Director, Pharmacy

Director, Pharmacy

The Pharmacy Director, reporting to the CEO, provides leadership, direction, and management of all pharmacy operations for the hospital. Ensures compliance with federal and state regulations, accreditation standards, and best practices while promoting safe medication use, fiscal responsibility, patient safety, and quality outcomes. Serves as the organization's Medication Safety Officer or oversees medication safety initiatives, as applicable.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Leadership and Administration

• Direct all inpatient/hospital outpatient pharmacy operations.
• Develop departmental strategic goals aligned with hospital objectives.
• Provide leadership to pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and support staff.
• Recruit, hire, train, mentor, evaluate, and retain pharmacy personnel.

Clinical Pharmacy Services

• Ensure provision of evidence-based pharmaceutical care.
• Oversee clinical pharmacy programs.
• Support antimicrobial stewardship.
• Support opioid stewardship initiatives.

Medication Safety

• Lead medication safety initiatives.
• Oversee adverse drug event reporting.
• Analyze medication errors and implement corrective actions.
• Promote high reliability medication practices.
• Ensure compliance with National Patient Safety Goals.
• Oversee smart infusion pump medication library maintenance.

Regulatory Compliance

Ensure compliance with:

• State Board of Pharmacy regulations
• DEA regulations
• USP <797> , <800> , and applicable USP chapters
• CMS Conditions of Participation
• CIHQ standards
• OSHA requirements
• FDA regulations
• Controlled substance regulations
• Hazardous drug handling standards
• Prepare the department for surveys and inspections.

Pharmacy Operations

• Medication procurement.
• Manage inventory.
• Ensure formulary compliance.
• Direct medication distribution systems.
• Oversee automated dispensing cabinets.
• Ensure medication storage meets regulatory standards.
• Sterile and non-sterile compounding.
• Coordinate medication recalls.
• Maintain drug shortage mitigation strategies.

Financial Management

• Develop and manage annual pharmacy operating and capital budgets.
• Familiarity with HealthTrust or other Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) management
• Participate in 340B oversight if applicable.
• Monitor pharmacy revenue cycle performance.

Quality Improvement

• Develop pharmacy quality indicators.
• Monitor departmental performance metrics.
• Report quality data to leadership.

Pharmacy Informatics

Collaborate with Information Technology to:

• Optimize electronic health record medication workflows.
• Maintain computerized provider order entry (CPOE).
• Optimize clinical decision support.
• Oversee barcode medication administration initiatives.
• Support pharmacy automation.
• Evaluate new pharmacy technologies.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Direct supervision of:

• Staff Pharmacists
• Pharmacy Technicians
• Pharmacy Residents (if applicable)
• Pharmacy Students (as applicable)

Salary range: $150,000 - 170,000.00

Valencia County Hospital is a new 15-bed acute care facility currently under construction in Los Lunas, NM. Owned by Valencia County and operated through a joint venture between Community Hospital Corporation (CHC) and Lovelace Health System, this startup represents a vital investment in rural healthcare and a unique opportunity to build clinical excellence from the ground up.

Qualifications

Education

Required

Bachelors or better.

Doctorate or better in Other.

Experience

Required

Experience 5 years of progressively responsible hospital pharmacy experience preferred. Minimum of 2–3 years in pharmacy leadership or management preferred. Experience in an acute care hospital required. Experience with pharmacy automation and EHR systems preferred. Experience with budgeting and financial management. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Health-system pharmacy operations Clinical pharmacy practice Medication safety Pharmacy law and regulations Accreditation standards Budgeting and financial analysis Strategic planning Team leadership Staff development Change management Conflict resolution Performance improvement Data analysis and reporting Project management Strong verbal and written communication Interdisciplinary collaboration Critical thinking and decision-making Technology Competencies Experience with: Electronic Health Records (e.g., Epic, Cerner, Meditech) Automated Dispensing Cabinets (Pyxis, Omnicell) Smart infusion pumps Pharmacy information systems Controlled substance diversion monitoring software IV workflow management systems Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) Business intelligence and reporting tools

Preferred

Preferred Qualifications Pharmacy residency (PGY1) preferred. PGY2 in Health-System Pharmacy Administration or Clinical Specialty preferred. Board certification (BCPS, BCSCP, BCEMP, etc.) preferred. MBA, MHA, or other advanced management degree preferred. Lean Six Sigma certification preferred.

Licenses & Certifications

Required

Pharmacist

Equal Opportunity Employer This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.