Pharmacist (Facility Program Manager)

Veterans Health Administration • Saint Louis, MO

5h • Onsite

About The Position

The Pharmacist Facility Program Manager, Pharmacy Informatics/EHRM Liaison serves as the primary advisor to the Integrated Health Informatics Service and other key officials, promoting standardized pharmacy informatics practices across the facility. The incumbent oversees the assigned pharmacy informatics program and supervises assigned Pharmacy Informaticist staff within Health Informatics Service. The role supports effective clinical and administrative systems, designs clinical decision support tools, manages medication-safety risks and mitigation strategies, and advances evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and patient safety. The position also performs core clinical pharmacist functions, including medication-order review and verification, medication reconciliation and history-taking, monitoring drug therapy outcomes, and resolving medication-related problems.

The role leads change management for pharmacy-impacting EHR initiatives; manages the pharmacy super-user program; serves as a readiness specialist for system upgrades and modifications; and represents Pharmacy Informatics on governance boards, councils, committees, and optimization workgroups at facility, VISN, and national levels. It identifies medication-safety risks and collaborates with informatics, clinical, and quality teams on corrective actions and decision-support solutions. The position also supports staff development and participates in candidate interviews and selection recommendations.

The work schedule is Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Telework is authorized, but the position is not virtual or remote and requires the employee to work at the announced location. The work is primarily sedentary, with some standing, walking, bending, twisting, and carrying light items. Direct patient care occurs in patient-care areas, and some travel between facility sites or to VISN or national meetings may be required.

Requirements

• Graduate of an ACPE-accredited College or School of Pharmacy with a baccalaureate degree in pharmacy (BS Pharmacy) and/or a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); foreign pharmacy graduates must provide FPGEC certification, including the required examinations.
• Full, current, and unrestricted pharmacy license in a U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia; maintain current registration if required to maintain licensure.
• Proficiency in spoken and written English.
• One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12) for the GS-13 Facility Program Manager role.
• Ability to communicate orally and in writing to persuade and influence clinical and management decisions.
• Expert understanding of regulatory and quality standards for the program area.
• Ability to solve problems and coordinate and organize responsibilities to maximize outcomes in the program area or clinical specialty.
• Expert knowledge of a specialized area of clinical pharmacy practice or pharmacy specialty.
• Advanced skill in monitoring and assessing drug-therapy outcomes, including physical assessment and interpretation of laboratory and other diagnostic parameters.
• U.S. citizenship is required, subject to the stated VA policy exception for non-citizens when qualified citizens cannot be recruited.
• Must meet VA pre-employment screening and onboarding conditions, including applicable background/security investigation and urinalysis requirements, and participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.
• Must serve a one- or two-year trial period, subject to written certification for continued employment.

Nice To Haves

• Experience leading change management for large-scale organizational EHR changes or new EHR deployments, including implementation, upgrades, or system transitions.
• Experience supervising or managing pharmacy or informatics staff.
• Experience engaging with executive and senior facility or VISN leadership, including briefing leaders on program initiatives, risks, or status.
• Experience communicating change and educating end users across a facility, including developing training materials and leading training or communication efforts across multiple departments or service lines.
• Experience escalating issues and working with national or VISN-level program offices, such as the EHRM Program Office, to implement federal EHR changes.
• Experience using data and analytics to identify trends, measure outcomes, and drive informatics-related change.

Responsibilities

• Advise the Integrated Health Informatics Service and other officials on standardizing pharmacy informatics practices across the facility.
• Oversee the assigned pharmacy informatics program and supervise assigned Pharmacy Informaticist staff.
• Support clinical and administrative systems, design clinical decision-support tools, and manage medication-safety risks and mitigation strategies.
• Lead formal change-management planning and execution for pharmacy-impacting EHR initiatives, including stakeholder analysis, communications, training, resistance management, and adoption measurement.
• Establish, manage, and oversee the pharmacy and pharmacy-adjacent EHR super-user program, including recruitment, role and escalation-path definition, coverage scheduling, and effectiveness evaluation.
• Serve as a readiness specialist for major system upgrades and modifications, and develop strategies to improve pharmacy issue reporting and resolution.
• Represent Pharmacy Informatics on EHRM governance boards, informatics councils, clinical decision-support committees, and system-optimization workgroups at facility, VISN, and national levels.
• Identify system-related medication-safety risks and work with informatics, clinical, and quality teams to develop corrective action plans, hard and soft stops, order sets, and clinical decision-support tools.
• Review, interpret, and verify medication orders; perform medication reconciliation and history-taking; monitor and assess drug-therapy outcomes; and identify and resolve medication-related problems.
• Identify staff training and development needs and support professional growth.
• Interview candidates and make or recommend selections for vacancies.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Federal employee benefits package available to the employee and family, subject to position eligibility.
• Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual based on prior federal or military service, subject to approval.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior