| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Allied Health |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | Cluster Manager |
| Direct reports | Pharmacist, Pharmacy Assistant |
| Experience | 5 to 8 years in retail or hospital pharmacy, with 2 years running a store or shift |
Pharmacy Manager job description template
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Job title: Pharmacy Manager
Department: Allied Health
Reports to: Cluster Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Pharmacy Manager runs a retail pharmacy store or a hospital pharmacy. The role owns drug licence compliance, purchasing, stock and expiry control, prescription-only and controlled drug registers, dispensing accuracy and the pharmacists and assistants on each shift. In a chain the manager also answers for store sales and margin; in a hospital, for medicine availability on wards and in the OT. A good one never sends a patient away without a needed medicine and still keeps near-expiry stock low.
Key responsibilities
- Keep the pharmacy's drug licences and the registrations of its pharmacists valid, displayed and renewed well before they lapse.
- Plan purchase orders to distributors or the central warehouse from sales history, seasonal demand and minimum stock levels.
- Receive stock against invoices, check batch numbers, expiry dates and cold chain items, and settle short supplies with vendors.
- Run first expiry, first out on the shelves, pull near-expiry batches every month, and arrange returns or expiry claims with distributors.
- Supervise dispensing so that Schedule H and H1 medicines are sold only against valid prescriptions, with H1 register entries complete.
- Keep narcotic and psychotropic stock locked, with daily balance checks and registers that match physical stock.
- Roster pharmacists so a registered pharmacist is on duty for all opening hours, including nights in 24-hour stores.
- Conduct monthly stock audits and cycle counts, and investigate every variance between system and shelf stock.
- Review daily sales, margins, discounts and credit bills, and reconcile cash, card and UPI collections at closing.
- Resolve patient queries, brand substitutions and complaints, and call the prescribing doctor when a prescribed brand is unavailable.
- Train pharmacists and assistants on dispensing checks, billing software, cold chain handling and counter service.
Requirements
- B.Pharm or D.Pharm, registered with the State Pharmacy Council
- M.Pharm or a retail management certificate is an advantage
- 5 to 8 years in retail or hospital pharmacy, with 2 years running a store or shift
KRAs and KPIs for a Pharmacy Manager
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Licence compliance | Zero lapsed licences or pharmacist registrations, and no adverse findings in drug inspector visits |
| Medicine availability | Prescription fill rate at or above 97 percent, measured weekly from the lost sales register |
| Expiry control | Expired stock write-off below 0.5 percent of monthly purchase value |
| Stock accuracy | Variance between system and physical stock below 0.3 percent at the monthly audit |
| Dispensing safety | Zero wrong-drug or wrong-strength dispensing incidents reaching a patient |
| Sales and margin | Monthly store sales and gross margin at or above the agreed target |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Pharmacy billing software such as Marg ERP, Barcode scanner, Vaccine refrigerator with temperature log, Distributor ordering apps, UPI and card payment terminals, MS Excel.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Cluster Manager, Retail Operations Manager, Head of Allied Health Services
Interview questions for a Pharmacy Manager
- How do you set the reorder level for a fast-moving antibiotic before the monsoon?
- A customer asks for alprazolam without a prescription and gets angry when refused. How do you handle it?
- The monthly audit shows a ₹18,000 shortage in one rack. What do you check first?
- How do you move near-expiry stock before it becomes a write-off?
- Which registers would a drug inspector ask to see, and how do you keep them ready?
- How would you roster pharmacists for a store open from 8 am to 11 pm, seven days a week?
Managing a Pharmacy Manager in ZeniaHR
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What does a pharmacy manager do?
A pharmacy manager runs a pharmacy: licences, purchasing, stock and expiry control, controlled drug registers, dispensing checks, staff rosters and daily sales. In hospitals they keep wards and OTs supplied with medicines; in retail chains they also answer for the store's sales, margin and customer service.
What is the difference between a pharmacist and a pharmacy manager?
A pharmacist dispenses medicines, checks prescriptions, counsels patients and keeps dispensing records. A pharmacy manager is usually a senior pharmacist who also runs the store or department: ordering, stock audits, licences, rosters, the team's performance and the pharmacy's numbers.
Who does a pharmacy manager report to?
In a pharmacy chain the store's pharmacy manager reports to a cluster or area manager who looks after several stores. In a hospital, the pharmacy manager reports to the head of allied health services, the medical superintendent or the purchase head, depending on how the hospital is structured.