continued professional development.
- MSP (Managing Successful Programmes)
- Knowledge of/and Change Management Accreditation
- Demonstrates alignment with the NHS values, delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan, the NHS People Plan, Nolan principles.
- Able to demonstrate compassion in the workplace with a track record of active challenge to support improvements in equality, diversity, inclusion, and/or social justice.
- Demonstrates the living values of openness and integrity, contributing to cultures where this thrives.
- Committed to continuing professional development, actively developing and supporting a continuous learning culture.
- Demonstrates behaviours that support innovation and transformation.
- Significant experience in commissioning within the NHS or equivalent healthcare system. Knowledge of medicines, prescribing and/or pharmacy is required.
- Proven track record of managing complex projects and implementing service improvements.
- Experience in budget management and resource allocation.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret and present complex data effectively.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to negotiate and influence stakeholders.
- Knowledge of NHS commissioning processes and clinical guidelines.
- Proficiency in using information systems for planning, reporting, and evaluation.
A criminal record check satisfactory to the organisation.
Person specification
Qualifications, training and professional membership
Essential criteria- Postgraduate qualification or equivalent experience in health service management, commissioning, or public health.
- Evidence of continued professional development.
- MSP (Managing Successful Programmes)
- Knowledge of/and Change Management Accreditation
- Significant experience in commissioning within the NHS or equivalent healthcare system. Knowledge of medicines, prescribing and/or pharmacy is required.
PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOUR APPLICATION CLEARLY REFLECTS THE CRITERIA LISTED WITHIN THE JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION.
We positively encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of sexual orientation, sex, racial origin or disability. We are committed to equal opportunities.
Please note that if a vacancy is marked ‘internal’ your application will not be considered if you do not fall within that category.
Your data:
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Your application:
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