Pharmacy Dispensing Assistant Technical Officer

Merseywestlancs; Chorley; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 27,000; Part time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in the UK seeks a talented Pharmacy Dispensing Assistant Technical Officer. This part-time role offers an opportunity to be part of a dedicated team providing pharmaceutical services at Whiston Hospital. The position requires excellent communication skills, a recognised dispensing qualification, and the ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently. Candidates will participate in weekend and evening rotas, ensuring high standards of patient care. Join us to develop your skills within the NHS framework and make a difference in the community.

Benefits

Generous pension scheme

27 days annual leave (pro rata)

NHS discounts

Qualifications

• Current experience in a pharmacy setting is essential.
• Candidates must hold a recognised dispensing qualification.
• NVQ Level 2 in Pharmacy Services is required.

Responsibilities

• Participate in labelling and dispensing prescriptions.
• Assist in the provision of a safe and effective dispensing service.
• Manage returned medicines within the Trust.

Skills

Good verbal and communication skills

Attention to detail

Ability to work under pressure

Team player

Education

Completed a recognised dispensing qualification

GCSE level education

Tools

CMM/EMIS Pharmacy Computer System

Job description

We want talented and enthusiastic people from all backgrounds to join #TeamMWL, with us you can learn, grow and develop yourself and your career, realising your true ambitions and aspirations.

Whatever you’re looking for in your career, you’ll find it here at MWL.

Pharmacy Dispensing Assistant Technical Officer

NHS AfC: Band 3

Main area Pharmacy Grade NHS AfC: Band 3 Contract Fixed term: 24 months (Must participate in bank holiday, evening and weekend rotas) Hours Part time - 30 hours per week (Must participate in bank holiday, evening and weekend rotas) Job ref 409-7432997-C

Site Whiston Hospital Town Prescot Salary £24,937 - £26,598 per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 26/12/2025 23:59

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to "name of trust" transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Job overview

We are looking for individuals who are enthusiastic, proactive in their own role, can communicate well and work accurately and efficiently to a high standard.

You will be based within the main dispensary at Whiston Hospital with rotation to our out-patient centred pharmacy department at St Helens Hospital, where you will assist in the provision of a safe and effective dispensing service.

Duties will include routine labelling and dispensing of prescriptions for both inpatients and outpatients and Controlled drugs, the preparation of extemporaneous medicines, and involvement in the effective management of returned medicines from within the Trust. You will also take part in a rotation to work with our ward-based Pharmacy Technicians to provide a ward based dispensing service.

You will need to take part in our weekend and evening rotas providing a 7 day a week service to the Trust

Current experience of working within a pharmacy setting, for example Hospital Community, Prison service etc. is essential and candidates must have completed an NVQ Level 2 in Pharmacy Services and hold a recognised dispensing qualification.

A good standard of education (to GCSE level) would be advantageous.

Previous applicants need not apply.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will participate with other team members of the pharmacy staff aiming to provide an efficient and comprehensive pharmaceutical service within the pharmacy departments of Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, under the direction of the Chief Pharmacist. Duties will include labelling, dispensing, stock rotation, storage, dealing with dispensary queries and patient counselling.

Working for our organisation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our Services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

For further information please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

This post will be subject to a standard DBS (with barred list for Adults and Children’s disclosure).

Please note this vacancy may close early if a sufficient number of applications is reached.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Has completed a recognised dispensing qualification

Experience

• Experience working in a Pharmacy environment with demonstrable understanding of procedures gained through additional role-based training up to NVQ level 3
• Experience of Working with computer systems
• Experience in using CMM/EMIS Pharmacy Computer System(s)

Skills

• Good verbal and communication skills both face to face and using telephones
• Ability to talk to patients, staff and other senior health professionals
• Ability to work accurately and efficiently with good attention to detail
• Good administration skills including record-keeping
• Ability to concentrate for long periods of time and able work under pressure
• Hardworking with a determination to overcome obstacles and understand the importance and context of the role
• Self-motivated team player with the ability to motivate the team performance to achieve objectives
• Reliable and well organised with good time management skills

Other

• Ability to travel between hospital sites
• Present professional image/appearance
• Supportive of colleagues of all grades
• Ability to participate in the departmental rota for late and weekend working

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward-thinking NHS Trust who are one of the best places to work for in England.

Given sometimes we receive a high volume of applications to work for us, please be aware, that we may close a vacancy earlier than stated should a sufficient number of applications be received from which a shortlist can be confirmed. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for your feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity, and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We are grounded in the belief that diversity enhances our collective strength, fostering innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application, or require any disability reasonable adjustments, to the application process, please contact [e-mail]

We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the minimum criteria for the job (the essential criteria) listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting where no personal information about you, including your name or personal details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared at any time during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or other people involved in the decision‑making process.

The equality monitoring information you provide is used in the following situations: to review our recruitment practices; where a job is limited to a specific person to verify their eligibility to apply; and to offer disability reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click here to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.

eVisa Update

For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, who have completed and paid for their applications will no longer receive a visa vignette in passport as evidence of their permission to enter the UK.

Instead, you will be issued with an eVisa only, which is accessed by creating a UKVI account.

Before travelling to the UK, we advise applicants to:

• Understand how to generate an eVisa share code

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

If this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 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.

Please note if applicable, applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment.

If you have not already done so, you are therefore encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service to which a small annual fee of £13 per year applies.

Flexible Working

We actively support flexible working patterns throughout MWL. Changes made to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:

• All employees have the right to request flexible working from day one of employment.
• There is no limit on the number of requests they can make.
• Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.

At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we will consider requests for flexible working. We would also encourage you to also discuss flexible working options at interview stage.

Working for Team MWL

Staff recognition is especially important to us; as well as performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the month. 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.

The Trust is a non-smoking across all sites. Failure to follow this rule could lead to disciplinary action. For more information, see the Smoke Free NHS website.

You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behaviour examples, are truthful and factually accurate. Please note plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

The Trust will not accept applications which are found to be AI generated and will check all applications against AI detection software.

Additional Information

Before applying, we encourage you to review the Trusts Values and Behaviours which are We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE, which can be found here .

An applicant guide to help and support you with your application and what to expect during your recruitment journey can be accessed in the supporting documents.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very 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.

Name Gill Eddleston Job title Chief Pharmacy Technician - Dispensary / Stores Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01512904289