Senior Pharmacy Procurement Administrator in North East

Opportunity to join our Pharmacy Procurement team at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust as a Senior Pharmacy Procurement Administrator. You will be responsible for the effective, safe and timely procurement of medicines for use across the Trust, ensuring invoices are processed accurately, monitoring stock levels, resolving supply issues, and supporting daily operations. Reporting to the Senior Pharmacy Procurement and Homecare Technician, you will supervise the procurement team, prioritise tasks, use judgement, and contribute to a positive team culture.

Main duties of the job:

• Work closely with the Senior Pharmacy Procurement and Homecare Technician and other pharmacy team members to maintain safe and efficient procurement and homecare services.
• Use the pharmacy ordering system to ensure timely ordering and receipt of medicines, recognise issues with the pharmacy drug file, and reconcile invoices.
• Follow up on outstanding orders regularly to reduce risk of medicines being out of stock and communicate stock problems within the procurement team.
• Liaise and communicate with the wider pharmacy team and other healthcare professionals regarding stock problems or issues.

Job responsibilities:

• Ensure any problems on receipt of goods are dealt with in a timely manner (including return to suppliers, damaged and short‑dated stock).
• Input and follow agreed local procedures for procurement and homecare processes to ensure efficient and accurate processes.
• Utilise the automatic ordering system in a timely and effective manner to produce purchase orders.
• Ensure all orders are raised and authorised promptly.
• Challenge requests for non-formulary items or orphan medication that has been deactivated, supporting and empowering other staff to do the same.
• Discuss unresolved supply problems with the Senior Procurement Pharmacy Technician.
• Contact manufacturers and wholesalers to gain product information as directed by senior members.
• Deal with telephone enquiries, resolve directly or transfer efficiently, ensuring prompt action.
• Process and reconcile invoices to ensure timely payment by finance.

Person Specification / Special Requirements:

• Team player with initiative.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Good communication and organisational skills.
• Good time management.
• Self‑motivated, flexible approach to work and study.
• Ability to learn, work alone and travel across Trust sites.

Special Skills & Knowledge:

• Knowledge of computer packages (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint).
• IT skills; ability to analyse and present data using Excel and Access.
• Use email and maintain paper and electronic diaries.
• Knowledge of Data Protection and Caldicott Principles; maintain confidentiality.
• Good interpersonal skills, excellent verbal and written communication, de‑identification and discretion.
• Ability to resolve routine queries using departmental procedures and work with minimal supervision.
• Organise and prioritise workload to meet deadlines, work in a team, adapt to change, cope with unpredictable workloads.
• Understanding of NHS business processes and common clinical terminology.

Qualifications:

• GCSE English and Maths (Grade C or above).
• NVQ Level 2 in Pharmacy Services (or equivalent experience).
• NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration or equivalent knowledge/experience.
• Basic NHS Purchasing Knowledge.

Experience:

• Administrative role experience in a challenging and constantly changing environment.
• Experience using Microsoft Word, setting up and maintaining office filing systems and databases.
• Planning and organising meetings and taking notes.
• Providing administrative support to a team.
• Purchasing and/or finance experience; establishing tracking/monitoring systems.
• Experience with pharmacy computer systems and dispensing/supply of medication.

We welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates. Disclosure and Barring Service check required as the role is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exception Order) 1975.