Occupations and Terms of Reference › Chief pharmacist
Universal terms of reference · POS-129 · version 1.0 · status: draft · next review 2027-10-27
Chief pharmacist
To lead medicines management across the organisation, so that medicines are safe, effective, correctly supplied and used under the law and clinical standards.
Each part of this page links to the related trainings, competencies and policies. The links are the same for every facility, so an organisation can see at a glance what a role requires and what it is trained in.
Job description
Job summary. You lead pharmacy. You set the medicines policy, lead the pharmacy team, manage stock and controlled drugs, and make sure medicines are used safely and appropriately.
Reports to: Medical director.
Leads or supervises: Clinical pharmacists, dispensing pharmacists, technicians and clinical trials coordinator.
What you do on a typical day
- Review medicine incidents and near misses each week.
- Approve formulary and medicines policy changes.
- Check controlled drug records.
- Support clinicians on complex prescribing.
- Report medicines safety to the quality committee.
Working conditions and demands
- Legal duties for controlled drugs.
- On call for urgent supply.
- Works with prescribers under time pressure.
What good looks like
- No medicine error reaches a patient unchecked.
- Controlled drugs are fully accounted for.
- Medicines policy is current and followed.
Place in the organogram
Reporting line, from the top: see the organogram on the Occupations page. The lines above and below this role are listed in section 3.
1. Golden rules
These rules apply in every setting.
- Patients are treated with dignity, respect and privacy at every step.
- Accurate information is given to patients and families, in a language they understand.
- Confidential information is protected and used only for care, legal and agreed purposes.
- Safety comes first: errors are reported, reviewed and learned from without blame.
- Medicines, records and appointments are handled to the standard, every time.
- Anyone can raise a concern without fear of reprisal.
- Waiting and flow are managed fairly, with patients kept informed.
- Work is done to written procedures, and deviations are reported.
2. Identification
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position code | POS-129 |
| ISCO-08 | 2262 (skill level 4) |
| ESCO | to map |
| Department | Pharmacy |
| Facility types | Hospital, Ambulatory, Transport, Medevac, Fitness, Aesthetic |
3. Reporting line and working relationships
Reports to: POS-012. Supervises: POS-130, POS-131, POS-132, POS-134.
| Works with | Nature of the relationship |
|---|---|
| Medical director | Medicines policy and prescribing. |
| Chief nursing officer | Administration and ward medicines. |
| Chief financial officer | Medicines budget and procurement. |
4. Key accountabilities
| Domain | Accountability | Evidence of delivery | Checked | Linked competencies | Linked trainings | Linked policies | Standards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicines policy | Sets and maintains the medicines policy and formulary. | Policy reviewed yearly; formulary current | Annually | C-01 | T-05 | POL-SAFEG | 2 |
| Medicines safety | Leads review of medicines errors and near misses. | Reviews completed within policy timeframe | Weekly | C-02 | T-05 · T-07 | POL-INC | 2 |
| Controlled drugs | Makes sure controlled drug records are complete. | Monthly reconciliation signed off | Monthly | C-03 | T-05 | POL-INC | 2 |
| Team | Leads and develops the pharmacy team. | Team appraisals completed on time | Annually | C-04 | T-08 | POL-EQUAL | 2 |
5. Decision rights
| The post holder decides | Consults or escalates |
|---|---|
| Formulary and medicines policy within national rules | Serious medicines incidents (medical director and CQO) |
| Pharmacy staffing within budget | Controlled drug losses (CEO and regulator) |
6. Qualifications and experience
| ID | Qualification | Mandatory | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q-01 | Pharmacist licence, current | Yes | per regulator |
| Q-02 | Clinical pharmacy or pharmacy management qualification | Yes | Lifetime |
| ID | Experience | Minimum years | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-01 | Hospital or clinical pharmacy experience, including leadership | 8 | Yes |
7. Training requirements
Recommended common practice. Each facility adapts the list to its national law. Essential items apply in every setting; recommended items apply where resources allow.
