Job vacancy: Personal Assistant to Chief Pharmacist, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley

Job summary

Main area: Administration
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 4
Contract: Fixed term: 12 months (Maternity cover)
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 253-0725-7322607

Employer: The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Russells Hall Hospital
Town: Dudley
Salary: £26,530 - £29,114 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 23/07/2025 23:59

Personal Assistant to Chief Pharmacist

NHS AfC: Band 4

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Personal Assistant Duties

Support the Associate Director of Medicines Optimisation & Chief Pharmacist by providing a high standard of administrative support to meet the needs of the pharmacy objectives, executed with maximum efficiency and effectiveness, with particular emphasis on appropriateness, accuracy and timeliness.

Assist in the management and organisation of the Associate Director of Medicines Optimisation & Chief Pharmacist’s calendar by scheduling appointments and meetings as required, booking of rooms and preparation of documents.

Sorting and prioritising all incoming mail/emails for the managers, distributing and responding to as appropriate and ensuring flagged when necessary

Respond to correspondence and to draft replies/reports for discussion and agreement.

To prepare formal agenda, take minutes for meetings, distribution of papers to team members as required and carry out other general secretarial and administrative duties.

Manage an effective bring-forward system to ensure correspondence and relevant information are available for timely action to meet agreed deadlines.

To deal with general telephone reception work including the resolution of telephone enquiries of a non-technical nature and ensure that these are answered personally or by the appropriate Pharmacy Department staff member.

Meeting and greeting visitors and stakeholders at all levels of seniority.

Receipt and distribution of Associate Director of Medicines Optimisation & Chief Pharmacist mail, using initiative to act where appropriate and liaising with all grades of staff, external bodies and the public in the resolution of enquiries as necessary.

Prioritise own tasks, exercising a degree of independence, initiative, and judgement. Assess situations, identify, and resolve potential problems within own skill set.

Planning, arranging and co-ordination of annual pharmacy away day and any other events as required.

Maintaining personal files for pharmacy staff. Maintaining an effective filing system and ensuring the security of confidential files.

Utilise the NHS Business Authority EPACT 2 system to create monthly financial reports.

Ensure stationery stock levels are maintained for the Directorate and ensure ordering of supplies when appropriate

To provide assistance as and when required with projects or specific work within the Directorate

To undertake any other duties, required by the Associate Director of Medicines Optimisation & Chief Pharmacist, appropriate to grade and relevant to the post.

Business & Administration Office Management

To be responsible for administrative functions and general smooth and efficient running of the pharmacy Business and Administration office.

To be accountable for, provide leadership to, and day to day supervision of, the business support officers and pharmacy business apprentice in the pharmacy department, ensuring appraisals are completed in line with Trust objectives, the service requirements are provided, and the performance of individual staff is managed appropriately

To undertake shortlisting and conducting interviews for team vacancies

To prepare and distribute the business and clerical hub rota for team

To order FP10 (HNC), FP10 (PN), FP10 (NC) prescriptions and order outpatient prescriptions.

To control the receipt, distribution, and security of external prescription pads, FP10 (HNC) and costing out of FP10 (HNC) prescriptions on JAC.

To ensure the monthly payroll including, on call payments and electronic time off in lieu (TOIL) forms are processed on time for all pharmacy department staff.

To support the management of performance planning and PDR reviews for all pharmacy staff, in accordance with Trust Policy and Trust targets and updating PDR data annually on the Trust Appraisal tracker.

Utilising the E-Rostering System to monitor, record and report appropriate data in relation to staff sickness and annual leave. Use the relevant e-rostering documentation to ensure employee work patterns and hours are updated. Ensure that yearly annual leave entitlements for all pharmacy staff are updated on E-rostering in advance of the new financial year.

Ensure archiving or disposal of documentation as appropriate.

To order and receipt goods in accordance with the Trust’s financial framework.

Ensuring maintenance contracts/licences and subscriptions are renewed appropriately

Ensuring authorisation of invoices by the relevant signatories.

To use a variety of software packages including Microsoft Office Suite, MS teams, N365, email and bespoke packages to produce correspondence and maintain records, departmental spreadsheets and databases

People management

To manage all personnel matters relating to the employment of staff within the Department of Pharmacy including:

Utilising the TRAC recruitment management system to upload, monitor and track progress of pharmacy vacancies. This includes, sending out interview invites, preparing interview packs and documentation for the interview panel, facilitating assessments centres and co-ordinating interview schedules, supporting line managers with the use of the TRAC recruitment system and tracking employment checks and references.

Responsible for administration and completion of recruitment documentation for successfully appointed internal candidates, (i.e., offer letters, references and contracts/amendments, health clearances)

Maintaining the pharmacy vacancy tracker and departmental staff records.

Support the introduction of new colleagues into the department.

Completion and processing of electronic contract change requests, salary changes, termination forms, maternity/paternity, secondments, substantive bank posts, using the Trust staff admin system.

To record and monitor pharmacy staff sickness on the Electronic Staff Record (ESR)

To ensure that processes exist for effectively communicating with all Trust staff on issues of a pharmaceutical nature, as directed by the Associate Director of Medicines Optimisation & Chief Pharmacist

To oversee the monthly and weekly payroll administration to the required deadlines and maintaining electronic time off in lieu records for all pharmacy department employees.

To ensure working hours for Locum staff is recorded and sent to Management Accounts team monthly.

Communication & Relationships

Develops and maintains excellent working relationship with pharmacy workforce, Senior Pharmacy Leadership team, other stakeholders and external partners

Handles sensitive data confidentially

Person specification

Qualifications & Education

Essential criteria

NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration
English & Maths GCSE Grade C or above / equivalent
Secretarial experience and RSA/OCR Level 3 or equivalent qualification

Desirable criteria

Advanced skills in Microsoft Office & general IT skills equivalent to ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence)

Knowledge & Training

Essential criteria

Knowledge of NHS administration procedures
Commitment to training and willing to undertake training to meet requirements for the role
Willing to undertake training to meet the ever-changing requirements of the role applied for

Experience

Essential criteria

Previous experience in an administrative PA role
Experience dealing with recruitment
Experience of high-quality minute taking
Able to work with confidential material and maintain confidentiality and discretion

Desirable criteria

Experience in leading or supervising a team is highly desirable

Communication & Relationship Skills

Essential criteria

Evidence of effective team working to deliver good outcomes and also able to work alone
Excellent interpersonal, and time management skills, diplomacy, tact and well-developed organisational skills.
Excellent written/oral communication skills

Planning & Organisational Skills

Essential criteria

Ability to meet deadlines and manage time/set priorities

Analytical & Judgement Skills

Essential criteria

Practical approach to problem solving on a day-to-day basis
Able to use initiative, multi-task and prioritise duties

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Trust Values

Essential criteria

Able to provide safe,  caring,  and effective services
Values and behaviours that reflect the Trust values of Care, Respect and Responsibility
Commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace that is free from discrimination and where people feel they belong, and their contribution is valued

Using AI for jobs applications:

Whilst we encourage the use of technology to help manage time and support innovation. However, it is your responsibility to ensure your application is personalised and clearly reflects your own skills and experiences. While AI can assist with drafting, it should only be used as a support tool. The content must be your own work and accurately represent your knowledge, abilities, and values. Over-reliance on AI-generated content may result in your application being rejected. A common issue arises when we receive multiple applications with identical or overly generic language.

The use of AI during assessments, including interviews, is not permitted unless it has been pre-approved as part of a reasonable adjustment. For digital interviews, you may be asked to provide a 360-degree view of your surroundings on camera and confirm that no additional devices are present. If we suspect AI is being used during an interview, we may pause the process to clarify or adjust our approach to questioning.

Caring for patients demands integrity, honesty, and accountability. We expect your application and participation to be authentic and a genuine reflection of your own experiences and values.

Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the United Kingdom (UK) are welcome and will be considered, dependant upon Job Role and Salary needed to meet the criteria for sponsorship, alongside all other applications. Please note that from January 2021, to work in the UK all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship unless you have permission to work via another route. Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply can self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship here Work in the UK.

It is vital that you provide full and accurate details of your current immigration status on the application form. Overseas applicants applying for entry clearance into the UK must present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided in continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.

Not everyone needs a ‘Skilled Worker’ visa. If you are applying for a vacancy in health or adult social care, check if you’re eligible to apply for the Health and Care Worker visa instead. It’s cheaper to apply for and you do not need to pay the annual immigration health surcharge.

RECRUITMENT EQUALITY STATEMENT

We are committed to equal opportunities and want to ensure our workforce is representative of the population we serve. We welcome applications from all sections of the community and diverse groups. It is essential we understand our demographics, in order that we can monitor our performance as an equal opportunity employer, as well as continuing to embed a culture of inclusivity across the organisation, which supports the active participation and contribution of our diverse staff groups in the Trusts decision making processes . On application the shortlisting manager will not see this criterion and therefore it cannot be part of their decision making. Please ensure you complete your equal opportunities questions for us and help us to make sure everyone is welcome.

The Trust is committed to employing and supporting people with disabilities. It is the Trust’s policy to interview all candidates with a disability who meet the minimum ‘essential’ criteria as identified on the person specification. To ensure we know you have a disability, please inform us under the appropriate section on the application form. We welcome applications from the LGBTQ+ community and openly encourage people with different sexual orientation, gender identity and expression to apply to join our team. We promise to respect and encourage the use of all pronouns and will not purposefully mis-gender anyone.

We are governed by the public sector equality duties and by our values of Care, Respect and Responsibility to ensure we eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other behaviour that is unlawful, undermines our core values and/or falls short of our Behaviour Framework. We want all of our staff to ‘call out’ any behaviour from colleagues, patients or visitors that constitutes the above and appropriate action be taken.

We will, at every opportunity, advance equality and inclusivity for all staff, at all levels within the organisation, by removing or minimising disadvantage, encouraging participation and taking all relevant steps to meet the needs of anyone who shares a protected characteristic. We will also foster good relations between persons who share a protected characteristic by tackling prejudice and promoting understanding at every opportunity.

We have staff Networks in place to help support staff experience of diverse staff groups and inform us on the actions, interventions and support what we need to put in place to improve the working lives and daily experiences of all colleagues and all teams. Anyone can join the networks and we take pride in having Allies as part of every network within the organisation.

By submitting an application for a position with this organisation, you are declaring that the information given is true and complete, any deliberate omission, falsification or misrepresentation will be grounds for rejecting the application or subsequent dismissal, and where applicable, for positions that requires registration with a professional body, you authorise us to make the required employer checks on your professional registration status.

Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Please note, preference will be given to at risk employees.

Applicants MUST ensure that they provide details of their referees and their referee email addresses on their application form otherwise their application may not be considered.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in your application to its preferred applicant management system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Record system.