Pharmacy Lead — Digital Pharmacy Operations (£45-65k)

Pharmacy Lead

Blueco Healthcare

Walton Summit, Preston, Lancashire | On-site | Permanent | £45,000–£65,000

 

At a Glance

• Salary: £45,000–£65,000 depending on experience, reflective of the seniority and scope of this role
• Location: Walton Summit, Bamber Bridge, Preston — on-site
• Reports to: Head of Operations
• Contract: Permanent, full-time
• Probation: 6 months
• Start: As soon as possible
• Annual leave: 31 days inclusive of bank holidays, plus birthday leave and additional accrual

 

About Blueco Healthcare

Blueco Healthcare is a digital-first pharmacy infrastructure business with a specialist focus in weight management. We are one of the top 10 weight management pharmacy providers nationally — and the only provider in this space operating simultaneously across NHS programmes, private healthcare, insurance (including Vitality Health), and direct pharmaceutical manufacturer programmes. That breadth is rare and it defines the standard we hold ourselves to.

 

We are the regulated infrastructure behind some of the UK’s most prominent digital health brands — providing dispensing, fulfilment, cold-chain logistics, and deep API integrations with prescribing systems and clinic platforms. We are not a traditional pharmacy. We are a technology-enabled operation and we are growing into one of the most significant players in this space in the UK.

 

We process tens of thousands of medications every month and are targeting 5x growth within the next six months, backed by contracts already in place. To support that growth, we have just moved into a purpose-built facility at Walton Summit — designed and developed specifically to support the scale we are heading towards.

 

The Opportunity

This is a senior hire into a business at an inflection point. We are small enough that you will have real ownership and real visibility — and growing fast enough that what you build now will matter for years. The person who joins in this role will not be a number. They will be a foundational part of how we build and run one of the UK’s most significant pharmacy operations.

 

You will report directly to our Head of Operations — a highly experienced clinical pharmacist — who will work closely with you on governance, quality, and operational strategy. This is a role for someone who is ready to lead, not be led.

 

Beyond this role, as the business continues to grow — and it is growing fast — leads become heads, and heads become directors. We are building a leadership team for the long term and we want people who want to grow with the business, not pass through it.

 

It is worth being direct: this is a demanding role in a demanding organisation. We operate at pace, to high standards, with significant commercial contracts depending on our performance. This is not a 9-to-5. But the career progression, the ownership, and the culture of collaboration, transparency, and genuine recognition make it worth it for the right person.

 

The Role

You will own the pharmacy operation end to end — dispensing, checking, and fulfilment — alongside accountability for the governance, compliance, and people infrastructure that underpins it. This is a hands-on operational leadership role. You will be on the floor, running the day-to-day, and ensuring the operation performs to the highest standard. Stepping back from the detail is something you will earn over time by building the right team and systems around you — it is not a given from day one.

 

You will be working within a modern, technology-first environment. We run our own proprietary order management and prescribing systems, with deep API integrations across our client base. You will need to get to grips with our systems quickly and be comfortable operating in a digital-first way. This is not a role for someone who thinks in terms of traditional pharmacy workflows.

 

Operations and throughput

• Full ownership of dispensary and warehouse operations — from prescription receipt through to carrier handover
• Real-time floor leadership — bottleneck identification, resolution, and systemic improvement
• Same-day dispatch performance against defined SLAs
• Productivity optimisation — orders per hour, throughput, backlog, and capacity management
• Shift leadership and escalation handling
  

People and culture

• Line management of the pharmacy and warehouse operations team
• Squad lead development — dispensing and warehouse squad leaders developed and held to standard
• Rota management and capacity planning, including peak demand periods
• Recruitment and onboarding of operational staff, owned end to end
• Training and competency tracking across dispensing and fulfilment functions
• Team culture — accountable for the environment, not just the output
• HR matters handled directly and resolved — not deferred

