Department of Health and Social Care
Senior Pharmacist / Senior Pharmacy Technician
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Job Summary
In the Department of Health and Social Care, we are proud of our purpose – to enable everyone to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. To achieve this, and create a great place to work, we have four values: we are inclusive, we constantly improve, we challenge, and we are agile. If this sounds like an environment you would like to work in, we would love to hear from you.
Medicines are a key medical intervention and the second largest element of NHS expenditure. The department’s Medicines Supply Team (MST) is responsible for overseeing the NHS pharmaceutical supply chain, ensuring that patients get the medicines they need. This work is focused on the management of medicines shortages and discontinuations.
Medicine supply is global, with the UK hugely dependent on medicines from the EU and from further afield. There are multiple threats to the continuity of supply of medicines to the UK, including (often unknown) disruptions to global manufacturing and/or transportation/supply chains, including disruptions in countries on which the UK supply chain is highly dependent, such as China and India.
There will always be a number of medicines shortage that need to be managed at any given time, but the government has a responsibility to take up-stream preventative action to help minimise the number and impact of those shortages.
For more critical shortages, the team escalate and discuss the issue with the Medicine Shortage Response Group, working with national clinical experts across the UK to develop management plans that can be adopted locally so that patients can be managed appropriately.
The Medicine Supply Team also provides professional pharmacy and operational input to other wider policy areas within the Medicines Directorate, including pricing policy, and sit on the pricing committee which is responsible for assessing and agreeing the price of all new branded medicines before they can be launched in England.
There is considerable stakeholder engagement in this role, including senior pharmacists within NHS England and the devolved administrations, regulatory bodies including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), global counterparts and senior DHSC officials and ministers. The postholder will also develop excellent relationships with individual pharmaceutical companies.
Job Description
The successful candidate will demonstrate outstanding problem-solving skills, and effective partnership working with a range of internal and external stakeholders. They will also need the ability to grasp complex matters quickly and be able to translate this into clear advice. They will ideally also have digital experience to support the upkeep of the teams’ supply issues reporting portal and other potential platforms as they are launched.
The successful applicant would be joining a very flexible team that regularly needs to change focus and re-prioritise within the context of shifting threats to continuity of supply of medicines. The post-holder will need to be very adaptable and exhibit a capability to move to work on other aspects of medicines supply at short notice, whilst being supported in their professional development and working closely with pharmacists and pharmacy technicians across the team.
Please note if applying for the role on a part-time basis, the successful candidate will be required to work a minimum of 0.9 full-time equivalent (FTE).
Person Specification
Role Responsibilities
- To support the management of medicines shortages and discontinuations, including assessing their impact, identifying the options and devising strategies for their management.
- To work with stakeholders to develop communications for the NHS which contain information about impending medicine supply issues and proposed management plans.
- To develop and strengthen links with NHS England, the UK Health Security Agency, the MHRA, other government departments and global counterparts, working with them to develop agreed approaches to managing medicines supply.
- Supporting the development of DHSC policy on the longer-term management of medicines supply problems and its implementation.
- Supporting the development, co-ordination and implementation of appropriate assurance processes and mitigation plans for any risks to medicines supply identified.
- Providing replies to correspondence, Parliamentary questions, briefing requests and press queries, working autonomously, accurately and confidently, within tight deadlines.
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Essential
Key skills and experience required for the role
- Experience of working effectively across disciplinary and organisational boundaries to deliver shared outcomes
- Experience of working flexibly and proactively to deliver priorities in a high‑pressure, fast‑moving environment.
- Experience of analysing and managing data to inform decision making
- Experience of producing clear, high‑quality written and verbal communications for a range of audiences
- Experience of working autonomously, prioritising competing tasks and meeting tight deadlines
- Current registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
Desirable
- Experience of managing medicines supply issues at a national level.
Memberships
- Current registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
- Managing a Quality Service
- Working Together
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
Making Effective Decisions
Alongside your salary of £58,462, Department of Health and Social Care contributes £16,936 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
Benefits
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection Process Details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
- Applications will be sifted W/C: 19/10/2026
- Interview date: W/C 09/11/2026
- Interview location: By video
Further details and interview slots will be released to candidates who are successful at sift.
Applications will be sifted on CV, Personal Statement and Behaviours.
An initial sift based on CV and the Behaviour – Making Effective Decisions may be held if a large number of applications are received. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
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Please use your CV to set out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role. These can be found in the ‘key skills and experience required for the role’ section of the advert. Please also include a list of your relevant qualifications.
Please use your personal statement to (in no more than 1000 words) outline how you meet the key skills and experience required for the role as set out in the job advert.
At interview candidates will be assessed on Behaviours and Experience.
Candidates will be asked to provide examples of their experience of stakeholder management, managing competing priorities to deliver outcomes at pace, and leading work to address complex supply chain management challenge.
Candidates will be asked to give a presentation which will assess the Behaviour - Making Effective Decisions. Details of the presentation question will be issued to candidates with the release of the sift scores.
To find out more about working in the department please visit our page on the Civil Service careers website https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/departments/working-for-the-department-of-health-social-care/ and to find out more information on how to apply visit the Civil Service careers website https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/how-to-apply/
Applicants who are appointable but were not successful in appointment to this vacancy, may be held on a reserve list for up to 12 months, and contacted if similar vacancies become available.
Please be aware that some travel may be required across the DHSC estate.
Candidates must ensure that all information provided in their application is factually accurate. Any examples provided must be taken from personal experience. The Civil Service abides by honesty and integrity as part of its core values, if evidence of plagiarism is found, applications may be withdrawn.
Please note that applicants will require BPSS.
Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council is required for the role and will be checked and verified by the vacancy holder as part of the onboarding process. You may also be asked to provide evidence that any qualifications obtained overseas are equivalent to those advertised.
Further Information
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Any move to DHSC from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.
However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty
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