Senior Pharmacy Assistant

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Preston; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is inviting applications for a Senior Pharmacy Assistant in the Royal Preston Hospital site. The post supports management with full training provided to help you transition into a supervisory role within the pharmacy department.

You will work in a busy hospital setting, contributing to dispensing, medicines distribution and staff development. The role offers development opportunities, a supportive wellbeing team and a patient-centered focus in

Qualifications

• Experience in pharmacy operations and NHS context.
• Familiar with IT and pharmacy software.
• Experience supervising pharmacy staff.

Responsibilities

• Supervise Pharmacy Assistants and Pharmacy Technician Team.
• Ensure dispensing and distribution of medicines.
• Plan workload and manage team efficiently.
• Support training and competency assessments.
• Line management of Pharmacy Assistants.
• Contribute to new services and procedures.

Skills

Pharmacy experience

NHS knowledge

Team leadership

IT literacy

Ascribe/ARX

Education

GCSE Maths & English

Level 2 Pharmacy Support Staff certificate

Leadership/Management Certificate

Tools

Ascribe/ARX

Job description

We hope to be welcoming you to the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals team soon; we've shown you exactly why we're 'a great place to work', now it's time to see for yourself! Have a look at our current vacancies down below and make the first step to starting a fantastic new career. Need help with your NHS application? We've got you covered! Our brand-new step-by-step NHS Application Help Video will guide you through the process, making it easier, faster, and stress-free to apply. Additionally, you can check out our helpful Application Guide as well!

You can also look at our recruitment flipbook , an interactive brochure showcasing various entry-level roles. It includes a fun quiz to help you find the right role and links to more information about our hospitals and our fantastic staff.

Corporate Services Roles

For roles in our corporate services departments including – Digital Services (I.T), Recruitment, Employment Services, Temporary Staffing, Rostering, Procurement and Finance, these departments are now part of OneLSC and can be found on the ELHT website: https://elht.nhs.uk/working-us/our-vacancies

Main area Pharmacy Grade Band 3 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Shift patterns 9:00-17:00 or 9:30-17:30. Operational hours 8:00-19:30) Job ref 438-PB4736-A

Site Royal Preston Hospital / Chorley & South Ribble Hospital Town Preston / Chorley Salary £25,760 - £27,476 Per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 28/09/2026 23:59

Job overview

Are you an enthusiastic Pharmacy Assistant looking for a career in management? Full training will be delivered to support you make the transition.

If you are keen to join a forward thinking pharmacy department supporting patient care we would love to hear from you.

The Pharmacy Department at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to be able to offer a vacancy for a Senior Pharmacy Assistant.

As an employer we have earned a reputation for focusing on the development of our staff and for being an organisation people are proud to work for.

**The wellbeing of staff is important to us; we have a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team who provide support on a range of topics, run fitness classes and organise mindfulness sessions**

Main duties of the job

We are one of the largest trusts in the country, providing district general hospital services to people in Preston and Chorley and specialist care (Neurology, Neurosurgery, Burns and Plastics, Oncology and Renal Medicine) to 1.5m people across Lancashire and South Cumbria in addition we are proud to be the regional Major Trauma Centre providing life and limb saving treatment for patients throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria.

Working for our organisation

We have 10,000 fantastic people working hard to deliver quality services to our patients. Whatever your role, you help look after 370,000 people in our local area & give specialist care to 1.5 million people across Lancashire & Cumbria.

Working with us gives you the knowledge and sense of pride that every activity you do genuinely does make a difference to support our patients & staff, ensuring we keep thriving & delivering outstanding healthcare right across our local towns.

You’ll have access to varied development opportunities, learn new skills, meet fab people & do things you’d never have done. You’ll learn about working in a hospital, interacting with people from all different roles to build skills & enhance your career path.

