Pharmacy Assistant - Rotational

Transformation Unit; Liverpool; Hybrid; GBP 23,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a Pharmacy Assistant Band 2 based at Royal Liverpool Hospital. The role covers weekend, late, and bank holiday rotas with full-time hours and NHS training opportunities.

You will dispense medicines, support ward stock top-ups and deliveries, and work across hospital sites to ensure timely supply. No prior experience required; training provided to achieve NVQ Level 2 in Pharmacy Services.

Qualifications

• GCSE grade C/4 or above (must include Maths and English) or equivalent (proof required).
• A positive attitude: Enthusiastic, reliable, and flexible team players.
• A commitment to care: Interest in pharmacy services and a desire to support patient wellbeing.

Responsibilities

• Dispense medicines, including controlled drugs and unlicensed products.
• Support ward stock top-ups and emergency orders.
• Handle deliveries, stock rotation, and automated dispensing systems.
• Work across multiple hospital sites as part of a dynamic and supportive team.
• Deliver medicines to ward and departments as required.
• Load medicines into the automated dispensing machine.

Skills

GCSE Maths

GCSE English

Team player

Flexible

Interest in pharmacy services

Education

GCSEs Maths and English (Grade C/Level 4) or equivalent

Job description

Main area Pharmacy Assistant Grade Band 2 Contract Permanent: Weekend, Late and Bank Holidays as per additional rotas Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Weekend, Late and Bank Holidays as per additional rotas)

Employer Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Royal Liverpool Hospital Town Liverpool Salary £25,272 per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 23/10/2026 23:59

Band 2

Job overview

Are you ready to start a rewarding career in healthcare? Whether you're just beginning your journey or looking for a fresh challenge, this is your opportunity to make a real difference.

Why Join Us?

• Earn while you learn: Gain a nationally recognisedNVQ Level 2 in Pharmacy Services.
• No experience? No problem!We welcome applicants with a willingness to learn and grow.
• Be part of something bigger: Help deliver safe, efficient, and compassionate care to patients across our hospital sites.

What We’re Looking For:

• Essential qualifications: GCSEs inMaths and English (Grade C/Level 4 or above)or equivalent (proof required).
• A positive attitude: Enthusiastic, reliable, and flexible team players.
• A commitment to care: Interest in pharmacy services and a desire to support patient wellbeing.

What You’ll Do:

• Dispense and issue medicines, including controlled drugs and unlicensed products.
• Support ward stock top-ups and emergency orders.
• Handle deliveries, stock rotation, and automated dispensing systems.
• Work across multiple hospital sites as part of a dynamic and supportive team.

Where You’ll Work:

Primarily based at theRoyal Liverpool Hospital, with rotation across other Trust sites. Travel flexibility is essential.

What You’ll Get:

• Full training and development support.
• Inclusive and diverse working environment.
• Opportunities to grow within the NHS.
• Access to staff wellbeing services and flexible working arrangements.

Main duties of the job

Working within a busy department you will need good communication skills to work with your team and service users. You must be able to present yourself in a professional manner and work to our trust values.

Accuracy and attention to detail is essential as you will be involved in the supply of medicines. You will need to be able to prioritise and adapt to the needs of the service thought the day. To ensure as a member of the pharmacy department you deliver a cost effective and high quality service.

If you do not already have a Level 2 Pharmacy qualification, you will be needed to complete this training as required by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

You will be required to participate in weekend, late night and bank holiday rotas.

These posts will rotate between Royal hospital site and Grain Industrial Estate.

We are unable to provide sponsorship for this role as it does not meet the required skill level.

Working for our organisation

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients.

UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.

For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West.