| ID | Training | Tier | When | Validity | Linked policies | Linked competencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-01 | Facility induction | essential | at_entry | Once | POL-WHISTLE · POL-EQUAL · POL-DATA | – |
| T-02 | Safeguarding adults | essential | periodic | Every 3 year(s) | POL-SAFEG | – |
| T-03 | Safeguarding children | essential | periodic | Every 3 year(s) | POL-SAFEG | – |
| T-04 | Data protection and confidentiality | essential | annual | Every 1 year(s) | POL-DATA | – |
| T-05 | Incident reporting and open disclosure | essential | periodic | Every 2 year(s) | POL-INC | C-01 · C-02 · C-03 |
| T-06 | Governance, accountability and assurance | recommended | periodic | Every 3 year(s) | – | – |
| T-07 | Emergency and major incident command | essential | annual | Every 1 year(s) | POL-INC | C-02 |
| T-08 | Speaking up, inclusion and equality leadership | essential | periodic | Every 2 year(s) | POL-WHISTLE · POL-EQUAL | C-04 |
8. Health, fitness and language
| ID | Requirement | Frequency | Tier | Minimum in low-resource settings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-01 | Immunity to vaccine-preventable diseases relevant to the setting, documented at entry | At entry or as set | essential | Documented hepatitis B status at entry |
| H-02 | Tuberculosis screening at entry, then as the national rule requires | At entry or as set | essential | Symptom screening at entry and after exposure |
| H-03 | Fitness-to-work assessment at entry and after serious illness or injury | Every 12 months | recommended | Fitness check at entry |
| Language | Level | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|
| Official language of the country of practice | professional | Yes |
| English | working | Yes |
9. Competencies by level
| ID | Competency | Foundation | Practitioner | Expert | Assessed by | Revalidate | Linked trainings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-01 | Medicines management and policy | Follows medicines rules | Manages medicines in a service | Designs medicines policy | Medicines audit | Every 12 months | T-05 |
| C-02 | Medicines safety and error learning | Reports errors | Leads error reviews | Designs medicines safety systems | Safety audit | Every 12 months | T-05 · T-07 |
| C-03 | Controlled drug accountability | Keeps records | Audits records | Designs controlled drug controls | Controlled drug audit | Every 12 months | T-05 |
| C-04 | Leading pharmacy teams | Works in a team | Leads a team | Develops pharmacy leadership | 360 feedback | Every 24 months | T-08 |
10. Performance evaluation
- Probation: 6 months, with a sign-off review (recommended value).
- Appraisal: every 12 months against the competencies and indicators below.
| ID | Indicator | Target | Data source | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PI-01 | Medicines incidents reviewed in time | 100% | incident register | Weekly |
| PI-02 | Controlled drug reconciliations on time | 100% | controlled drug register | Monthly |
| PI-03 | Staff with current licence | 100% | licence register | Quarterly |
11. Career ladder and promotion
| Level | Role | Minimum experience to move on | Qualifications | Competency minimums | Trainings required | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive | Chief pharmacist | 8 years (recommended) | Q-01, Q-02 | C-01 expert, C-02 expert | T-05 · T-07 | Executive appointment and performance review |
12. Policies the post holder follows
Each policy is a standard template that the facility adopts and adapts. Templates are maintained centrally, so every facility works from the same version.
POL-SAFEG · Safeguarding adults and children
Purpose: Protect patients from abuse, neglect and harm, and make sure every concern is recognised and acted on.
Scope: All staff, volunteers and contractors.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff, volunteers and contractors.
Key rules:
- Recognise signs of abuse and neglect and record them factually.
- Report every concern to the designated safeguarding lead the same shift.
- Do not investigate alone.
- Share information only as the safeguarding procedure allows.
POL-DATA · Data protection and confidentiality
Purpose: Keep patient and staff information private, secure and used only for care and legal purposes.
Scope: All staff who access records or systems.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff who access records or systems.
Key rules:
- Access only the records needed for your work.
- Keep records secure; do not leave screens or paper unattended.
- Do not share information without a lawful basis.
- Report any breach to the data protection officer within 24 hours.
Linked trainings: T-10 · Review every 12 months · Template 0.1 (draft)
POL-WHISTLE · Speaking up (whistleblowing)
Purpose: Let staff raise patient safety or conduct concerns without fear of reprisal.
Scope: All staff.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff.
Key rules:
- Raise a concern with your line manager or the named speaking-up officer.
- If that route fails, escalate to the board or the national regulator.
- Retaliation against anyone who speaks up is a disciplinary offence.
- Concerns are recorded, investigated and the outcome given to the person raising them.
Linked trainings: T-01 · Review every 12 months · Template 0.1 (draft)
POL-EQUAL · Equality, diversity and inclusion
Purpose: Give every patient and colleague fair access, respectful treatment and reasonable adjustments.
Scope: All staff and patients.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff and patients.
Key rules:
- Treat every person with dignity regardless of background.
- Make reasonable adjustments, including interpreters, for language and disability.
- Report discrimination through the speaking-up route.
- Monitor access and outcomes by group.
Linked trainings: T-01 · Review every 24 months · Template 0.1 (draft)
POL-INC · Incident reporting and open disclosure
Purpose: Report and learn from incidents and near misses, and tell patients honestly when things go wrong.
Scope: All staff.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff.
Key rules:
- Report every incident and near miss the same shift.
- Give the patient and family an honest account and an apology where appropriate (open disclosure).
- Take immediate action to protect others.
- Learn: contribute to the review and follow the agreed actions.
13. Standards that name this role
14. Record history
| Date | Change | Approved by |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-27 | Draft record, batch 1 of the position build | Awaiting approval |