South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust

Senior Pharmacy Assistant

The closing date is 11 September 2025

Job summary

1 x 22.5 hours per week

The Pharmacy Department at SWYT are seeking to recruit a Senior Pharmacy Assistant to support our procurement and dispensing team based at Fieldhead Hospital. The successful candidate will play a key role in ensuring we procure, supply and distribute medicines safely, effectively and efficiently.

We are looking for a highly motivated, committed and dedicated individual who is a strong team player with excellent time management, interpersonal, and organisational skills. Candidates must work well under pressure, have strong attention to detail and be an excellent communicator.

As a department our key focus areas for development are aimed at our medicines optimisation and sustainability agenda. The postholder will be at the forefront of supporting us to achieve these priorities and our commitment to sustainability through procurement and dispensary service provision.

You will be working within a friendly and supportive team. We will support your development through a comprehensive induction, on the job training and ongoing development specific to your area of responsibility.

As a flexible employer encouraging work/life balance, we will consider part-time and flexible working opportunities for all.

Welcoming applicants with lived experience of providing unpaid care and/or support to a family member or friend with a disability, health condition, mental health problem or other needs.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will support the lead pharmacy technician for dispensary and procurement in the provision of an efficient dispensing, procurement and distribution service following relevant SOPs.

Other key result areas include:

Dispensing a wide range of prescription types methodically, accurately and efficiently.

Supporting the ordering, receiving and invoicing of pharmacy stock.

Ensure that stock is maintained in line with manufacturers guidance, including temperature monitoring, good stock rotation and expiry date checking.

Provide a stock top up service to inpatient units.

Support the training and development of all staff members with regards to dispensary related activities.

Support the Lead Pharmacy Technician for Dispensary and Procurement through leading and co-ordinating dispensary workflow.

Ensure service users receive information regarding their medicines.

Reception duties such as answering the hatch and receiving and triaging phone-calls within the dispensary.

At the time of advertising, this role does not meet the minimum requirements set by UK Visas and Immigration to sponsor candidates to work in the UK. For this reason, we are unable to sponsor anyone for a skilled worker visa for this role.

We are happy to accept applications from candidates who can prove their right to work in the UK or via alternative visa routes.

About us

We are a specialist NHS Foundation Trust that provides community, mental health and learning disability services for the people of Barnsley, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield. We also provide low and medium secure services and are the lead for the west Yorkshire secure provider collaborative.

Our mission is to help people reach their potential and live well in their communities, we do this by providing high-quality care in the right place at the right time. We employ staff in both clinical and non-clinical services who work hard to make a difference to the lives of service users, families and carers.

We encourage and welcome applications from all protected characteristic groups, we value diversity and want our workforce to be reflective of our communities.

Being a foundation Trust means were accountable to our members, who can have a say in how were run. Around 14,300 local people (including staff) are members of our Trust.

Join us and you will be one of over 4,500 staff committed to supporting and improving the mental, physical and social needs of the thousands of people we meet and help each year.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all colleagues and volunteers to share this commitment.

We do reserve to right to close vacancy before the advertised closing date if necessary, so please apply as soon as possible.

Date posted

28 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£24,937 to £26,598 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time, Flexible working

Reference number

C9378-QA01388

Job locations

Fieldhead Hospital

Ouchthorpe Lane

Wakefield

WF1 3SP

Job description

Job responsibilities

JOB SUMMARY

To assist the Technical services manager in the provision of an efficient dispensing/stores & distribution service following SOPs. Responsibility includes the day to day management and supervision to our pharmacy assistant team.

KEY RESULT AREAS:

1. The post holder will be responsible for the day to day running of the pharmacy

assistant team, planning own tasks and those of the team as outlined in department policies/SOPs or by Lead Technician.

2. The post holder will ensure that routine information is communicated to the team, department or other stakeholders when relevant.

3. The post holder will be expected to provide leadership for the ATO team, looking at innovative new ways of working and embracing new technology.

4. The post holder will be responsible for the recording of ATO staff sickness and ensuring cover of the rostered tasks for the individual as per department policy/SOP. You will be expected to interview all return to work absences, reporting any concerns/issues to line manager.

5. The post holder will be involved in other management duties as expected including helping with recruitment and carrying out appraisals of ATO team as per department policy/SOP and in conjunction with Technical Services Manager.

6. Responsible for organising the staff and ensuring rotad tasks are covered as per department policy/SOP

7. The post holder will be expected to assist in carrying out the day to day duties of an ATO, covering other sections of the department, whenrequired, and help cover basic and augmented ATO tasks during their absence. Visiting the wards on all sites and carrying out ward stock checks and controls will be also expected.

8. The post holder will be involved in data entry including inputting ward requests and ensuring stock is supplied in a timely manner.

