Dispensary Manager

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust; Bath; On-site; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Job summary

The Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Dispensary Manager to lead a busy hospital dispensary, ensuring safe, efficient, patient-centred service delivery. You will drive continuous improvement, manage a diverse team, and maintain high safety and performance standards across the RUH site and associated services.

This role offers a permanent contract, 37.5 hours per week, with weekend, late, and bank holiday commitments.

Qualifications

• Pharmacy management qualifications and registrations in the UK.
• Experience leading hospital dispensary teams and adherence to GDP and safety standards.
• Capability to develop staff and drive continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

• Provide an effective, patient-centred pharmacy dispensary service.
• Lead and motivate staff, delivering managerial leadership.
• Ensure safe systems of work, monitor KPIs, and drive Lean improvements.
• Develop skills and competencies of staff, including student technicians.
• Deputise for the Lead Pharmacy Technician – Operations as required.

Skills

Leadership

People management

LEAN principles

Stakeholder engagement

Education

BTEC in Pharmaceutical Science

NVQ Level 3 in Pharmacy Services

ACPT qualification

GPhC registration

Diploma in Pharmacy Management

NVQ Level 4 in Management

Job description

Main area Pharmacy Grade NHS AfC: Band 7 Contract Permanent: + weekends, lates and bank holidays Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (+ Weekends, Lates and Bank Holidays) Job ref 427-8216521

Employer Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Royal United Hospitals Town Bath Salary £49,387 - £56,515 pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 16/09/2026 23:59

Dispensary Manager

NHS AfC: Band 7

Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity to lead a busy, forward-thinking dispensary service delivering safe, efficient and patient-centred care. As Dispensary Manager, you will play a key role in ensuring the smooth running of operations, maintaining high standards of safety, quality & performance, and driving continuous improvement to meet the needs of patients and clinical teams.

At the RUH, there is a strong commitment to being a supportive, inclusive place to work. Flexible working and wellbeing are actively promoted, recognising that people have important commitments outside of work. The aim is to create an environment where colleagues feel respected, valued and able to thrive.

The successful candidate will demonstrate empathy, resilience and emotional intelligence, with the ability to support and develop a diverse team and foster a positive, psychologically safe culture.

A strong focus on systems, processes and continuous improvement is essential. The role involves balancing competing demands in a fast-paced environment while maintaining focus on patient safety, service efficiency and team wellbeing.

The post holder will build effective relationships across pharmacy and the wider multidisciplinary team, role modelling professionalism, kindness and accountability.

Applications are welcomed from individuals who care about people, take pride in high-quality processes, and want to work in a kind, flexible and high-performing team.

Main duties of the job

These are the main aspects of the job - please see the attached Job Description & Person Specification for more information.

• Providing an Effective Pharmacy Dispensary Service
• Managing Staff within the Dispensary Services
• Ensuring Safe Systems of Work & Monitoring (KPIs)
• Developing Skills, Training and Competencies of Staff
• Deputising for the Lead Pharmacy Technician - Operations

Working for our organisation

We are proud to be part of BSW Hospitals Group - a formal partnership between the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. With a combined workforce of over 17, 600 colleagues, and budget of 1.6 billion the Group is united by a common purpose to deliver the best possible care to over 1 million people.

We are creating a health and care system that works with the people we care for, reducing the differences people currently face in access, experience and outcomes, improving the experience of our colleagues and tackling shared challenges like sustainability and finances. Every improvement we make across our Group will be guided by what creates the greatest benefit for our colleagues, our patients, our communities and our partners.

By working together, we make a real difference for our patients, each other, and our community. Every role matters in delivering the exceptional, person‑centred care we’re proud of.

We’re committed to a compassionate, inclusive culture where kindness is championed, differences are valued, and diversity makes us stronger.

We want to support you to thrive, taking your career to its full potential. We prioritise staff wellbeing – and yes, we even have a pool!

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Summary

• To provide an effective, efficient and patient-centred pharmacy service in accordance with current legislation, accepted professional and ethical standards and clinical requirements.
• To be responsible for the RUH Pharmacy Dispensary services, including leading and motivating staff, providing excellent managerial leadership to ensure that the Pharmacy Dispensary provides the expected level of service to both the RUH site, Community Hospitals and other Care Providers.
• To ensure safe systems of work at all times, continually monitoring Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and dynamically managing and developing the Dispensary service provision, implementing LEAN principals and best practice, in order to address the increasing demands of the service.
• Assess and develop the skills, training and competencies of all grades of staff working within the Dispensary and be responsible for the co-ordination of appropriate training (including student pharmacy technicians) alongside the Lead Pharmacy Technician for Learning & Development.
• To attend internal and external meetings and deputise for the Lead Pharmacy Technician – Operations as required.

Person specification

Qualifications and Training

• BTEC in Pharmaceutical Science or equivalent
• NVQ Level 3 in Pharmacy Services or equivalent
• Qualified NVQ Assessor to A1 standards or equivalent
• Nationally recognised Accredited Checking Pharmacy Technician qualification (ACPT)
• Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) as a Pharmacy Technician
• Supervisory Qualification or equivalent experience
• Member of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians (APTUK)
• Managerial qualification to Diploma level or equivalent experience
• NVQ Level 4 in Management or equivalent, or equivalent experience in Pharmacy Management role
• Knowledge of pharmacy service procedures, including GDP, falsified medicines directive etc.

Knowledge and Experience

• Current experience working in a hospital, planning and organising complex activities including prioritisation of different services to a variety of service users, working dynamically and managing staff strategically to meet the changing demands of the service throughout the day
• Experience in providing specialist clinical services and advice to patients, service users, colleagues and AHPs within the wider MDT, referring to a Pharmacist if requiredDispensing and final accuracy checking of medicines for patients and service users to a high level of accuracy
• ound knowledge of the legal requirements (Law and Ethics) for dispensing and supplying medicines, including CDs
• Experience as a line manager for pharmacy personnel including Pharmacy Technicians and Assistants including workload allocation, performance, recruitment lead and selection of staff, career development, sickness absence & performance management
• Experience of management of a Pharmacy Service, including strategic workforce planning, rota writing and dynamic utilisation of staff and resources
• Experience of implementing change in a service and/or process within Pharmacy, measuring the impact of the change and getting feedback from service users
• Use and system knowledge of electronic prescribing
• Comprehensive knowledge of Health and Safety issues and their implications for staff.

Please note - Due to recent changes in UK immigration and visa rules applicants who do not currently have the right to work in the UK may not be considered unless an alternative right to work solution can be provided. Candidates requiring sponsorship (or will need sponsorship at the end of a current visa e.g. those with graduate visa's) should reviewthe eligibility criteria on the gov.uk website before applying: Prove your right to work to an employer: Overview - GOV.UK

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.