Medicines Procurement Lead Technician

Royal Marsden; Sutton; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

The Medicines Procurement Lead Technician at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a Band 6 role based in Sutton, reporting to the Drug Resource Manager. It focuses on procuring licensed medicines and supporting Named Patient and Unlicensed medicines with a blend of procurement, finance and leadership responsibilities.

Applicants must be GPhC-registered pharmacy technicians with hospital pharmacy experience and must be flexible to work across sites, including evenings, weekends and bank

Qualifications

• GPhC registration as a pharmacy technician.
• NVQ 3/BTEC in Pharmaceutical Sciences or equivalent.
• Minimum 3 years hospital pharmacy experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead procurement of licensed medicines and support Named Patient/Unlicensed medicines.
• Manage invoices and payment processing in liaison with Finance.
• Co-ordinate contract changes and stock levels for high-cost drugs.
• Support EPIC Pharmacy system and act as super user.

Skills

GPhC registration

Hospital pharmacy

Staff management

Stock management

Education

GPhC registration as pharmacy technician

NVQ Level 3 / BTEC in Pharmaceutical Sciences

Tools

EPIC purchasing system

Microsoft Office

Excel

Job description

The Medicines Procurement Lead Technician is a Band 6 role within The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust’s Clinical Services Division, based in Sutton. Reporting to the Drug Resource Manager and accountable to the Chief Pharmacist, the post is responsible for leading the procurement of licensed medicines and supporting the procurement of Named Patient and Unlicensed medicines.

The role combines operational procurement, financial administration, systems management and team leadership. Key responsibilities include line managing two Purchasing Officers, coordinating medicine contract changes, supporting high-cost drug stock management, resolving supply issues, processing invoices and monitoring procurement-related KPIs. The postholder also supports the EPIC Pharmacy system, acts as a super user for automated dispensing systems, and provides training to pharmacy staff.

The role requires strong organisational, communication and problem-solving skills, alongside the ability to work accurately under pressure and collaborate with multidisciplinary teams. Applicants must be GPhC-registered pharmacy technicians with relevant hospital pharmacy experience. The role also requires flexibility to work across sites and, when necessary, evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

Main duties of the job

• To lead in the procurement requirements for licensed medicines.
• To support as required the day to day procurement of Named Patient and Unlicensed medicines
• Work closely with Stores Manager, Named Patient & Unlicensed Medicines Lead Technician and Pharmacy Systems & Applications Manager.
• To manage and co-ordinate contract line changes in line with CMU regional/national tenders and
  frameworks.
• To assist in the setting of stock levels for high cost drugs (HCD’s).
• Attend the North West London Purchasing Consortium.

Working for our organisation

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals – one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey – as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.

At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.

At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information please refer to the job description and personal specification

• To coordinate the monthly stock check review for HCD’s across all sites.
• To co-ordinate and manage the processing and payment of invoices in a timely manner and ensure RMH accounts are kept in good standing in liaison with the Pharmacy Systems Manager and Finance Accounts Payable team.
• To complete a monthly report on procurement related KPI’s.
• Support in the addition of new medicines to Pharmacy Stock Control system (EPIC) in liaison with pharmacists following the required authorisation requirements.
• To assist in the provision of day-to-day support of the EPIC Pharmacy system.
• To support pharmacy staff in the everyday use of the EPIC pharmacy system.
• To be a super user for the pharmacy automated dispensing system.
• Provide education & training for Data Entry Officers when passing through the purchasingrotation.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

• GPhC registration as a pharmacy technician
• NVQ level 3/BTEC in Pharmaceutical Sciences or equivalent

Experience

• At least 3 years experience post qualification in hospital pharmacy
• Purchasing of medicines and invoicing experience and use of the EPIC purchasing system
• Staff management experience as a senior technician
• Experience in Oncology Pharmacy Practice

Skills, Abilities & Knowledge

• Computer Literacy (eg: Microsoft Word, Excel (intermediate to advanced) and Outlook)
• Working knowledge/experience of writing SOPs
• Evidence of experience in Drug Utilisation Reviews
• Good organisational/time management
• Good interpersonal skills
• Contribute to the team
• Good communication skills (written and verbal)
• Good presentation and problem solving skills
• Demonstrate initiative: proactive and self motivated
• Ability to work under pressure whilst maintaining attention to detail and accuracy
• Ability to train/coach other members of staff
• Evidence of effective interpersonal skills with particular ability to liaise with multidisciplinary team members
• Evidence of working well in a team
• Ability to demonstrate self-motivation
• Ability to make decisions, organise and prioritise

Other Requirements

• Progressive and continuing professional development
• Positive and proactive approach Professional and welcoming manner Flexible and responsive to changing priorities Able to communicate confidently and constructively when required
• Works effectively with colleagues to achieve shared goals
• Good leadership qualities
• Able to work on both sites and to be flexible to meet the needs of the role

The Royal Marsden values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. We advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Please ensure your information is accurate to avoid errors with processing your application

All applicants will be contacted by email to the address supplied on your application. Applicants are advised to check their email accounts regularly and to ensure that email filters are set to allow our emails.

Flu Vaccination – What We Expect of our Staff

At The Royal Marsden we have an immune compromised patient population who we must protect as much as we can against the flu virus. Each year, seasonal flu affects thousands of people in the UK. Occurring mainly in winter, it is an infectious respiratory disease capable of producing symptoms ranging from those similar to a common cold, through to very severe or even fatal disease.

The wellbeing of our staff and patients is of the upmost importance to us, and it is the expectation of The Royal Marsden that all patient-facing staff have an annual flu vaccination, provided free of charge by the Trust.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.