About this role
Job summary
This Band 6 role leads the pharmacy procurement and finance function at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, ensuring medicines are purchased, stocked, and financially managed safely, efficiently and in line with national contracts and Trust policies.
Main duties of the job
Procurement: Order and manage stock of all medicines for both hospital sites, maintain accurate stock levels, resolve supply issues, action drug alerts, liaise with suppliers, and ensure compliance with contracts and SOPs. Finance: Reconcile invoices, authorise appropriate price changes, manage credits, resolve pricing discrepancies, support payment processes, and maintain accurate financial records. Management: Lead and supervise the procurement and finance team at the Alexandra Hospital, manage staffing and performance, provide training, support recruitment, and ensure service delivery. Operational/Technical: Undertake dispensary duties including dispensing, accuracy checking, interpreting prescriptions, and counselling patients when required. Governance & Professional Standards: Maintain GPhC registration, uphold Trust values, follow health and safety, infection control, confidentiality, and risk management requirements
About us
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.
The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester
Our workforce is more than 7,000 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.
We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us. Our values, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.
Being open and honest
Ensuring people feel cared for
Showing respect to everyone
We are committed to developing a culture of continuous improvement by embedding the principles of our Improvement System.
We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.
DBS Checks and Costs
Any applicants who are offered posts requiring a DBS check as part of their employment check will have the cost of this check (at the current rate) deducted from their salary. Please see link in Supporting Information section for more details on DBS checks and costs.
Job description Job responsibilities
Supporting the Countywide Procurement and Homecare Patient Services Manager in the procuring of all medicines and associated products used by the Trust, the pharmacy department and supplied to other Trusts (circa £71m per year) using the pharmacy computer system (predominately via the Powergate portal) and the Trusts Stores Procurement System. This must be in line with the Trusts Standing Financial Instructions and the MPSC and Health Trust Europe (HTE) contracts and framework agreements
Ensuring the correct quantity of all medicines and associated products required are ordered and stocked at both the AH and the WRH sites.
Leading, motivating and managing the team of pharmacy procurement and finance staff at the AH ensuring they actively and effectively contribute to the aims of the service, are trained and assessed as competent and are aware of the expectations of them.
Supervising, training and co-ordinating the activity of staff allocated, which may include Pharmacy Assistants, newly recruited Technicians, FYT pharmacists and other trainees.
Ensuring goods received notes and invoices for medicines and associated products are processed correctly within the necessary timescales and, reconciled with orders placed using the Pharmacy Computer System. Invoices must be correctly cleared for payment and payment correctly authorised.
Authorising price increases when it is appropriate to do so.
Leading investigations of queries with suppliers regarding stock availability, delivery and pricing.
Accounting for charge notes being raised for debtors.
Ensuring any stock outs or potential stock outs that cannot be resolved by the procurement team are rapidly and effectively escalated to the Countywide Procurement and Homecare Patient Services Manager or higher.
Effectively and promptly, action any Shortages and Drug Alerts according to the departmental procedures escalating when required.
Safely interpret prescriptions for discharge, inpatients and outpatients.
Accurately, safely and promptly label, assemble and issue prescriptions for inpatients, discharge and outpatients.
Counsel patients on their take home medicines to assist patients in obtaining the most from their medicines.
Professionally screen requisitions for medicines from ward or clinical areas, confirming discrepancies and liaising with ward staff to ensure medicines are dispensed accurately and promptly according to ward need.
Undertake the final accuracy, check on dispensed medicines prior to issue to patients.
Please see full Job Description attached in the advert.
Please get in contact with Deb Hill for enquiries.
Person Specification
Skills and Knowledge Essential
Proven ability to dispense medicines accurately without making errors. Full range of organisational and office management skills. Problem solving skills for solving complex supply issues, answering queries, progress chasing, finance purchase order related problems with external suppliers, and task related problem-solving face to face and over the phone or Teams. Numeracy and ordering skills to be able to check and reconcile invoices as well as ensure sufficient stock is available whilst minimising stock holding and waste due to expiry. Skills to use and maintain IT systems for managing computer files, determining the status of orders and invoices, and for correcting receiving and invoicing errors etc. Skilled at using the internet, intranet and on-line information resources. Able to communicate clearly and effectively both verbally and written and can record details accurately and neatly. Extensive skills to use Microsoft Office packages i.e. Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook to communicate affectively, produce reports, create rotas etc. Knowledge and understanding of the importance of Safe Systems of Working in Pharmacy. Up to date knowledge of Health and Safety at Work including COSHH and Manual Handling as it applies to pharmacy. Up to date knowledge of medicines and procurement practices. Current understanding of the issues facing pharmacy purchasing services within the NHS. Up to date knowledge of Medicines Legislation including the Medicines Act, and Misuse of Drugs Act as they apply to pharmacy service SOPs and the legal requirements for dispensing and supplying medicines. Excellent communication skills. Highly developed interpersonal skills. Possess analytical and judgement skills. Ability to priorities own work, and that of others to meet set deadlines. Ability to cope with pressure and multitask. Highly motivated. Work to a high level of accuracy, giving attention to detail. Up to date knowledge of what an NPSA alert, Drug Alert and Medicines Supply Notification is.
Desirable
Skilled at Patient Counselling. Proven ability to check medicines dispensed by others and detect errors that have been made. Knowledge of quality assurance. Developing, managing and improving Standard Operational Procedures. Knowledge and understanding of pharmacy financial procedures including reconciliation and balances, VAT exemptions, finance and/or pharmacy computer systems, financial records, and coding structures. Ability to pull together comprehensive draft reports, data and complex rotas etc
Qualifications Essential
NVQ (or equivalent experience equal to) Level 2 in Pharmacy Min 3 years recent hospital pharmacy procurement management Supervisory or team leadership course. Knowledge of legislation as it affects pharmacy financial management.
Desirable
NVQ Level 3 and BTEC in pharmaceutical Science (or equivalent). Registered with the GPhC post NVQ3. Holder of an ACT qualification post NVQ3. Evidence of Continuing Professional Development.
Experience Essential
Significant hospital or community experience of working within pharmacy including dispensary and/or aseptic services experience. Current relevant experience of supervising staff and/or students in pharmacy services. Experience and knowledge of medicines and pharmacy policies including naming, handling and storage practices. Experience of ordering medicine stock where accuracy is of the utmost importance. Experience of dealing with a range of routine and non-routine activities, work allocation, problem solving for a team/area of work, answering queries, progress chasing, and task related problem solving. Extensive experience and evidence of using Microsoft Office packages i.e. Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook in current job role. Experience of working under pressure with pressurised deadlines e.g. sourcing medicines required in an emergency.
Desirable
Recent and relevant experience of successfully delivering Pharmacy Procurement or technical pharmacy services in a hospital setting. Experience leading a team and facilitating service delivery and training. Experience managing staff including allocation of workload and personnel issues. Developing, managing and improving Standard Operational Procedures
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.
Employer details Employer name Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Address Charles Hastings Way
Worcester
Worcestershire
WR5 1DD
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.worcsacute.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)