You’ll make an impact, be challenged to think differently, be bold & help innovate to keep improving things. Everything we do centres around patient care which means your role is pivotal and something really to be proud of.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Duties include, but are not limited to:

• To work under the direct supervision of the Dispensary Team Leader.
• To supervise, provide guidance and direction to the Pharmacy Assistants and Pharmacy Technician Team within the designated area.
• To be responsible for ensuring that a range of quality Pharmacy Services are delivered to patients and other service users to include dispensing, and distribution of medicines.
• To plan and manage own workload and that of the team to ensure services are delivered in a cost effective and operationally efficient manner.
• To be responsible for training and development including appraisal and competency assessments
• Line management of Pharmacy Assistants
• To support training and development of other staff; maintaining quality and standards by contributing to the development and implementation of new services, processes and procedures to deliver services in line with Professional, Local and National directives.

Qualifications

• 2 GCSE Passes Grade C or above (or equivalent) (Maths and English)
• Level 2 Certificate in the Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Support Staff (Qualification) or equivalent Or A General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) accredited support staff dispensing training course Or working towards either of the above
• Leadership/ Management Certificate
• 4 GCSE Passes Grade C or above (or equivalent) (Maths and English & science)

Knowledge

• Experience of working in pharmacy
• Understanding of current pharmacy and NHS issues.
• Knowledge of IT and Computer systems
• Knowledge of relevant policies and procedures.
• Experience of using Ascribe and ARX
• Experience in Supervisory Management and Team Leadership

Thanks for taking the time to view this advert; we’re looking forward to receiving your application. You should be aware that the vacancy may close earlier than the published date if sufficient applications are received. We’ll contact you by e‑mail to update you on the progress of your application so please check the e‑mail account that you applied from (including spam/junk) regularly.

We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership, neurodiversity or veteran status are encouraged to apply for this post. Our Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders is available Here

We recognise that the recruitment process may present barriers for some and you may need personal adjustments to enable you to participate in our recruitment process.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when writing job applications

If you choose to use AI or other tools to assist in writing your application, it's essential to personalise this information, particularly your supporting information section. While AI can help streamline the writing process, these tools cannot fully grasp the context or requirements of the job you’re applying for. There is also a risk that it can generate false or misleading information.
AI-generated job applications can often be generic, impersonal and may not accurately reflect your qualifications, knowledge, skills, and experiences. It is crucial that you personalise your supporting statement by articulating these in your unique voice. Relying solely on AI to write your application or supporting information section is not advocated by Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and could negatively impact your chances of success in the application process.

We have added a disclaimer to our application process advising that the use of AI is monitored and if applicants have used it then they are required to declare this.

Supporting Information

The supporting information section is an opportunity for you to showcase how your qualifications, knowledge, skill and experiences align with the requirements and criteria outlined in the job description and person.
Consider structuring your supporting information section with clear headings or bullet points. This approach will help both you and the recruiting manager navigate through your application more effectively.

Working Smarter pledge

We are reminded everyday of how important life is, so as part of our Working Smarter pledge we offer a variety of flexible working options and wellbeing support to enable our people to find and maintain the right work-life balance.

Secondments

If you are applying for a secondment role please ensure you have agreement from your current line manager prior to attending an interview. Also please ensure you have read the LTHTR Secondment Policy. A copy of this can be found on the intranet or by contacting [e-mail]

Please note a young person must be in part-time education or training until they’re 18. therefore if you are under 18 we are unable to employ you on a full time basis, unless it is in an apprenticeship role.

Disclosure and Barring Service checks

If the role you’ve applied for requires a Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) check we will administer this on your behalf and the cost will be recovered from your salary, either as a one-off payment, or over 3 months. The level of check required depends on the role that you have been offered. Currently the charges are - Basic DBS check £26.40 Standard DBS check £26.40 and Enhanced DBS check £54.40. You should be aware that if you are successful in obtaining a position that requires a DBS check but later withdraw your application, you may be required to reimburse the cost of the DBS check. DBS checks remain free of charge for volunteer positions. The DBS Code of Practice can be accessed here .

In line with guidance from United Kingdom Health Security Agency, all staff and volunteers are required to comply with Trust Infection Prevention and Control processes in relation to safe working. This includes mask wearing and adherence to social distancing at all Trust sites.

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We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

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