Pharmacy Purchasing Officer

Job overview

Pharmacy Purchasing Officer

Band: 4 (£26,530-£29,114 per annum)

Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week. Permanent

Base: You may be required to work in other designated locations of the Trust as well as your primary base. In particular, flexibility is required across the three main hospital sites (Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester General Hospital and Glenfield Hospital). If your initial location is one of these sites excess travel reimbursement would not apply for a permanent or temporary change of base. Your primary base will be LGH.

Reports to: Lead Pharmacy Technician Procurement

Accountable to: Chief Pharmacist

We are a relatively small team made up of pharmacy technicians and purchasing officers but interact with the wider pharmacy department plus external contacts such as wholesalers and manufacturers.

Main duties of the job

To provide a pharmaceutical purchasing, stock control and procurement service to the University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) and the TrustMed Outpatient Pharmacies (TMP).

To promote and maintain good working relationships with staff in all the pharmacy departments in the Leicester hospitals.

To deal effectively with pharmacy staff and their stock related problems (determining the real nature and extent of the problem and providing a satisfactory solution).

To learn how to use new technology to best effect improvements and efficiencies in the provision of a high quality purchasing service.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Purchases pharmaceuticals for each of the pharmacy departments in accordance with local procedures and contracts, ensuring timely delivery and optimum order quantities.

Manages accounts for patient supplies of home delivered medicines and therapies.

Assists local pharmacy stores managers in ensuring effective stock control and maintaining appropriate stock levels to meet patients’ needs.

Expedites orders for pharmaceuticals and obtains acceptable alternatives to unavailable items, keeping pharmacy departments informed, to maintain the clinical service.

Assists in sourcing any new, unusual or alternative pharmaceutical products that may be required.

Advises pharmacy staff on the availability of requested items and responds to urgent requests to ensure that patient therapy is not compromised and continuity of supply is maintained.

Manages own workload and sets priorities, to ensure clinical service is not compromised.

Measures procurement workload and assists in analysing performance indicators to improve efficiency.

Responsible for maintaining proper financial control by ensuring prices paid and goods received are correct before authorising payment of invoices.

Manages financial accounts with pharmaceutical companies, to minimise the trust’s liabilities and to ensure all income is received.

Responsible for ensuring UHL and TMP obtain maximum value for money on medicines purchases by keeping costs to a minimum, ensuring correct products are purchased, contracts adhered to and all due compensation is claimed.

Responsible for keeping computer stock, supplier and financial records up to date and accurate, to maximise the efficiency of the purchasing service.

Assists in the training of other staff groups in purchasing procedures.

Ensures drug alerts and hazard recalls are implemented promptly to minimise risk to patients and staff.

Assumes responsibility when necessary for the security of the district pharmacy building.

To undertake such other reasonable duties as may be required from time to time.

To participate in evening, weekend, bank holiday and on-call work in accordance with departmental rotas.

Please see attached job description for more information.