Pharmacy Hospital Services Director

Essentia Health•Fargo, ND

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Here at Essentia, hospital pharmacy leadership is close to the care and big enough to shape the system. As System Director, Hospital Pharmacy Services, you’ll report to the Acute Care Senior Director of Pharmacy and lead the people, processes, standards, and operational strategy that support hospital pharmacy services across assigned areas. This is not a narrow site manager role. It is a system-facing leadership role built around practice standardization, regulatory readiness, operational performance, and safe, efficient pharmacy care. You’ll be a connector between pharmacy leadership, hospital teams, service lines, clinical programs, and operational partners. The work is part strategy, part execution, and part relationship-building. You’ll help turn expectations into workflows, data into decisions, and strong pharmacy teams into even stronger teams. You’ll thrive here if you are an experienced hospital pharmacy leader who enjoys improving how work gets done. You care about patient care, compliance, team culture, financial stewardship, and the details that make pharmacy operations safe and sustainable. You like leading through influence, coaching leaders, solving complex problems, and building trust across a highly connected health system.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or Doctorate in Pharmacy from an accredited college of pharmacy.
Licensed pharmacist in the state or states within scope of the role, with Minnesota, North Dakota, and/or Wisconsin Board of Pharmacy licensure required upon hire or within 90 days of hire.
8+ years of applicable pharmacy experience, including hospital pharmacy leadership or management experience.
Experience providing and overseeing hospital pharmacy care.
Demonstrated leadership in pharmacy services, team development, operational decision-making, and patient-centered care.
Strong commitment to quality, compliance, employee engagement, and alignment with Essentia Health values.
Proven ability to work successfully with clinical and non-clinical partners in a team-based environment.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Business Administration, healthcare administration, pharmacy administration, or a related field.
PGY1 pharmacy residency or PGY2 residency in pharmacy leadership, administration, or a related area.
Pharmacy regulatory compliance leadership experience.
Experience leading practice standardization, workflow improvement, service expectations, or operational policy development.
Background managing budgets, financial targets, staffing models, contractual obligations, or resource planning.
A leader of leaders who enjoys coaching emerging talent, strengthening succession plans, and building the next generation of pharmacy leadership.
Comfort leading through influence in a complex health system, where success depends on strong partnerships across clinical, operational, and pharmacy teams.

Responsibilities

Lead hospital pharmacy operations across assigned pharmacy and clinical service areas with a focus on safe, reliable, high-quality patient care.
Develop and execute programs, processes, and business strategies that support service expectations, practice standardization, and compliance.
Partner with pharmacy leaders, clinical teams, service lines, and operational partners to align pharmacy services with patient care needs.
Build clear workflows, expectations, and performance standards so pharmacy teams can work efficiently and consistently.
Manage budget, financial targets, staffing priorities, and operational performance for assigned areas.
Serve as a key pharmacy liaison across hospital teams, programs, clinical areas, external agencies, and other stakeholders.
Use metrics, analysis, and improvement plans to monitor performance and support timely operational decisions.
Lead or support development of operational and clinical policies for assigned pharmacy areas.
Partner with Human Resources and pharmacy leadership on recruiting, onboarding, professional development, succession planning, and talent growth.
Maintain readiness for Board of Pharmacy requirements, accreditation standards, applicable laws, internal policies, contractual obligations, and professional practice standards.