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Principal Pharmacy Technician - Dispensary
NHS
Luton
On-site
GBP 40,000 - 60,000
Full time
Job summary
A regional healthcare provider is looking for a Principal Pharmacy Technician to manage dispensary services at Luton and Dunstable Hospital. This role involves leading pharmacy staff, shaping service delivery, and ensuring high standards of care. Candidates should possess a strong background in pharmacy with relevant qualifications and leadership experience. Join a committed team focused on delivering excellent patient care.
Benefits
Qualifications
- Experience of working to deadlines and managing own workload.
- Experience of formulating standard operating procedures.
- Experience of supervising and training staff.
- Extensive experience of pharmacy IT systems.
- Ability to prioritize tasks using suitable delegation skills.
- Experience of supporting project management and delivery.
Responsibilities
- Manage and coordinate the Dispensary using improvement methodology.
- Provide specialist knowledge for service provision.
- Supervise accountable staff and resolve staffing issues.
- Manage induction and training for new staff.
- Contribute to strategic management and business planning.
- Line manage staff in the Dispensary.
Skills
Education
Tools
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The closing date is 16 November 2025
Are you a dynamic leader with a passion for driving excellence in pharmacy services? We're looking for an inspiring individual with exceptional leadership skills to join our team and take a pivotal role in managing and developing dispensary services at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital site.
This is a unique opportunity to work collaboratively across sites, partnering with the Dispensary and Outpatient Services Manager, the Head of Pharmacy, and leads at Bedford Hospital. You'll play a central role in shaping service delivery, motivating teams, and ensuring high standards of care and efficiency.
As a key member of the senior pharmacy team at Luton and Dunstable, you'll contribute to strategic decision‑making and represent the site in cross‑site meetings, including Pharmacy Operations and Clinical Governance. If you're ready to lead with vision, inspire change, and make a lasting impact, we'd love to hear from you.
- To manage and co‑ordinate the Dispensary and any associated satellite dispensaries using continuous improvement methodology to develop the services and meet the immediate and longer terms needs of the trust ensuring alignment cross‑site.
- To apply highly specialist knowledge to provide the service
- To lead a reactive and efficient Dispensary service undertaking supervision of all accountable staff and be responsible for resolving staffing and service related problems on a day to day basis
- To manage and review processes for the induction of new staff, training and development of technical staff and trainees and service‑related education for other healthcare professionals
- To contribute to strategic management and business planning alongside the Head of Pharmacy, Principal Pharmacists and Lead Technicians and contribute to the Pharmacy Senior Leadership Team
- To line manage staff including Senior Pharmacy Technicians, rotational Pharmacy Technicians, Senior Pharmacy Assistants and Pharmacy Receptionists in Dispensary
- To act as an Accredited Checking Pharmacy Technician and to facilitate other Technicians in becoming accredited to check
- To act as professional role model for junior Pharmacy Technicians, Pre‑registration Trainee Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Assistants, actively demonstrating integrity, ownership and leadership in all aspects of the role
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides hospital services to a growing population of around 700,000 people living across Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas across two busy hospital sites in Bedford and Luton. Both hospital sites offer key services such as A&E, Obstetrics‑led Maternity and Paediatrics. You will be joining a friendly, high performing Trust committed to ensuring the health and wellbeing of staff. As one of the largest NHS Trusts in our region you will have access to a programme of high quality training and development to help you grow your career. The Trust continues to be committed to delivering the best patient care using the best clinical knowledge and technology available.
Our values
We not only recruit based on qualifications and experience – we recruit individuals who demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. We achieve this by using values based recruitment. We are dedicated to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone, we are committed to promoting equality and diversity and creating a culture that values differences.
Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date when sufficient number of applications have been received. All new staff will be subject to a probationary period covering first 6 months in post. Travel between hospital sites may be required. Please review all documents attached to ensure you familiarize yourself with all requirements of the job.
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. For both overviews, please view the Job Description attachment with the job advert.
- BTEC + NVQ Level 3 in Pharmaceutical Services or equivalent
- Registration with the GPhC as a Pharmacy Technician
- NVQ 3 or above in Leadership and Management or equivalent experience
- Educational supervisor for ACPT or willing to undertake
- Membership of APTUK
- Experience of working to deadlines and managing own workload to meet the needs of a service
- Experience of formulating standard operating procedures
- Experience of supervising and training staff
- Extensive experience of pharmacy IT systems
- Ability to appropriately prioritise tasks of your own and others using suitable delegation skills
- Staff management including, performance, appraisal, sickness and HR procedures
- Experience of supporting project management and delivery
- Use of JAC-Wellsky to issue and manage pharmaceutical products
- Knowledge of the NHS
- Understanding of the need of confidentiality awareness at all times
- Understanding of issues involved in stock control and how to resolve them
- Knowledge of trusts standing financial instruction
- Up to date knowledge of current legislation and accepted standards of practice, pharmaceutical guidance and Medicines Optimisation
- Good IT literacy skills to be able to use computers in all aspects of the job including a working knowledge of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams and other commonly used applications
- An understanding of incident reporting and risk management systems
- Problem‑solving skills
- Ability to work to deadlines and to achieve objectives in an organised manner
- Incident resolution
- Project management
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.
Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
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