Job summary
- Main area
- Pharmacy
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (9am-5:15pm, Weekend, bank holiday, early and late shift as per rota)
- Job ref
- 321-CSS-7371109-B5-PUB
- Employer
- Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Churchill
- Town
- Oxford
- Salary
- £31,049 - £37,796 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 02/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Dispensary & Education & Training Pharmacy Technician
NHS AfC: Band 5
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research.
The Trust comprises of four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.
Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence.
Many of our recruitment programmes use Value Based Interviewing to identify those who have the skills we seek, who share our values and who are able to deliver compassionate excellence from the outset. We know that this makes a significant difference to your job satisfaction and above all the outcomes and experience of our patients and their families. For more information about our Values and Value Based Interviewing please visit www.ouh.nhs.uk/about/vision-and-values
Job overview
Hello!
My name is Alice Smilie, I am the Operational Manager of the John Radcliffe Pharmacy. I am privileged to lead our very hardworking Dispensary team in providing a dispensary service, supplying in-patient, outpatient and discharge medication to Patients of the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. This is a post offering a rare and exciting opportunity to provide technical support to the John Radcliffe Dispensary as well as developing yourself an Education and Training Technician.
We are looking for an enthusiastic and highly motivated Registered Pharmacy Technician to join our team as a Dispensary and Education and Training Technician. This role would be ideally suited for a qualified Technician with a Dispensary background, looking to progress their career, with a particular interest in training and mentoring others.
Within this role you will receive full training to become both an Accredited Checking Technician and an NVQ assessor (CAVA award), allowing you to progress to band 5 on completion of both of these accreditations. Successful applicants meeting the essential criteria will be offered a band 5 post. These accreditations will allow you to provide the final check of medicines, and to support our Assistant apprentices in completion of their Pharmacy qualifications. You will also have the opportunity to develop your leadership skills, working jointly with the Pharmacy Operational team to provide key co-ordinator support to the Dispensary team.
Main duties of the job
The candidate will be required to work jointly with the Pharmacy Operational, Education and Training and Dispensary teams in the following key areas:
Training:
- Act as an NVQ assessor on completion of CAVA award, working with the Education and Training Team to assess and support our team of apprentices through their level 2 Pharmacy Services qualification.
- Following relevant experience, progress to become an Internal Verifier (IQA).
- Mentor and supervise the Apprentice Assistants.
- Coordinate inductions and provide practical support and training to our pre-registration Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Assistants.
- Take part in the recruitment process of Apprentices and Pre-registration Pharmacy Technicians and help to support these staff through their induction and probationary periods.
Dispensary:
- Providing regular dispensing/checking duties as directed by the Senior Technicians.
- Dispensary Co-ordinator responsibilities within the dispensary, together with the Senior Technicians, or in the absence of Senior Technicians, and at weekends.
- Monitoring of workload and tracking screen to support our TTO KPI.
- Providing support to the team with regards to resolving CD balance discrepancies.
Working for our organisation
The dispensary team is a friendly and hardworking team of 25 staff ranging from band 2 Assistants through to band 7 Technicians. This role is ideal for gaining that experience to progress further in your career, many of our dispensary based Technicians later go on take other roles within the wider Pharmacy team.
This is a full-time dispensary based position, 37.5 hours per week Monday to Friday, with working hours of 9:00-17:15, however flexible working options would also be considered. You will also be required to participate in weekend working on a 1:6 rota basis, bank holiday, early and late duty rotas as per rota.
If you are interested in an informal discussion about this role, we would be very happy to hear from you. You are welcome to call the number below, or to make an appointment so that we can show you around and answer your questions.
Some posts will be subject to criminal records bureau checks.
Equality of opportunity is assured and we are committed to improving your working life.
Our no smoking policy advances a healthier environment.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description for further detailed information regarding the role and main responsibilities
Person specification
Essential
Essential criteria
- Qualified Pharmacy Technician, registered with the GPhC holding an NVQ Level 3 or other relevant qualification.
- Relevant post qualification experience.
- Demonstrable time management, organisational, written and oral communication skills
- Accredited Checking Technician
- Certificate of Competence in Vocational Assessment (CAVA)
- Demonstrate an on-going commitment to CPD portfolio.
- Good IT skills including keyboard, databases, Excel etc.
- Appropriately assertive and confident.
- Demonstrate enthusiasm for an interest in training and development
- Ability to teach staff of all levels.
- Responsive to direction and constructive feedback.
Desirable criteria
- Uses own initiative and can work alone.
- Good all round understanding of Pharmacy Service
- Previous experience of providing training or teaching for other staff
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Alice Smilie
- Job title
- Pharmacy Operational Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01865 572157
- Additional information
For further information or to arrange an informal visit please contact Jane Yarnell, Lead Technician for Education and Training on 01865 221109 or 01295 229652, or Alice Smilie, Operational Manager, JR Dispensary on 01865 221502.
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