Governance and regulatory compliance

• Supporting the Head of Operations and Superintendent Pharmacist on GPhC regulatory compliance — maintaining standards, flagging gaps, and ensuring readiness across the pharmacy operation
• Incident, error, and near-miss framework — logs completed, root cause analysis conducted, corrective actions implemented and escalated to Head of Operations where required
• Responsible Pharmacist (RP) oversight responsibilities fulfilled where applicable
• Supporting the Head of Operations on broader governance requirements and regulatory obligations
• Audit and inspection readiness — supporting the Head of Operations and Superintendent Pharmacist in ensuring the operation is prepared to represent itself to GPhC, clients, and external partners at all times
• EOD reconciliation and reporting owned once fully embedded

 

Documentation and professional rigour

• SOPs owned, maintained, and kept current as the operation evolves
• Process improvements identified, documented, and brought to the leadership table for implementation
• Documentation standard capable of withstanding regulatory audit, client scrutiny, and manufacturer review
• Able to represent the operation formally in those settings

 

Performance and budget

• Operational KPIs defined, tracked, and delivered against consistently
• Team productivity and efficiency owned, reported, and improved
• Budget managed responsibly with clear visibility and accountability

 

Strategic contribution

• Active contributor in leadership and management meetings — bringing problems with proposed solutions, not just flags
• Clear understanding of how pharmacy operations connect to clients, SLAs, and commercial performance
• Works collaboratively across operational functions to ensure clean boundaries and effective handoffs

 

What We Are Looking For

This role requires significant experience at scale. We are ideally looking for candidates who have operated in high-volume, technology-enabled pharmacy environments — but we are open to candidates from community pharmacy backgrounds where they can clearly demonstrate the volume, leadership capability, and digital mindset this role demands. What we are not looking for is someone whose experience is limited to managing a small community branch at low volume.

Relevant backgrounds include:

• Hub and spoke pharmacy operations
• Distance selling pharmacy
• High-volume online or digital pharmacy
• Centralised dispensing or fulfilment-led operations

 

Essential:

• Proven experience leading or operating within a high-volume dispensary and fulfilment operation — 20,000+ items per month minimum
• Strong people leadership — building, managing, and developing a team under sustained pressure
• Operational instinct — throughput management, bottleneck resolution, capacity planning
• Modern, digital-first mindset — comfortable with technology, proprietary systems, and fast-moving operational environments
• Governance and compliance awareness — able to support regulatory standards, contribute to incident management, and help represent the operation to auditors and regulators alongside senior clinical leadership
• Professional documentation capability — SOPs, incident logs, regulatory-grade records written to a high standard
• Data-literate — tracking KPIs, interpreting performance data, using it to drive decisions
• High personal standards — accuracy, rigour, and professionalism are non-negotiable given the clients and contracts we hold

 

Professional background:

• Registered pharmacist or Accuracy Checking Technician (ACT) — GPhC registered where applicable
• Candidates from other backgrounds will be considered where direct, relevant high-volume operational and leadership experience is clearly demonstrated
  

This is not the right role if:

• Your pharmacy experience is limited to managing a small community branch at low volume with no exposure to high-volume or technology-driven operations
• You are looking for a 9-to-5 or a steady-state environment
• You prefer traditional pharmacy workflows and are uncomfortable with technology-driven operations
• You are not comfortable working in a regulated environment with real governance and compliance expectations
  

Terms and Benefits

• Salary: £45,000–£65,000 per annum depending on experience
• Annual leave: 31 days inclusive of bank holidays
• Additional leave: half a day per year of service, up to two additional days
• Birthday leave: one additional day off on your birthday
• Location: on-site, Walton Summit, Bamber Bridge, Preston
• Probation: 6 months
• Profit share scheme and equity options scheme in development

 

How to Apply

Apply via our application form: forms.gle/GRQuSeWzc7USXuKQ8

The form takes 15–20 minutes for a serious applicant. You will be asked five focused questions about your experience, after which we will share details for sending your CV. The form replaces the need for a covering letter.

Applications without the completed form will not be progressed. Applications without demonstrable high-volume pharmacy operations experience will not be progressed.

Blueco Healthcare is an equal opportunities employer. This role is based on-site at our Walton Summit facility. Remote or hybrid working is not available for this position.