Senior Clinical Pharmacist - Complex Pain, Pharmacy Service
Permanent, full time (0.2FTE allocated to Complex Pain; 0.8FTE rotations in different clinical areas)
Remuneration as per PSA Allied Health collective agreement – designated positions scale (DA band)
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders.
Are you interested in Pain Medicine and would love an opportunity to become part of the multidisciplinary Complex Pain Team at Counties Manukau?
The opportunity:
Collaborating in an interprofessional team consisting of Pain Specialists, Clinical Nurse Specialists and Health Psychologist, the senior clinical pharmacist supports the management of inpatients with complex pain needs and/or identified risk factors for persisting pain and worse outcomes such as history of chronic pain, mental health conditions and substance use. The Complex Pain Team accepts internal referrals and works together with primary teams to improve patient’s pain management by careful consideration and rationalisation of pain medications, utilising the skillsets of the MDT, recognising the biopsychosocial factors that impact on pain and providing clear inpatient and post-discharge pain management plans. This is a rare opportunity for an experienced clinical pharmacist to commit and grow expertise and leadership in this specialty.
Additionally, the role combines rotational opportunities to expand skills in general and subspecialty areas, leadership, quality improvement, and research. Senior Clinical Pharmacists also support the pharmacy leadership team while we strive to optimise service delivery and achieve the goals of our service and the organisation.
Your main responsibilities include:
- Attend twice weekly Complex Plain ward rounds and MDT (Monday and Thursday mornings)
- Liaise between Pain service and Pharmacy; provide expert opinion and support other clinicians on pain-related issues
- Provide clinical pharmacy services to patients from admission to discharge
- Promote evidence-based medicine and patient-centred care
- Contribute towards/leading quality improvement and medication safety initiatives
- Contribute to education and training of your colleagues and other professions
- Support other aspects of the pharmacy service such as inpatient dispensary and oncall service
We are looking for a pharmacist who is/has:
- New Zealand Registered Pharmacist with current APC or eligibility to obtain one
- At least 3 years, preferably 5 or more years of hospital experience in a clinical setting, including clinical experience in adult Medicine and Surgery
- Clinical experience in acute/chronic pain management preferred but not essential
- Keen interest in Pain Medicine
- Compassionate and resilient
- Adaptable and assertive in the MDT environment
- Patient-focused, enthusiastic and driven
- Excellent communicator with sound problem-solving skills
- Relevant postgraduate qualifications in clinical pharmacy (not essential)
- Able to work flexible hours (such as participating in our on-call and weekend rosters)
- We offer highly competitive remuneration commensurate matching to your skills, experience and qualifications.
About us:
Middlemore Hospital is a large and progressive tertiary hospital located in South Auckland and is unique in terms of the diverse, high-needs population we serve. Our clinical pharmacists have a strong presence and are highly valued across the organisation. The diverse and complex clinical scenarios that we help manage every day make Counties Manukau an unparalleled environment for lifelong learning. Our service is committed to providing excellent patient-centred care and achieving equitable health outcomes through collaboration, continuous improvement, and innovation. We are proud to be one of the leading Clinical Pharmacy services in Australasia with established systems and technology to optimise safe and effective use of medicines for our patients. We support pharmacist career growth through structured career framework and rotations, education, research, and leadership opportunities.
Working at Health New Zealand
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. We embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We welcome applications from our diverse Maori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.
How to apply
To apply please click 'apply now'. All applications must be submitted through our online career’s portal by 12th October 2025. To review the job description, please click here.
For more information, please contact Amy Lin in the Recruitment Centre on amy.lin@middlemore.co.nz.
At Counties Manukau Health people and their lives matter to us. We are a values based and inclusive organisation that is committed to delivering the best health outcomes for our community. To help us achieve this we need a workforce that reflects the population we serve. We strongly encourage applications from all backgrounds who share our values and have a passion to work in our community and would greatly value seeing applicants from our Maaori and Pacific communities. We are also committed to our Disability Strategy, which focuses on people with disabilities; they are our patients, whaanau, community and our staff - all carefully considered in our action plan. Together we will improve the accessibility needs for everyone who has a disability. Our values are Valuing Everyone- Whakawhanaungatanga , Kind –Manaakitanga, Together –Kotahitanga, Excellent- Rangatiratanga. If these are your values too, then join us today.