About this role
Job summary
A great opportunity has arisen to join the Pharmacy Team at Barts Health as our Pharmacy Medicines Purchasing for Safety Lead, based at The Royal London Hospital with cross-site working. This role is central to ensuring safe, compliant and resilient medicines procurement across the Trust.
You will lead on procurement governance, medicine shortages management, unlicensed medicines oversight, and safety-focused contract validation, working closely with senior pharmacy leaders and multidisciplinary teams.
Key responsibilities include:
Leading safe, compliant procurement processes and supplier oversight
Managing Trust-wide medicine shortages and switch-back planning
Coordinating unlicensed medicines governance, audits and stock reviews
Conducting safety assessments, packaging checks and contract validation
Producing KPIs, dashboards and audit reports for governance forums
Supporting incident investigations, policy development and digital optimisation
We are looking for an enthusiastic, proactive pharmacy technician with excellent communication skills, strong attention to detail and a passion for patient safety.
For more information, please contact: [email protected] or [email protected]
Main duties of the job
o To provide expert leadership and governance oversight of procurement activities within the pharmacy department, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards, safeguarding patient safety, and supporting risk management.o To oversee the supply chain, including medicine shortages, unlicensed medicines, supplier management, stock control, and contract management, ensuring continuity of supply and optimal stock utilization.o To lead on governance, safety assessments, audit processes, and the management of medicine shortages and unlicensed medicines, including risk-based de-escalation and safe switch-back planning.
About us
Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.
Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.
We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.
Job description Job responsibilities
We are dedicated to being an outstanding place to work and will work with you to get the best experience. We know flexible working is not a one size fits all and will mean something different to everyone. We are inclusive, so if you are interested in flexible working, please speak to the recruiting manager.
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
BTEC level 3 Diploma in Principles and practice for pharmacy technicians or equivalent (2) Registration as a Pharmacy Technician with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Accuracy Checking Pharmacy Technician (ACPT) qualification ILM3 or equivalent leadership / management qualification
Desirable
Practice Supervisor Train the trainer or equivalent qualification
Experience Essential
Significant, recent experience in direct patient-facing clinical pharmacy role Demonstrate experience of delivering safety initiatives and improved patient outcomes Evidence of basic teaching and tutoring in a hospital setting through training others e.g. pre-registration pharmacy technicians Experience of Medication Safety and governance Experience with organising and chairing meetings Use of Datix incident reporting system or equivalent Successful experience of managing & leading change projects Lead on in service development action plans Writing and presenting complex reports Experience in managing incident investigations Experience of working with senior healthcare professionals outside of Pharmacy Experience of leading or supervising practice research or audit Experience of identifying and managing risk Experience of protocol/guideline development Track record of successful team working
Desirable
Experience using pharmacy stock management systems (CMM) Evidence of successful design and implementation of new supply processes. Experience of successfully managing staff, performing appraisals and giving feedback Management of Medicine Shortages
Knowledge Essential
Understanding of GPhC Revalidation requirements Knowledge of medicines management systems at the ward level Up to date knowledge of legislation relevant to pharmacy practice, e.g. controlled drugs, Health and Safety at Work Understanding of stock control systems An awareness of current national standards, guidelines and service delivery issues relevant to area of practice Maintains a broad level of pharmacy practice Understanding of stock control systems Knowledge of Safe and Secure Handling of Medicines requirements Understanding of the importance of adherence to SOPs and legislation Demonstrates awareness of and commitment to the medication safety and clinical governance agenda Understands national and local priorities Knowledge of regulations and legislation relevant to area of practice Demonstrates a good understanding of patient safety initiative
Desirable
Demonstrated knowledge of Quality systems Knowledge of interface issues relevant to different patient groups Knowledge of Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF)
Skills Essential
Excellent interpersonal skills Effective verbal and written communication skills Be able to influence senior medical staff, the multidisciplinary team and management teams Able to motivate self and others Be able to implement and manage change Able to complete documentation accurately with attention to detail Able to accurately follow written procedures under pressure Demonstrates numeracy skills and ability to perform accurate, complex calculations
Other Essential
Leads by example, promoting the Bart's health values Able to push heavy trolleys Able to lift heavy loads frequently of up to 15kg
Desirable
Membership of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK)
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name Barts Health NHS Trust
Address Royal London Hospital
London
E1 1FR
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)