Job Description

The main purpose of this role is to provide comprehensive administration and secretarial support to the Chief Pharmacist and pharmacy team in all aspects of business administration, and perform general administrative and invoice support to the department under the supervision of the Lead Pharmacy Technician for Operations, in line with current policies and procedures.



The post holder will be key in maintaining diaries and arranging meetings, taking formal minutes and keeping appropriate records on the most up to date templates. Their work is managed rather than supervised and they are accountable for their own actions - manager is available for reference but generally, they will be expected to work without direct supervision and manage their own workload. The post holder will be expected to provide support and guidance for matters that are escalated to them by Pharmacy Services Administrators.



The post holder will acquire and maintain a sound practical knowledge of the breadth of specialised functions conducted by the pharmacy department, including software specific to this department; exhibit an overall understanding of key projects and work programmes; assist in the issue of FP10 prescription stationery to prescribers in wards and community teams, following agreed procedures to ensure the secure handling, storage, record-keeping and transportation of FP10 prescriptions.



We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.



We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.



Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.



AWP is committed to support and create a positive research and evidence-based environment and culture, which can have a beneficial impact on everyone who works for the organisation and the care we provide to those who use our services.



At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.



Liaise with a wide range of stakeholders, both internal to the organisation and external, including:

Medical Staff Multidisciplinary Teams (Community or Inpatient) Health and Social Care teams Third sector/voluntary agencies

Excellent communication skills, written and verbal, with a wide range of people, including outside agencies, sometimes requiring tact and persuasive skills where there may be barriers to understanding or agreement.



Provide and receive routine and complicated information, including dealing with enquiries from external stakeholders and the public. This may include sensitive information.



Work within a multi-disciplinary environment ensuring that communication with appropriate team members is effective.

To receive and open mail (paper and electronic as necessary) and distribute/despatch accordingly ensuring appropriate action is taken with high priority items.



Exercise judgement when dealing with inquires, analyse and resolve non-clinical patient problems including resolving conflicting diary appointments or schedules, meetings, etc.



Manage the organisation of key meetings and compile and prepare agendas and supporting papers for meetings.



Interpret and advise on data and office management functions and implement relevant procedures.

Day to Day management of Pharmacy Administrators as required:

Provide immediate guidance and assistance in problem solving Workload management

Prepare and present reports and a range of complex information in a range of formats including the production of scorecards, KPIs, performance reports and ad-hoc reports.



Collect performance data and produce monthly performance reports for our dispensary services as to create insight into our activity as required and directed.



Support the smooth running of departmental meetings, through writing meeting notes and maintaining action trackers.



Set up and manage effective office management/filing systems to support the service delivery.



Support procurement team with invoice processing utilising designated programs to ensure records are accurate, complete and auditable and kept to Trust standards and legal requirements.



Plans own workload to ensure that weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual tasks are met.



Prioritise workload with particular consideration to issues arising and responding to shifting priorities appropriately.



Raising invoices/purchase orders for designated external customers in line with authorised SOPs.



Establish and implement efficient and effective office procedures to ensure consistency and quality of performance.



Manage levels of consumables and reorders stock, making one-off purchases when necessary.