Group Medications Services Manager

Based:                  Mereside Medical Practices (Cathedral Medical Centre, Haddenham Surgery, Staploe Medical Centre and Wilburton Office as necessary)

Basis:                    Permanent, full time 37 hrs per week

Salary:                  £45k – £55k per annum FTE pro rata

Eligibility:           You must be eligible to work in the UK and have daily access to a vehicle.

About Us

Mereside Medical is a flourishing group of three East Cambridgeshire practices in Ely, Haddenham and Soham, together serving over 40,000 patients. As a group, we’ve grown rapidly and now employ more than 140 people across the three practices. We are people-centred in our approach to work and believe that every contact that a patient has with our staff is as valuable as the next in the patient journey. We believe in clinical excellence, and that general practice is the cornerstone of well-being in our community. We are innovative and forward-looking, and we embrace technology to enable more effective, efficient, and connected ways of working to deliver ever better outcomes for our patients.

Our goal is to deliver on the ambitions laid out in the GP forward view in a way that is locally relevant, valued by patients, and satisfying for our staff. In addition to our core general practice work we run a large Commercial Clinical Research Trials Unit and we work closely with the ICB to develop innovative ways to improve local service provision. We are the lead practice for one of the two local PCNs and are represented in both.

The Role

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, and working closely with Mereside’s five Partners, you will lead and manage all medications related services and operations across our three-practice group. You will be a pivotal member of the Group Operations team, also contributing to the wider strategic direction and culture of the organisation.

This is a new role, bringing our dispensaries, drugs procurement, medicines technicians, and clinical pharmacy teams together as one. The primary purpose of the role is to deliver a more cohesive service to patients as efficiently and effectively as possible across the different teams, while driving financial performance and operational excellence across the function as a whole. You will transform our cross-team culture to eliminate silos and create a seamless patient experience, while diplomatically managing stakeholder relationships that balance clinical appropriateness with commercial sustainability.

This is a unique opportunity within General Practice. As a Group we have moved away from the traditional Practice Management model and developed a diversified Operations Team with the following specialist functions to work alongside you to deliver your objectives:

• Practice Operations
• Clinical Operations
• Quality Improvement
• Finance
• People & Culture
• Digital and Estates

We believe this approach is unusual in primary care, but is essential to enable us to respond to demand from our commissioning body and/or our patients to provide new or improved services, and to provide a better, more supportive, enjoyable, and professionalised working environment for our staff.

Your Responsibilities

Leadership, Team Management & Culture

• Work collaboratively with the wider Operations Team to pro-actively contribute to the design and implementation of the overall long term strategic direction, culture, and values of the organisation.
• Take overall leadership and management responsibility for the Medications Services function, comprising:
  • Haddenham Surgery and Staploe Medical Centre Dispensary teams, both of which have experienced on-site teams with clear on-site leadership structures.
  • Medicines Technicians team, located at our Wilburton site.
  • Dispensary Procurement Coordinator
  • Clinical Pharmacist, leading the Ely South Primary Care Network Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme Clinical Pharmacy team, consisting of Clinical Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians
• Foster a collaborative ‘one team’ culture where all medicines-related staff proactively support each other to resolve patient needs at the first point of contact, embedding a “solve for the patient first, improve process second” philosophy throughout the function
• Design and implement integrated workflows that enable seamless handoffs between all medications services teams, and other service teams (patient services, clinical admin, and medical secretaries), eliminating patient frustration from being transferred between departments.
• Ensure all medicines services teams maintain full compliance with MHRA, GPhC, and NHS regulations, including controlled drugs governance, stock control, and prescription services optimization
• Recruit, develop, and performance manage all medicines services teams and support senior staff to mentor colleagues
• Work with the People & Culture team to create clear and appropriate development pathways and succession planning

Financial Performance & Commercial Oversight

• Work with the Group Finance Manager to present financial performance, forecasts, and action plans to senior leadership.
• Assure financial sustainability of both dispensaries by supporting the Dispensary Procurement Coordinator to optimise strategic pricing, supplier negotiations, ordering practices, and formulary adherence by prescribers.
• Oversee group-wide dispensing strategy, formulary management, and stakeholder negotiations, under the guidance of the GP Partner Lead
• Data analysis using Excel, ePACT2, and clinical system reports to monitor financial performance and prescribing trends

Technology & Innovation

• Work with the Group Lead for Digital, IT, and Estates to:
  • Champion technology adoption to improve efficiency and patient experience across all sites
  • Identify and implement digital solutions for automated reporting, monitoring, and workflow management
  • Evaluate and implement new technologies to enhance operational efficiency
• Ensure that the teams are optimising their utilisation of SystmOne for medicines management, identifying training needs and ensuring teams are upskilled where necessary
• Create standardised digital workflows across multiple sites, including effective and consistent use of available platforms.

Stakeholder Management & Strategic Liaison

Build and maintain diplomatic relationships with external stakeholders, for example:

• MOT liaison and formulary management: Act as Mereside Medical primary point of contact for Cambs & Peterborough ICB Medicines Optimization Team, working diplomatically to ensure clinical objectives are achieved cost effectively.
• Community Pharmacy coordination: Maintain relationships with local pharmacies for patient referrals and EPS optimisation
• Pharmaceutical Suppliers: Build strategic relationships with suppliers, supporting the Procurement Officer to achieve effective negotiations and cost-saving initiatives

About You

You should have or be:

• Exceptional people manager and mentor with proven track record of transforming team cultures and managing multi-site operations
• Financially astute with deep understanding of how prescribing patterns impact practice finances and profitability
• Advanced Excel expertise and experience analysing large datasets, creating financial models, and interpreting complex reports
• Technology enthusiast with proven ability to drive digital adoption and process automation
• Outstanding customer service focus with commitment to seamless patient experience and continuous improvement
• Adaptable and resilient leader comfortable working across multiple sites and managing competing priorities
• Analytical and critical thinker able to make evidence-based decisions under pressure
• Diplomatic communicator skilled at managing relationships with diverse stakeholders including clinical teams, regulatory bodies, and commercial partners
• Cultural change leader with experience transforming “silo” mentalities into collaborative team working
• Willing to travel regularly between practice sites and attend external meetings as required

 It would be an advantage if you also have or are:

• Experience in Primary Care dispensing or GP practice operations management
• Regional/area management experience from healthcare, pharmacy, or retail sectors
• Understanding of NHS primary care systems including SystmOne, ePACT2, and EPS
• Qualified Pharmacy Technician or Dispenser with relevant professional qualifications
• Project management experience and proven ability to implement large-scale operational changes
• Knowledge of controlled drugs regulations and medicines governance requirements
• Experience with formulary management and medicines optimization programs
• Commercial negotiation experience with suppliers and stakeholders

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of duties. The need for flexibility is required and the post holder is expected to carry out any other related duties that are within the employee’s skills and abilities whenever reasonably instructed.

If you are interested in this role please send a CV and covering letter to:

cpicb.mereside-recruitment@nhs.net.

Group Medications Services Manager – JD – June 2025

Closing date: 11 July 2025. Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy early.