Senior Pharmacy Technician – Medicines & Controlled Drugs Governance

NHS; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK healthcare provider is looking for a Senior Pharmacy Technician to oversee the governance and safety of controlled drugs in the Pharmacy team. The ideal candidate will possess relevant pharmacy qualifications, exhibit strong organisational and analytical skills, and have experience in a hospital dispensary. This position offers opportunities for professional development and a supportive work environment fostering a good work-life balance.

Benefits

On-site leisure facilities

Flexible working arrangements

Subsidised parking

Qualifications

• Experience working in a hospital dispensary.
• Ability to work under pressure and meet targets.
• Understanding of Controlled Drug legislation.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the storage, supply, and governance of controlled drugs.
• Develop and implement medication safety projects.
• Coordinate and monitor the Pharmacy Audit Plan.

Skills

Organisational skills

Analytical abilities

Communication skills

Teamwork

Time management

Education

NVQ3 Pharmacy Services

Registration with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)

Tools

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Job description

Overview

Go back Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Pharmacy Technician – Medicines & Controlled Drugs Governance

The closing date is 29 September 2025

We are delighted to announce an exciting opportunity for a dedicated and motivated Pharmacy Technician with a strong passion for medicines governance and controlled drugs to become an integral part of our Pharmacy Team.

This dynamic position calls for the successful candidate to showcase exceptional organisational and analytical abilities, alongside the capacity to prioritise tasks and independently handle their workload efficiently.

The role involves overseeing the storage, supply, and governance of controlled drugs within the Inpatient Dispensary, while contributing to the Pharmacy Clinical Governance team by driving medication safety initiatives and conducting audits.

Main duties of the job

• Development and implementation of medication safety projects within the Trust.
• To co-ordinate the development of the Pharmacy Audit Plan and the on-going monitoring and implementation of action plans.
• To develop and deliver training to clinical staff within the Trust on aspects.
• To lead the review, update and development of Pharmacy Standard Operating Procedures and reporting to appropriate committees.
• To manage the storage, supply and governance of Controlled Drugs within the Inpatient Dispensary.
• To support the Inpatient Dispensary Manager in the management, co-ordination and delivery of the service facilitating discharge, one-stop dispensing and Controlled Drugs Governance.

About us

Our Trust

Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) NHS Foundation Trust comprises Addenbrooke's Hospital and the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge. With over 13,000 staff and over 1100 beds the priorities of the Trust focus on a quality service which is all about people - patients, staff and partners. Recognised as providing 'outstanding' care to our patients and rated 'Good' overall by the Care Quality Commissioner, is testament to the skill and dedication of the people who work here. CUH's values - Together - Safe, Kind, Excellent - are at the heart of patient care, defining the way all staff work and behave. The Trust provides accessible high-quality healthcare for the local people of Cambridge, together with specialist services, dealing with rare or complex conditions for a regional, national and international population.

CUH is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community - a place where we can all be ourselves. We value our differences and fully advocate and support an inclusive working environment where every individual can fulfil their potential. We want to ensure our people are truly representative of all the communities that we serve. We welcome applications for all positions in the organisation irrespective of people's age, disability, ethnicity, race, nationality, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity status or social economic background.

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.

For NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough based roles, all applicants from NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who have identified that they are at risk of redundancy will be prioritised over those not at risk. However, interviews cannot be guaranteed.

Due to Home Office immigration rules, a full time permanent vacancy cannot be filled by individuals on a Student visa. Therefore, please be advised that if you are a Student visa holder, we will not be able to offer you a full time permanent contract unless you have:- applied for a Graduate visa- or you will have successfully completed your course and have applied for a Graduate visa before the anticipated start date of your employment- or the Trust has agreed that they will Sponsor you as a Skilled Worker and you will complete your studies within 3 months of the anticipated start date of employment

This vacancy will close at midnight on 29th September 2025

Interviews are due to be held on 13th October 2025

Why choose Cambridge University Hospitals?

Why choose Cambridge University Hospitals?

Our values and reputation for outstanding care Opportunities to experience a range of specialities Career and development opportunities Preceptorship and mentoring programmes delivered by a dedicated clinical education support team Research experience and opportunities Lovely location and quality of life Excellent schools/colleges and transport links (road, rail and air)

Benefits to you

At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.

On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only caf, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.

CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.

Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.

We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• NVQ3 Pharmacy Services, BTEC Pharmaceutical Science or CGLI/Apothecaries Hall pre 1985 certificates.
• Registration with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Accredited checking Pharmacy Technician or willing to undertake
• Member of Association of Pharmacy Technicians (APTUK)
• Management accreditation or qualification
• Accredited as an Educational Supervisor for the ACPT scheme
• Attendance at Train the Trainer course

Additional requirements

• The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of Safe, Kind, Excellent.
• Ability to think ahead and plan accordingly
• Ability to prioritise and organise routine daily tasks using own initiative

Skills

• Ability to communicate information effectively and overcome barriers to understanding
• Ability to work as part of a team and to contribute to team meetings
• Ability to organise project work and work unsupervised and to work to deadlines/targets
• Good organisation skills and capable of managing own workload.
• Ability to demonstrate accurate numeracy skills
• Ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines and targets
• Ability to influence and negotiate
• Ability to review and adapt plans as circumstances dictate
• Ability to train different staff groups

Knowledge

• Hospital Pharmacy Dispensary practices
• Controlled Drug Legislation
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) to create documents and spread sheets and extract information.

Experience

• Post qualification experience including hospital dispensary experience.
• Experience of working within Controlled Drug legislation
• Experience of staff training and supervision
• Hospital ward based pharmacy experience
• Experience in & an understanding of Pharmacy Governance
• Experience of leading a team or small scale service or service change
• Experience of communicating with a broad range of stakeholders

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust