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Job summary

Main area
Pharmacy
Grade
Band 3
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Full time
  • Part time
  • Flexible working
37.5 hours per week (Full Time or Part Time/ Flexible working hours may be considered)
Job ref
180-B-254192
Employer
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Addenbrookes Hospital-Division B
Town
Cambridge
Salary
£24,937 - £26,598 p.a. pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
12/10/2025 23:59
Interview date
20/10/2025

Employer heading

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior Pharmacy Assistant - Distribution

Band 3

Job overview

We are looking for a motivated team member to join our Team.

Your role as a Senior Pharmacy Assistant within Distribution will include supervising the daily workflow and supporting Pharmacy Assistants.

Your role will be customer service based providing effective and efficient distribution of medicines. The role will include undertaking ward top ups, recycling of medicines, temperature excursions and stock list amendments.

NVQ 2  in Pharmacy Services is required for this post. The successful candidate will be enrolled following recruitment.

Main duties of the job

The main duties will include, ward top ups, supervising distribution, supporting our Pharmacy Assistants, stock list amendments, customer services, training other staff members, maintain audit trail, recycling medicines, manage temperature excursions, scanning of orders and picking/packing of medicines. (See Job description for full details)

All duties are conducted in accordance with Trust and Departmental policies and procedures.

Working for our organisation

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.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

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

As per Home Office guidelines, please be aware that, unfortunately, the Trust is unable to offer sponsorship for this particular position.

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

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.

This vacancy will close at midnight on 12 October 2025

Interviews are due to be held on 20 October 2025

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 café, 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

Essential criteria
  • Evidence of good general level of education required
  • Literate and numerate to the degree required for job description tasks (usually reading, writing, addition, subtraction, division, multiplication and simple calculations)
  • Good IT skills Excel/Word. Be able to learn and use the inventory computer systems
  • Ability to carry out instructions and recall.
Desirable criteria
  • Having attained or working towards ECDL – F syllabus 4.0 units 1,2,3,6 & 7 (ITQ)
  • NVQ2 Customer Services or Warehousing and Distribution
  • NVQ Pharmacy Services or working towards. (Mandatory to undertake NQV 2 for this role upon successful recruitment)

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Work experience in pharmacy
  • Experience of working in a customer focused environment
  • Interpersonal skills
Desirable criteria
  • Knowledge and Experience of Good Distribution Practice

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • Knowledge of Materials Management
  • Knowledge of Inventory Management
Desirable criteria
  • Evidence of Continuing Professional Development

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Good verbal communication
  • Good written communication
  • Good interpersonal skills
  • Organised
  • Excellent Attention to detail

Additional Requirements

Essential criteria
  • 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 work alone and as part of a team, and make decisions commensurate with Responsibilities of the role.
  • Able to respond to change and apply new developments without difficulty
  • Shows initiative
  • Demonstrates resilience and an ability to cope under pressure commensurate with responsibilities of the post
  • Receptive to priorities of the patient, carers and other staff groups
  • Ability to make good relationships with others
  • Ability to work flexible and unsocial hours (e.g. on rota for weekends/public holidays – late shifts periodically at times of high workload).

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Trust IDVeteran AwareNo smoking policyDisability confident leaderArmed Forces Covenant (Silver Award)Age-Friendly Employer PledgeCare quality commission - GoodMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.We offer Wagestream - A financial wellbeing benefit which lets you access your pay as you earn it.NHS Rainbow badgeTime to changeStep into healthApprenticeships Top 100 Employers 2024

Applicant requirements

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.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Rob Clark
Job title
Senior Pharmacy Technician - CPSD Team Leader
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
01223 388042
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