Pharmacy Senior Buyer

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust; Poole; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Poole is seeking an experienced individual to join the Pharmacy Procurement team. You will handle day-to-day ordering of medicines, liaise with suppliers, and ensure timely delivery to wards. This role involves manual tasks requiring physical fitness and participation in weekend rotas. Experience in procurement and problem-solving skills are essential. Join us to contribute to healthcare excellence in a dynamic environment.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Diverse and inclusive workplace

Opportunities for professional development

Qualifications

• Experience in pharmacy procurement or a similar role is preferred.
• Ability to work flexibly and accurately under pressure.
• Competence in handling invoicing and stock management.

Responsibilities

• Place orders with wholesalers and suppliers.
• Resolve stock issues and manage returns.
• Maintain procurement databases for records.
• Support data updates for contract changes.
• Complete monthly Key Performance Indicator (KPI) data.
• Work in various areas of the pharmacy department as needed.

Skills

Attention to detail

Communication

Problem-solving

Physical fitness

Job description

The Pharmacy Procurement at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Trust is seeking an experienced, enthusiastic, and self‑motivated individual to join the Pharmacy Procurement and supply services team. In this role you will be responsible for the day‑to‑day ordering of medicines, liaising with wholesalers and suppliers, as well as colleagues on site, ensuring that medicines are received into the department and supplied to wards and departments in a timely and accurate manner. You will be integral to maintaining a quality supply service.

The role is office based, sitting at a computer for the majority of the day. Frequent concentration is required for purchasing and invoicing with an unpredictable work pattern due to interruptions from staff and suppliers who may need an immediate response for a medicine item.

Participation in the weekend and bank holiday rota is essential. The tasks required for these duties are pharmacy stores based, including ward top up, picking and delivering ward orders. The tasks are manual in nature and require a high degree of physical fitness.

This is an exciting time for us following the opening of the new buildings on the Bournemouth site and services moving towards becoming the major emergency hospital, while the Poole Hospital site will become the major planned care hospital for Dorset.

Interview Date: 25th November 2025

• Placing orders with wholesalers and suppliers
• Resolving issues and queries regarding stock received, such as accurately processing returns to suppliers in a timely manner
• Liaising with wholesalers and suppliers to chase outstanding orders, source products and obtain information for individual products requested
• Maintain procurement databases and accurate records of off‑contract purchases
• Support data update for implementation of CMU contract changes
• Completing Key Performance Indicator (KPI) data for both internal and external use on a monthly basis
• Basic invoicing queries
• Participate on procurement team meetings to identify and resolve problems and suggest potential improvements to processes
• Work in other areas of the pharmacy department as required and participate in weekend and bank holiday roster
• To undertake any other duties applicable to the grade/post as required; this job role is essential to ensure the smooth running of systems involved in the ordering and invoicing of medicines and other pharmacy items, providing safe and timely patient care
• Utilising computerised systems and undertakes medicines replenishment involving ordering, invoicing, receipt, verification, unpacking and appropriate storage of products/goods
• The post holder liaises with internal and external team colleagues and suppliers to foster a highly professional and responsive pharmacy procurement service that meets operational needs

Please note: Staff recruited are expected to be available to work flexibly across all our Trust locations to meet service demands.

This advert may be closed early if sufficient applications are received.

COVID‑19 vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself and our patients from the virus when working in our healthcare settings. Whilst this vaccination is not a condition of employment we do encourage our staff to get vaccinated.

Internal Candidates: staff employed prior to merger who voluntarily change jobs will be appointed to UHD terms and conditions.

As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m. We employ some 10,000 staff and are running a £250m estates programme to deliver state‑of‑the‑art facilities over the next two years.

In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance; with the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep and less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.

We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work. We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.

At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women’s Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network and the Armed Forces Support Group.

As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.

We are aware that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support the preparation of their application. While this is not discouraged, we kindly remind applicants that submissions should remain an honest and accurate representation of your own experience and suitability. Personal integrity is an important part of the recruitment process.

Our values define who we are as #TeamUHD. They underpin everything we do now and in the future. They define how we treat our patients, visitors, and each other, our valued teammates and colleagues.

UHD are investing in services across the Trust, with many being transformed and developed following merger and the New Hospital Programme. This means that some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or long term. Recruiting Managers interviewing for this role will be happy to answer any specific questions that you have about this at interview.