Specialist Lead Technician

Go back The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Specialist Lead Technician

The closing date is 02 July 2025

Are you passionate about education, development, and making a difference across pharmacy services?
We're looking for an enthusiastic & experienced Pharmacy Technician to lead our education & training team and the training of our technical staff across multiple services.
The post holder will lead on apprenticeships across the department and on the initial education and training (IET) for Pharmacy Technicians and Pharmacy Assistants, including the Level 3 Diploma in Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Technicians & Level 2 qualifications for Pharmacy Assistants. They will also oversee the training given to undergraduate trainee pharmacists that attend training placements within the Freeman and RVI.
It's expected that the successful candidate will have a wealth of clinical pharmacy knowledge & hands-on training experience. This will be in both a pharmacy operational & clinical environment, as a significant amount of time will be spent working clinically (at ward level) with trainees.
The Trust has provided significant investment into pharmacy and views us as integral for the future. This post will be key to ensuring that pharmacy is able to grow & develop its staff to meet the demands of the service and deliver excellent patient care.
Interview Date Monday 14 July 2025
You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy
NO AGENCIES PLEASE
Main duties of the job

Act as the trust wide lead for a defined service (technical staff education & training) and work alongside other Specialist Lead Technicians, Senior Lead Clinical Pharmacists and the Integrated Care Clinical Pharmacy Team to maximise efficiency, maintain professional standards, minimise waste and ensure a patient focused service is delivered.
Identifies training requirements for pharmacy staff working in clinical areas and works with other senior managers in regard to human resources, and education & training issues relating to technical staff and their performance.
Lead on change management, clinical audits and Quality Improvement (QI) initiates when requested, including projects involving service modifications, reconfiguration and expansion of services.
Provides leadership and direction to pharmacy staff working in clinical areas thus ensuring medicines are used on wards safely, efficiently and cost effectively.
Contributes to the long-term strategic planning of the Trust wide Pharmacy service.
Promote a culture that encourages the development of new practices aimed at improving patient care e.g. electronic ward medicine storage cabinets (Omnicell).
About us

Our staff oversee over 6,500 patient contacts every day, delivering high standards of healthcare from the following sites:
o Freeman Hospitalo Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)o Health Innovation Neighbourhood (on the former Newcastle General Hospital and Centre for Ageing and Vitality site)o Newcastle Dental Hospitalo Newcastle Fertility Centreo Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbriao Northern Genetics Serviceo Cramlington Manor Walks
These include a range of flagship services which deliver cutting-edge care (supported by state-of-the-art diagnostic services in both radiology and pathology) and are a catalyst for innovation to support pioneering clinical practice in the NHS.
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under 'Documents to download' or 'Supporting documents'.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Job responsibilities

Act as the trust wide lead for a defined service.
Work closely with the Pharmacy Patient Services Operations Manager, Specialist Lead Technicians, Senior Lead Clinical Pharmacists and the Integrated Care Clinical Pharmacy Team to maximise efficiency, maintain professional standards, minimise waste and ensure a patient focused service is delivered.
Lead on change management, clinical audits and Quality Improvement (QI) initiates when requested, including projects involving service modifications, reconfiguration and expansion of services.
With patient safety in mind, work alongside the medication safety team to develop innovative ways to target high risk patients that require clinical pharmacy input.
Support and if appropriate lead the implementation of new innovative technologies.
Work with the Clinical Pharmacist Lead and the Medication Safety Officer to make adaptions where necessary to electronic pharmacy tools (e.g. medicines acuity tool, ICNET, patient contact forms) with the aim of optimising the impact of the clinical pharmacy team.
Oversee the deployment of technicians and assistants, ensuring that clinical areas are adequately staffed, and cover is organised due to sickness, annual leave etc.
Undertake key pre-in-process and final accuracy checks on specified prepared medicinal products in response to prescriptions and signed orders in accordance with legislation and standard operating procedures.
Undertake the professional role of a registered Technician, including giving advice, supervision and co-operation with colleagues.
Ensure compliance with GPhC requirements.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
Person Specification

Qualifications & Education

Level 3 in Pharmacy Services and approved underpinning knowledge e.g. BTEC in Pharmaceutical Science or equivalent recognised pharmacy technician qualification (post graduate level equivalent)
Registered with GPhC
Accredited medicines management technician (or working towards accreditation), or BTEC Level 4 Clinical Diploma
Recognised accredited checking technician qualification
Knowledge & Experience

Registered hospital technician with significant post registration experience
Recent experience of managing staff and a section of a hospital pharmacy department
Specialist knowledge and understanding of all technical aspects of pharmacy patient services, supported by practical experience and completion of an approved training programme
Proven in depth understanding of medicines management in a range of settings
Evidence of successfully managing change in a hospital pharmacy environment
Understanding of the changing roles of Pharmacy Technicians
Evidence of professional CPD
Experience across a wide range of pharmaceutical services
Awareness of NHS strategic documents affecting pharmacy e.g. NICE Medicines Optimisation, RPS Pharmacy Standards
Skills & Abilities

Evidence of managerial skills e.g. decision making, influencing, negotiating
Demonstrable leadership ability as well as a motivational and inspirational leadership style
Excellent organisational skills
Ability to provide and receive complex information
Ability to analyse reports/audits/statements etc and recommend courses of action
Proven ability to deliver work to short deadlines and to a high standard
Ability to devise and implement clear written standard operating procedures
Able to independently manage own workload
Methodical and accurate with attention to detail
Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such 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.
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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