Chief Pharmacy Technician

The Arch Medical Practice; Manchester; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

On-site parking

Staff yoga

Walking group

Free fruit & breakfast items

Cycle to Work scheme

Standing desks

Practice fleeces

Employee of the Month scheme

Job summary

The Arch Medical Practice in Hulme, Manchester, seeks a Chief Pharmacy Technician to lead the pharmacy team within a busy primary care setting. You will coordinate medicines optimisation, oversee repeat prescribing, and ensure safe systems for prescribing and monitoring.

Close collaboration with clinical pharmacists, GPs, and nurses is essential to improve patient care and safety. We value development and training; you will shape services, deliver improvements, and support staff through ongoing

Qualifications

• Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Meets GPhC qualification and training requirements to register as a Pharmacy Technician
• Working towards, enrolled in, or qualified via an approved training pathway (e.g. Primary Care Pharmacy Educational Pathway (PCPEP))
• Evidence of ongoing specialist training relevant to primary care or medicines optimisation
• Experience working in a primary care (GP practice or PCN) setting
• Understanding of GP practice systems, QOF, and enhanced services
• Awareness of the wider NHS structure, including PCNs and commissioners

Responsibilities

• Lead & support the clinical pharmacy team delivering safe, effective medicines management
• Oversee repeat prescribing systems, ensuring prescriptions are processed accurately and timely
• Coordinate medicines optimisation activities including medication reviews and reconciliation after hospital discharge
• Lead on improving systems and processes within the practice to enhance efficiency & patient safety
• Provide leadership & support to the pharmacy team to ensure safe, appropriate medicines and adherence
• Develop and lead service improvements and work with clinical pharmacists & GPs
• Train and develop staff; implement national prescribing policies & guidelines
• Support integration across health and social care with the multi-disciplinary team
• Ensure compliance with current legislation and safeguarding policies
• Participate in clinical audits and quality improvement projects and update protocols

Skills

Leadership

Team coordination

Attention to detail

Organisational skills

Multi-disciplinary collaboration

Education

GPhC registration

GPhC registration requirements

PCPEP pathway training

Specialist training in primary care

GP practice experience

GP practice systems & QOF

NHS structure awareness

Job description

We are looking for a Chief Pharmacy Technician to join our team. This is an important leadership role supporting the safe & effective use of medicines.

The successful candidate will work closely with clinical pharmacists, GPs, nurses, & the wider team to lead & coordinate our pharmacy technician team, support medicines optimisation & improve patient care. The role includes overseeing repeat prescribing processes, supporting medication reviews, managing medicines queries, & ensuring safe systems are in place for prescribing & monitoring.

You will also play a key role in overseeing medicines reconciliation following hospital discharge, supporting patients with long-term conditions, & ensuring medicines-related issues are identified & resolved. A strong focus of the role is improving patient safety, supporting adherence, & ensuring patients get the best outcomes from their medicines.

This is a varied & rewarding leadership role for someone who enjoys developing & supporting a team, has excellent organisational skills, strong attention to detail, & is confident working in a busy primary care environment. You will have opportunities to lead service improvement, develop pharmacy services, & work closely with experienced clinical pharmacists & GPs.

We are a supportive training practice and learning & development is encouraged. You will be supported by the wider pharmacy & clinical team, with opportunities to shape and develop your leadership role within a growing & evolving service.

Main duties of the job

The Chief Pharmacy Technician will lead & support the clinical pharmacy team & wider practice in delivering safe, effective medicines management. They will take responsibility for overseeing repeat prescribing systems, ensuring prescriptions are processed accurately and in a timely manner, & maintaining safe medicines processes across the practice.

You will work closely with pharmacists, GPs, & the wider multidisciplinary team to coordinate medicines optimisation activities, including medication reviews, medicines reconciliation following hospital discharge, & managing medicines-related queries from staff & patients.

A key part of the role will involve providing leadership & support to the pharmacy team, ensuring patients receive the most appropriate medicines safely, supporting adherence, & identifying any issues relating to prescribing or supply. The post holder will also lead on improving systems and processes within the practice to enhance efficiency & patient safety.