9. The post holder will be the named lead on the Pharmacy computer software for stores functions, looking in to day to day house-keeping and answering queries, communicating with the company when necessary.

10. The post holder will take partin the dispensary rota maintaining dispensary competencies..

11. The post holder will be involved in sorting, counting, checking, distribution and booking back stock through computer system (including destruction of unwanted medicines). You will be expected to be able to deal with emergency stock issues or similar problems.

12. The post holder will be expected to answer the telephone and deal with queries regarding work in progress and communicating with relevant members of staff offering additional advice as required.

13. Assist in keeping shelves clean and tidy, expiry date checks. The post holder will be involved in stock control and rotation.

14. The post holder will be expected to comment on department policies/SOPS which will affect the role/team

15. Be involved in carrying out surveys, audits as necessary for own work including customer satisfaction surveys and top up surveys or as identified by Technical Services Manager.

16. The post holder will be involved in helping the Technical Services Manager deliver and manage Health and Safety requirements for the department carrying out risk assessments, manual handling and other mandatory training.

17. The post holder will look to investigate and report back to Technical Services Manager any identified risks.

18. You will be expected to receive visitors to the department and stock deliveries if necessary.

19. Assist with the training of new and present staff to ensure skills are up to date

20. Responsible for daily temperature monitoring using current processes

21. Any other reasonable duties, including participation in training, to fully develop the post.

The postholder will take part in the Weekend and Bank Holiday rota for the department

22.

Trust Values:

The Trust is committed to ensuring the highest standards of care and treatment and expects that all staff treat people e.g, service users, their carers, relatives, friends, colleagues, visitors etc, with dignity and respectat all time. The post holder must all time act in accordance with the Trusts Values:

Honest, open, transparent

Respectful

Person first and in the centre

Improve and be outstanding

Relevant today, ready for tomorrow

Families and carers matter

Safeguarding:

Report any concerns regarding the safety or wellbeing of children, adults service users, members of their families etc, in accordance with Trust Policy.

Prevent and respond appropriately to abuse and understand own role in this by undertaking Safeguarding training.

Trust policies and commitments to be read in line with the relevant Trust Policy:

All staff employed by the Trust must comply with the Trusts policies and procedures, undertake appropriate training required for their role and commit to:

ensure they are aware of the Whistleblowing Policy and how they raise concerns;

maintain confidentiality, in line with the Trusts Confidentiality Policy and Code of Conduct;

understand their personal responsibilities with regards to data quality for any information which they create, use or process in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Trust Data Protection Policy;

comply with the provisions of The Trusts Health and Safety Policy and Protocol. Ensuring their own safety and that of colleagues, service users and visitors. Know the action to be taken in the event of a fire and must undertake fire training annually;

receive supervision in line with the Trusts Supervision Policy and an annual Appraisal in line with the Trusts Appraisal Policy, during which mandatory, role specific and personal development needs should be identified and agreed;

understand their responsibilities under the Trusts Equal Opportunities in Employment Policy and ensure that they adhere to the provisions of the policy;

recognise, respect and support the equality diversity of staff, colleagues, service users, carers and the public. Contribute to a working environment which promotes and responds positively to difference and diversity;

ensure they carry out their duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 years, as issued under Section 11 of The Children Act 2004, by being familiar with and adhering to Trust safeguarding policies and participatingin relevanttraining;

comply with their professional responsibilities to develop their practice and deliver care through a Clinical Governance framework (i.e. CPD, Audit, Supervision);

demonstrate, through practice and practical understanding, the importance of the continual development of individual, team and service wide quality improvement;

abide by relevant codes of professional practice, with the organisation taking action when codes of conduct are breached;

work flexibly to meet the needs of the service/organisation, whilst working within a culture of progressive employment practices and commitment to the Investors in People (IiP) Standards.

adhere to the Trusts smoke free policies, which prohibits smoking anywhere on Trust grounds;

being socially responsible by complying with measures that support the Trust in reducing or offsetting our environmental impact;

Identify and report risks, hazards, incidents, accidents and near misses promptly;

In addition to the Trusts own responsibilities under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance, for your safety, ALL staff (and contractors) are responsible for ensuring their work adheres to this Code in the delivery of safe patient care.

This job description is an outline of the main duties of the post. The postholder will be required to undertake other duties commensurate with the band as directed. The content of this post will be reviewed in consultation with the postholder when necessary and in line with the service developments.

For full details of the role please see the supporting documents attached.

All employees of the Trust are strongly encouraged to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect patients.

We are aware that an increasing number of applicants are using AI technology to generate responses on NHS Job application forms. We strongly discourage this and will conduct a thorough screening process before selecting candidates to progress to the next stage. If you are using AI to enhance your application, please disclose this in your NHS Jobs application form.