Materials Management Assistant in Southampton

Main area: Estates, Facilities & Capital Development

Grade Band: 3

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Part time - 22.5 hours per week

Job ref: 188-UEL080526

Employer: UHS Estates Ltd (UEL)

Employer type: NHS

Site: Southampton General Hospital

Town: Southampton

Salary: £25,760 - £27,476 pa or pa pro rata

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 12/06/2026 23:59

Interview date: 25/06/2026

Job overview: We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity to join our team at UHS Estates Ltd (UEL). Please refer to the detailed job description below for more information about the role.

Main duties of the job: UHS Estates Limited are looking to recruit a Materials Management Assistant to join our growing service. The Supply Chain team currently consists of 12 Materials Management Assistants, each providing a Materials Management service to selected locations within the UEL-managed service areas. This role will be key in ensuring the right consumables are in the right place at the right time, enabling clinical services to treat patients efficiently and effectively, with support from a dedicated management team within UEL.

UHS Estates Limited (UEL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS). The company is responsible for the design and construction of new buildings, and the ongoing provision of services, including estates maintenance, soft facilities management and the management of equipment, consumables and materials, in support of one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in England.

This role is for 22.5 hours (Monday to Friday). Specific details and flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process. UEL employees are able to access a range of NHS discounts, are entitled to a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme.

Working for our organisation: UHS Estates Limited (UEL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS). The company is responsible for the design and construction of new buildings, and the ongoing provision of services, including estates maintenance, soft facilities management and the management of equipment, consumables and materials, in support of one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in England.

Employee Benefits:

• NHS terms of service and annual leave
• Access to an employee benefits platform offering discounts on groceries, high street shopping, family outings, holidays, and more
• Southampton offers an excellent quality of life, located on the south coast with an international airport and direct train links to London. The area boasts the stunning New Forest National Park, beautiful beaches along the Jurassic Coast, and living costs around 20% lower than London. With 14 Ofsted-rated “Outstanding” schools, it’s a great place to live and work.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities: The postholder will be part of a team responsible for ensuring that goods and materials are ordered, well managed, well maintained, and in the right place at the right time. We’re looking for a person who will work well with the team, with good communication skills, both within the team and with clinical users (UEL customers/clinical end users). The successful candidate will need a keen eye for detail. The postholder will liaise with third-party suppliers and Wessex NHS Procurement Limited to ensure that products are available. They will develop solid product familiarity and be involved in store organisation.

We are looking for a conscientious, hard-working, team player to join our team at UEL Supply Chain. Good IT skills and good communication skills are essential, as well as the ability to organise your workload in a logical way. You will need to be reliable, be able to work under pressure and be able to motivate yourself. The ability to prioritise tasks and escalate where there are risks to services is also an important quality.

Person specification:

• Requirement to lift and handle boxes of varying shapes, sizes and weights (up to 20kgs) during the process of stock reads and put-away.
• Requirement to manoeuvre cages of goods (up to 180kgs) safely through busy corridors from Stores area to ward or department.
• Understanding Materials Management principles and process including stock control, ordering, invoicing and customer care skills, acquired through NVQ level 3 or foundation stage of CIPS or equivalent experience in a Materials Management role.
• Basic level experience of Windows applications Word and Excel.
• Good Standard of Education including Mathematics and English.
• Experience of being able to work under own initiative without direct supervision to achieve completion of tasks relating to own areas of responsibility.
• Demonstrable customer care skills with examples both on the telephone and in person.
• Have experience in previous job roles which required good organisational skills and prioritisation of workload.
• Ability to communicate effectively with all levels of staff.
• Medical consumables product knowledge.
• Knowledge of NHS Purchase Order and Materials Management systems.
• Experience in working with NHS Procurement / Materials Management / Distribution.
• Supply chain knowledge.
• Knowledge of Health and Safety in the Workplace.
• Previous hospital or health service experience.

Please be advised that this vacancy may close earlier than stated if we receive a large number of applications. We will not accept any applications or queries via agencies, under any circumstances.