The role requires excellent attention to detail, strong organisational & leadership skills, & the ability to work independently, manage competing priorities & support others in a busy primary care environment. The successful candidate will be encouraged to take ownership of the pharmacy service & lead improvements.

This is a varied leadership role with opportunities to develop pharmacy services, work closely with clinical colleagues & play a key part in a supportive & evolving pharmacy team.

About us

The Arch Medical Practice is a GP training practice based in Hulme, close to Manchester city centre. We provide primary care services to a diverse and growing patient population and are committed to delivering safe, high-quality, and accessible care.

We are a large multidisciplinary team made up of GPs, nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, healthcare assistants, and administrative and reception staff. We work closely together in a supportive and collaborative way, with regular meetings to support communication, continuity, and shared decision-making.

As a training practice, we support GP trainees and other learners, and learning and development is part of everyday working life. We also work closely with our Primary Care Network and wider health and social care services to support joined-up patient care.

We aim to maintain a friendly and supportive working environment where staff feel valued and listened to. We recognise the pressures of primary care and focus on safe, sustainable working practices alongside good teamwork and open communication.

Staff wellbeing is important to us and we offer a range of benefits including free on-site parking, staff yoga sessions, walking group, free fruit and breakfast items, Cycle to Work scheme, standing desks, practice fleeces, and an Employee of the Month scheme.

We encourage staff development and provide opportunities for learning, supervision, and progression within a supportive environment.

Job responsibilities

The following are the coreresponsibilities of the Pharmacy Technician in delivering health services:

a.Support medication reviews and medicinesreconciliation for new care home patients

b.Support initiatives for antimicrobialstewardship to reduce inappropriate

antibiotic prescribing

c.Assist in the delivery of medicinesoptimisation and management incentiveschemes and patient safety audits

d.Support the implementation of nationalprescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and otherprimary care settings. This will be achieved through undertaking clinicalaudits (e.g., use of antibiotics), supporting quality improvement measures andcontributing to the Quality and Outcomes Framework and enhanced services

e.Work with the multi-disciplinary team toensure efficient medicines optimisation, including implementing efficientordering and return processes, and reducing wastage

f.Support practice reception teams insorting and streaming general prescription requests, so as to allow GPs and ClinicalPharmacists to review the more clinically complex request

g.Support medicines optimisation systemswith a range of services to get the best value from medicines by encouragingand implementing electronic prescriptions, safe repeat prescribing systems, andtimely monitoring and management of high-risk medicines

h.Provide training and support on thelegal, safe and secure handling of medicines, including the implementation ofthe Electronic Prescription Service

i.Develop relationships with otherpharmacy technicians, pharmacists and members of the multi-disciplinary team tosupport integration of the pharmacy team across health and social careincluding primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care, and mental health

j.Be aware of duties and responsibilitiesregarding current legislation and adhere to practice policies and procedures onSafeguarding Adults and Safeguarding Children

k.Handle prescription queries and requestsdirectly

l.Be an integral part of the generalpractice team

m.Demonstrate initiative and be creativein finding solutions to problems

n.Participate in clinical audits andresearch projects and implements changes as required, including supporting withthe development, and updating of practice protocols / guidelines and procedureslocally

o.Support in the delivery of enhancedservices and other service requirements

p.Support in the management of patientcomplaints when requested to do so and participate in the identification of anynecessary learning brought about through incidents and near-miss events

q.Undertake all mandatory training andinduction programmes

r.Contribute to and embrace the spectrumof clinical governance

s.Attend a formal appraisal with theirmanager at least every 12 months. Once a performance/training objective hasbeen set, progress will be reviewed on a regular basis so that new objectivescan be agreed

t.Maintain a clean, tidy, effectiveworking area at all times

There may be, on occasion, a requirement tocarry out other tasks, this will be dependent upon factors such as workload andstaffing levels

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Meets GPhC qualification and training requirements to register as a Pharmacy Technician
• Working towards, enrolled in, or qualified via an approved training pathway (e.g. Primary Care Pharmacy Educational Pathway (PCPEP)
• Evidence of ongoing specialist training relevant to primary care or medicines optimisation
• Experience working in a primary care (GP practice or PCN) setting
• Understanding of GP practice systems, QOF, and enhanced services
• Awareness of the wider NHS structure, including PCNs and commissioners

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.