Technical Services Senior Operative / Pharmacy Technician

NHS; Ipswich; On-site; GBP 29,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

The NHS is seeking a motivated Technical Services Senior Operative / Pharmacy Technician to oversee pharmacy services at Ipswich Hospital. This role involves supervising pharmacy staff, ensuring compliance with procedures, and providing specialized support in chemotherapy preparations. The ideal candidate will possess relevant technical experience and supervisory skills, contributing to high-quality patient care.

Benefits

Generous pension scheme

Unsocial hours payments

27 days annual leave on commencement

Access to NHS discounts

Staff health and wellbeing programme

Training and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience in a technical area of pharmacy or pharmaceutical manufacturing.
• Demonstrated supervisory skills and staff training experience.
• Working knowledge of aseptic environments.

Responsibilities

• Supervise team of technicians and assistants in cleanrooms.
• Support coordination of day-to-day running of the Chemotherapy Preparation Unit.
• Contribute to the training of new staff and existing team members.

Skills

Supervisory skills

Communication skills

Ability to follow procedures

Flexibility and adaptability

Education

BTec/NVQ Level 3 in pharmacy services or Science Manufacturing Technician

Level 5 qualification in a scientific subject

Job description

Go back East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Technical Services Senior Operative / Pharmacy Technician

The closing date is 29 June 2025

We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated individual to work within our busy Pharmacy Technical Services sector at Ipswich Hospital to cover maternity leave until 31st August 2026. This service covers the preparation of medicines used within the treatment of cancer.

You will be involved in providing specialist support to the Technical Services team by undertaking pre and in-process checking of chemotherapy and other agents, supervising the team of Technicians and Assistants within the cleanrooms, assisting in managing stock control within the Chemotherapy Preparation Unit and preparation of Cytotoxic and Monoclonal Antibody preparations.

You should ideally have experience of supervising / co-ordinating staff and workflow. You must be flexible and react positively to change with the ability to work within Pharmacy Technical Service at Ipswich Hospital. You must be able to follow written procedures, work under supervision and complete tasks accurately to set deadlines. You will be working in our cleanrooms.

If you are interested in contributing to the care of patients using practical skills with an ability to work under your own initiative, good communication skills, a high level of accuracy and are keen to develop your skills then you may be suited to this type of role.

We would consider a developmental role at a lower banding with set competency targets.

Internal applicants currently employed by ESNEFT will be offered on a secondment basis only

Main duties of the job

• Work in partnership with the CPU management team in the provision of a high quality, cost effective and efficient patient centred pharmacy service to the trust.
• To supervise the team of technicians and assistants within the cleanrooms, involved in the delivery of the service and to support the co-ordination of the day-to-day running of the unit and its staff, including liaising with the admin team and heads of departments for staff shortages.
• To deputise for the Chief Pharmacy Technician in their absence, as required by the CPU manager, in the running of the CPU.
• Support the professional development of technicians and assistants within the Chemotherapy Preparation Unit (CPU), ensuring that staff have read, understood and received appropriate training for all relevant SOP's. Contributing to the writing and delivering of the CPU staff training pack for bands 2/3 and 5.
• Contribute to the induction and mentoring of new staff within the CPU and provide support as necessary to Technicians, student Technicians, Assistants and other relevant members of the pharmacy team in education and training.

About us

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients' own homes.

We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.

We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.

We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what's widely regarded as the world's best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.

Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A

Job responsibilities

For full details of theresponsibilitiesand dutiesof this role please see the attached job description.

Person Specification

Experience

• Relevant experience of working within a technical area of pharmacy / Quality Assurance or pharmaceutical manufacturing facility
• Demonstrated supervisory skills
• Working within an aseptic environment e.g. Laminar Flow cabinets or isolator
• Staff training or mentoring role

Qualifications

• BTec, NVQ level 3 in pharmacy services or Science Manufacturing Technician, or Level 5 qualification in a scientific subject. Level 5 qualifications are: diploma of higher education (DipHE), foundation degree, higher national diploma (HND), level 5 award, level 5 certificate, level 5 diploma, level 5 NVQ

Knowledge

• Knowledge of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Rules and Guidance for Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Distributors (Orange Guide)
• Hospital environment or systems
• COSHH regulations

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.

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

£29,970 to £36,483 a yearper annum pro rata