The Community Pharmacy Lead Officer (CPLO) programme has been established to strengthen relationships between community pharmacy, GP practices, Primary Care Networks (PCNs), Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs), the ICB and the LPC.
CPLOs provide a practical link between community pharmacy and wider primary care. The role is focused on engagement, relationship building, problem solving and service improvement, rather than inspection or performance management.
CPLOs help GP practices and PCNs understand how community pharmacy can support their patients, while also identifying barriers experienced by pharmacies and helping resolve or escalate these appropriately.
Purpose of the Role
As a CPLO, you will be allocated one or more PCNs/neighbourhoods and will develop an ongoing relationship with the GP practices and community pharmacies within that area.
You will attend relevant PCN and neighbourhood/INT meetings, visit GP practices and community pharmacies, identify opportunities to improve collaboration and help increase appropriate use of NHS community pharmacy services.
The role is particularly suited to someone who enjoys building relationships, influencing change and solving practical problems across organisational boundaries.
Key Responsibilities
You will:
- Act as a named community pharmacy lead contact for your allocated PCN(s) and neighbourhood(s).
- Attend regular PCN, practice and INT/neighbourhood meetings, normally providing a focused community pharmacy contribution rather than attending entire meetings where this is unnecessary.
- Build constructive working relationships with Clinical Directors, practice managers, pharmacists, pharmacy teams, care navigators, medicines optimisation teams and other local stakeholders.
- Visit community pharmacies and GP practices to understand local challenges and opportunities.
- Support appropriate awareness, referrals and uptake of community pharmacy services including Pharmacy First, Hypertension Case-Finding, Pharmacy Contraception Service, New Medicine Service (NMS), Discharge Medicines Service (DMS) and other commissioned services.
- Help GP practices and care navigators understand community pharmacy services, including the difference between Pharmacy First clinical pathways, minor illness referrals and signposting.
- Identify reasons why referrals may be unsuccessful or rejected and work constructively with pharmacies and GP practices to improve pathways.
- Support pharmacies to understand relevant local and national service developments and communications.
- Identify barriers such as IT, referral pathways, communication, workforce, training, service awareness or operational processes.
- Facilitate conversations where relationships between a pharmacy and GP practice need strengthening.
- Recognise and share examples of good practice and successful collaboration.
- Gather feedback and intelligence from community pharmacies, GP practices, PCNs and neighbourhood teams.
- Escalate recurring or system-level issues to the CPLO Programme Leads, LPC and/or ICB where appropriate.
- Support specific local initiatives, health promotion activities and other agreed community pharmacy workstreams.
Recording and Follow-up
A key part of the role is ensuring that engagement leads to action.
CPLOs are expected to:
- Record meetings, pharmacy/practice visits, key discussions and actions using the programme's agreed systems.
- Maintain clear actions and follow up matters raised at previous meetings.
- Record challenges and intelligence sufficiently clearly for the programme team to identify themes and escalate issues.
- Use the provided meeting transcription/AI tools where appropriate to support accurate record keeping.
- Ensure that another CPLO can understand and continue outstanding actions where deputising is required.
- Contribute information to programme reports, case studies and evaluations.
This is important because the programme uses CPLO intelligence to identify common themes across pharmacies, practices, PCNs and Places, rather than individual issues being considered in isolation.
Working Flexibly as a Team
Where possible, CPLO allocations will be matched to the individual's regular availability and the meeting schedules of their allocated PCNs.
However, PCN and INT meetings do not always fall on the same day. CPLOs therefore work collaboratively and may occasionally:
- deputise for another CPLO;
- ask another CPLO to attend on their behalf;
- hand over actions between colleagues; or
- accommodate an important meeting outside their normal working day where mutually agreed.
Good documentation and communication between CPLOs is therefore essential.
Person Specification
Essential
We are looking for someone who:
- Is a GPhC Registered Pharmacy Technician or Pharmacist
- has experience of community pharmacy, general practice, primary care or the wider NHS;
- understands the role of community pharmacy within primary care;
- is confident communicating with pharmacists, GP practice teams and senior stakeholders;
- can build positive relationships across different organisations and professions;
- is comfortable attending and contributing to professional meetings;
- can listen objectively to different perspectives and remain neutral when resolving problems;
- can work independently and manage their own workload;
- follows through agreed actions reliably;
- is comfortable using digital systems for meetings, communication and record keeping; and
- can represent the programme professionally.
- can drive and have their own vehicle
- has their own laptop and mobile phone
Desirable
It would be beneficial to have:
- experience working within community pharmacy;
- experience of PCNs, general practice or medicines optimisation;
- knowledge of Pharmacy First and other NHS community pharmacy clinical services;
- experience of service improvement, stakeholder engagement or project work;
- knowledge of the Black Country healthcare landscape;
- experience working across organisational boundaries; and/or
- experience engaging with Clinical Directors, practice managers, pharmacists or commissioners.
- have an NHS.net email address
Skills and Behaviours
Successful CPLOs are likely to be:
Relationship focused – able to build trust with both pharmacy and general practice.
Diplomatic and neutral – able to hear different accounts of an issue without immediately taking sides.
Proactive – willing to follow up actions rather than simply attend meetings.
Practical – focused on finding workable solutions.
Curious – willing to ask why a problem is occurring and identify the underlying issue.
Confident communicators – able to explain community pharmacy services simply to people who may have limited knowledge of them.
Organised – able to maintain clear records and manage several stakeholders and actions.
Collaborative – comfortable working as part of a wider CPLO team and deputising where required.
Support Provided
CPLOs will receive:
- programme induction and onboarding;
- information and training on relevant community pharmacy services;
- access to programme resources and templates;
- regular CPLO team meetings and development sessions;
- support from the Remington Clinics programme team; and
- routes for escalation to the LPC and ICB.
Pay: £15.00-£28.00 per hour
Language:
Licence/Certification:
- General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) registration number (required)
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Location:
- Black Country (preferred)
Willingness to travel:
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Black Country
