Practice Educator - FTY

On 1 April 2026, NSS and NES became one national organisation, focused on continuity today and a stronger, more connected service for tomorrow.

As part of this transformation, NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) have joined to form a new organisation: Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland). This new organisation will play a pivotal role in supporting the renewal and ensuring the long-term sustainability of health and care services across Scotland.

Flexible Location: PSD Scotland is a remote-friendly employer with staff based throughout Scotland. We support office-based and hybrid working arrangements. We welcome conversations about alternative working patterns—please get in touch during the application process to discuss.

Work Pattern: Permanent,

Full Time, 36 hours per week

You must have eligibility and entitlement to work in the UK which is required to be maintained throughout your period of employment.

Who We Are PSD Scotland unites expertise from NES and NSS in a way that will allow us to accelerate national programmes to support the NHS to deliver better care, now and in the future.

We support staff with education and training, provide the tools and data that improve services, and run vital national functions such as procurement, logistics and blood, tissue and cell services.

The Pharmacy team within PSD Scotland is responsible through the Executive Medical Director to the PSD Scotland Board and through the Board to Scottish Government for the commissioning and delivery of postgraduate pharmacy education in Scotland.

The Opportunity We have an opportunity for pharmacists interested in education and training to join the PSD Scotland Pharmacy team as a Practice Educator, on a permanent basis. The roles will work collaboratively across PSD Scotland and the NHS Scotland pharmacy service, bringing pharmacy education and training expertise to the national context, promoting, and supporting educational developments across the career pathways.

Practice Educators in the PSD Scotland Pharmacy team provide support for the development of key education solutions as well as support for educational supervisors and learners. These roles provide a real opportunity to contribute to a critical stage of pharmacy education support. They provide an excellent opportunity for a pharmacist with an interest in educational initiatives to expand their career experience.

This is an exciting opportunity to join the team responsible for the quality assurance, development and delivery of the Foundation Training Year (FTY) programme for trainee pharmacists undertaking their final year of training prior to registration as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). The FTY Practice Educator role is a varied role which supports all aspects of the organisation and delivery of the FTY, Some of the key tasks undertaken by the practice educator include: training site approval for sites across Scotland delivering FTY, supporting development of FTY supervisors through involvement in FTY supervisor training and provision of ongoing support, delivery and development of the FTY core curriculum and supporting development and progression of trainee pharmacists, through provision of resources, drop in sessions and one to one support for trainee pharmacists where required. This all supports delivery of the GPhC accredited FTY programme, in line with the 2021 GPhC Standards for the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists.

This post will mainly involve remote working. Attendance at PSD Scotland offices will be required approximately 12 times across the training year, to support face to face delivery of training days for trainee pharmacists across Scotland. There may also be request for travel to other PSD Scotland offices as required. This reflects our need to deliver regional, in-person training sessions in addition to online training sessions throughout the Foundation Training Year. Occasional cross-cover across pharmacy teams may be required as part of the role.

Do you want to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders across Scotland to play a key operational role in supporting national training initiatives that provide education and development opportunities for the pharmacy workforce?

Do you want to play a key role in enhancing the learning and development experiences of the pharmacy workforce?

Do you want to contribute to the delivery and development of the Foundation Training Year programme for trainee pharmacists?

Do you enjoy working at pace and being adaptive in an ever-changing environment?

Do you enjoy building relationships and a shared vision for the future to support change and innovation?

Working within the PSD Scotland Pharmacy team, you will have the opportunity to bring your unique skills and experience to the table, collaborating across multiple workstreams to effect real change within the pharmacy workforce in Scotland.

Does this sound like you?

What We Love To See Practice Educators offer a broad range of skills and experience, if you can offer some or all of these, we’d love you to apply:

• Pharmacist Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Experience as a pharmacist practicing in any sector (i.e. Community, hospital, primary care), with experience of supporting trainees/learners
• Ability to collaborate effectively and build networks and communities of practice
• Experience in the delivery of activities which support change and development
• Highly effective communicator, with the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information
• Experience working collaboratively and flexibly within a team, across organisations and in multidisciplinary environments
• Demonstrate honesty, integrity, care and compassion when dealing with others, utilising tact and persuasion skills when necessary
• Ability to work on own initiative, to organise and prioritise own workloads, to meet strict deadlines

Benefits Which Matter As a valued employee of NHS Scotland, you can enjoy an extensive range of benefits including:

• Life-work balance - with opportunities for flexible working and hybrid working
• Generous NHS pension scheme
• Annual incremental salary progression (up to the maximum of the salary band) plus annual NHS salary scale review
• Annual Leave - 27 Days increasing in line with service plus 8 days public holiday
• NHS discounts and more

Diversity and Inclusion Developing a successful national service for Scotland means considering the diverse needs, perspectives, and backgrounds of everyone in Scotland. We are focused on hiring the very best talent and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds. Our aim to ensure that everyone is treated fairly, with respect, and has a positive recruitment experience—regardless of the outcome.

We welcome applications from all under-represented groups, including racially minoritised people and disabled people. It is not essential to be in Practice Educator role right now—you may be returning from a career break (e.g., maternity, paternity, caring) or coming from another field. Your experiences can bring a fresh perspective to our work.

If you are considering applying and would like to discuss the opportunity, any adjustments or alternative work patterns, please contact Gillian Allison, Senior Educator or Gail Craig, Principal Lead on pharmacy@nes.scot.nhs.uk by 22nd July

Next Steps All applicants who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail.

In person OR online interviews (including a presentation ) will take place on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 August 2026. The presentation will be sent to candidates selected for interview.

For further information please refer to the Job Information Pack below. Unless otherwise stated the deadline for applications is 23:59 hours on the closing date. Please note, CVs will not be accepted .

• Please be advised that if you are successful in being offered the role following the recruitment process, you will be expected to attend the office prior to your start date to complete face-to-face pre-employment checks. If you require any adjustments to support this, please let us know.
• To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.

As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK website here.

For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health &​ Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licenced Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be found here.

It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsored BEFORE submitting your application form.

If you have any queries regarding the NHS Scotland National Recruitment Portal or the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to contact our recruitment partner