Aintree University Hospital is the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside and hosts a number of regional services including an award-winning stroke facility. Broadgreen Hospital is home to elective surgical, diagnostic and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation. Liverpool Women’s Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK’s largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• 1. Dispense and issue medicines from the Pharmacy Department including extemporaneously prepared products, controlled drugs, unlicensed medicines, in accordance with the policies, procedures and safe systems of work, which prevail in the department at the time.
• 2. Order and supply pharmaceuticals as part of the ward stock top-up service.
• 3. Load medicines received into the automated dispensing machine.
• 4. Answer basic reception queries within area of competence and refer to senior assistant / other pharmacy staff member as required.
• 5. Input data into the Pharmacy computer system to ensure that all appropriate records are made and kept up to date.
• 6. Receive medicines into the Pharmacy Department and ensure that the documentation and computer entry is carried out in a timely and accurate manner.
• 7. Investigate and resolve delivery discrepancies, liaising with invoicing staff, making appropriate records of all investigations and outcomes.
• 8. Ensure that all pharmaceutical preparations are stored appropriately.
• 9. Rotate stock at the point of good receipt.
• 10. Deal with routine enquiries.
• 11. Ensure that all unused medicines (if appropriate) returned to the pharmacy are recycled in accordance with the safe systems of work and always participate in the safe disposal of medicines in accordance with departmental procedures.
• 12. Manually handle IV fluids, bulk feed deliveries and manoeuvre cages and tote boxes for delivery toward/departments, outside clinics
• 13. Deliver medicines to ward and departments as required.
• 14. Deal with frequent interruptions e.g., telephone enquires from internal and external customers.
• 15. Fix the robot when basic errors occur.
• 16. Participate in daily stock count
• 17. Issue medicines which are on “To-Follows” list.
• 18. Participate in development and project work in line with the objectives of the Trust and Pharmacy Directorate
• 19. Deal with ad hoc stock requests as they arise (by telephone or portal) from wards/departments and outside clinics. These may be urgent and will need to be prioritised appropriately.
• 20. Supply emergency orders
• 21. Together with other members of staff to ensure that procedures are carried out in accordance with current legislation and regulations in respect of the Health and Safety at Work Act, COSHH and that other pertinent recommendations and standards are complied with.
• 22. Participate and co-operate in weekend, Bank Holiday, Statutory Holiday, early morning, and evening services as per departmental arrangements. This may be subject to change to meet the needs of our patients.
• 23. Undertake other reasonable duties commensurate with this role as required.
• 24. Work across site where required.
• 25. The post holder will be expected to adapt to changes that may occur, which may affect the current practices within the Pharmacy Department, such as the introduction of new equipment, procedures, policies, and hours of working.

See Job Description attached for further information.

Person specification

Qualifications

• GCSE grade C/4 or above (must include Maths and English) or equivalent such as functional skills

Experience

• Experience working in Healthcare Environment
• Experience of stock rotation
• Experience of working in stores and distribution

Skills

• Ability to work in a busy environment
• Ability to work alone or as part of a team
• Methodical with attention to detail
• Ability to adapt to change
• Ability to show initiative and work efficiently
• Able to prioritise tasks and manage own workload

Other

• Enthusiasm for the position
• Interest in pharmacy service provision
• Reliable and flexible to the needs of the service
• Proactive
• Friendly, empathetic and reliable team worker able to relate to all grades of staff
• Willingness to learn
• Commitment to work
• Ability to work as per departmental weekend, evening and bank holiday rotas
• Positive impact on morale

Knowledge

• Numerate – able to carry out simple calculations in relation to work

We welcome flexible working requests and will consider a variety of flexible working arrangements from day one of your employment. Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working.

The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24.

Trust policy requires that the cost of submitting & processing the successful applicant/s DBS application be recovered via salary deduction following start in post. The amount of £25.70 (standard disclosure) or £46.70 (enhanced disclosure) will be deducted from salary, in manageable monthly instalments for up to 3 months following commencement of employment. Bank posts require upfront payment.

From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults’ policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures.

Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation.

All employees (and volunteers) are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action.

As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence.

If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on 0151 706 4666 at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post.

Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.