Job summary
Applicants should possess a minimum of 3 GCSE passes at Grade 4 – 9 (A*-C) to include English Language, Maths, Chemistry and Biology (Dual or Combined Science Award accepted) plus one other subject or equivalent qualification OR a minimum of 2 GCSEs in English and maths and NVQ Level 2 in Pharmacy Services. If oversees qualifications, these must be converted to UK equivalent.
Are you an enthusiastic and motivated individual with the drive and flexibility to train and study towards becoming a registered Pharmacy Technician? Or perhaps you’re considering a rewarding change in your career? If so, we’d love to hear from you!
Successful candidates will rotate across all areas of the Pharmacy Department while undertaking a structured two-year training programme leading to qualification as a Pharmacy Technician.You will attend hybrid teaching sessions at Preston College one day per week, combining virtual learning with face-to-face college attendance, working towards the BTEC Level 3 Diploma in the Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Technicians. You will be expected to complete all required skills, knowledge work, and assignments in a timely manner, meeting set deadlines. You must also be prepared to undertake a minimum of 6 hours of independent study outside of working hours.
On successful completion of the two-year programme and all required assessments, you will be eligible to apply for registration as a Pharmacy Technician with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
Main duties of the job
**This is a two-year fixed term appointment to commence in October 2026**
This is a full-time post involving rotation through specialist areas of the Pharmacy Department, including Clinical Services, Aseptic Services, Clinical Trials, and Dispensary.
During the programme, you will develop the skills and knowledge to work within your scope of practice and recognise your limitations; accurately assemble prescribed medicines; and apply clinical governance principles while maintaining patient confidentiality.
You will contribute to a safe, effective, and responsive pharmacy service, demonstrating operational skills and adhering to health and safety procedures. Effective communication and teamwork with the multidisciplinary team are essential, alongside the ability to use systems to support the safe management and supply of medicines.
You will learn to check and review your own work and that of others, prioritise time and resources to meet objectives, and support and supervise team members where appropriate.
About us
The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country. We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years. We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.
Working with us means taking pride in making a real difference for patients and staff, delivering outstanding care together. You’ll collaborate with a supportive, multidisciplinary team, build new skills, and access varied development opportunities in a dynamic hospital environment. We’re committed to your growth and creating a great place to work. If you’re enthusiastic, self-motivated, and keen to learn, you’ll play a vital role in patient care and service improvement.
Job description
Job responsibilities
COLLEGE DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITES
To virtually attend college one day per week via MS Teams. You will be required to attend college on-site every 4 to 6 weeks. This excludes college holidays Assignments must be completed to meet college submission dates Skills and knowledge tasks set must be completed to meet college submission dates The candidate must be willing to complete at least 6 hours study outside of working hours To maintain professionalism & participate in all workplace rotations to cover all knowledge & skills relevant to complete the Level 3 qualification To communicate with college, mentors & tutors of any changes that could affect your progress
ASEPTIC DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
The apprentice will be trained in aseptics to the standards required to meet the apprenticeship criteria
To gain understanding of the dispensing service for systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) requiring aseptic preparation including cytotoxic medication, gene therapy & monoclonal antibodies from point of prescription receipt To be aware of & always follow all departmental operating procedures & Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidance. To undertake bench training to simulate the aseptic dispensing of products, non-touch technique & use of an isolator To be fully aware of COSHH regulations particularly regarding the safe storage & handling of pharmaceutical products. To be aware of the Aseptic Spillage procedure & what to do in the event of spillage of a drug product To receive an overview of environmental monitoring with swabs, contact & settle agar plates & be responsible for sending & ensuring environmental monitoring samples are sent to Quality Control in a timely manner To be aware of the aseptic prescription management/administration systems To understand aseptic cleaning processes & undertake regular cleaning duties carried out during the working day To observe set up & assembly work trays according to departmental SOPs in a timely & efficient manner To shadow product approval process To ensure adequate knowledge and understanding of clinical trials products prepared in aseptics relevant to the job role including accountability, stock control & storage requirements. To follow Good Clinical Practice (GCP) guidance & undertake, where relevant, data collection for aseptic clinical trial products To understand the system for safe retrieval, storage, & re-issue of returned/ deferred chemotherapy To communicate effectively with healthcare professionals both within & outside the Trust. To ensure good team working with other pharmacy staff, ward staff & other service providers as necessary To assist with stock management including receipt, correct storage, stock count, expiry check & weekly ordering of all aseptic items including medication, diluents, and consumables To be aware of and participate, where required, in departmental audits To perform any other duties as requested by the Chief Pharmacy Technicians for Aseptic Services, the Lead Pharmacist for Aseptic Services or Director of Pharmacy To be responsible for your own personal development within the role through attending relevant in-house, Trust and external training & through review with line manager
CLINICAL SERVICES DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
The apprentice will be trained in clinical services to the standards required to meet the apprenticeship criteria
To understand clinical pharmacy technician services on designated wards in conjunction with the ward pharmacy technician & pharmacist, to ensure a high quality, patientfocused clinical pharmacy and medicines supply service to cancer patients is delivered To understand the process whereby each patient is assessed on admission regarding medicines management, completing accurate medicine reconciliation To understand how to assess the suitability of patients own medicines on admission, for use in the Trust, ensuring continuation of supply. To understand the assessment of patients for the self-medication scheme in accordance with local policy To understand the weekly top up service for patients on designated wards to ensure continuous supply of medication To understand the process in supply of medication during the patients stay in hospital & on discharge, including assessing the suitability of medication for discharge To understand & have a working knowledge of the discharge planning process and liaise with the ward pharmacy technician & pharmacist & other healthcare professionals to ensure prescriptions are processed and delivered to patients in a timely manner To understand how to counsel patients & their carers to ensure a greater understanding of their medicines including its safe use and side effects To have a working knowledge & utilise the Clinical Web Portal (CWP) & National Care Records Service (NCRS) facility to aid the clinical pharmacy technician role on the ward To understand the ePMA system To undertake all clinical duties in accordance with standard operating procedures and all local, Trust and national guidelines. To assist in maintaining optimal stock levels of medicines on all ward areas to provide a cost-effective service To participate in departmental, Trust & national risk management schemes such as error reporting systems and intervention monitoring. To assist in clinical audit or practice research as required To be aware of the processes on ORTC satellite dispensary & day case SACT units and facilitate the medicine requirements for chemotherapy patients To understand the legal requirements for controlled drugs with respect to receipt, storage and dispensing To support & coordinate provisions of pharmacy services between the wholly owned subsidiary company & ward areas & departments within the Trust To support the provision of ward pharmacy stock replenishment, including the use of automated stock cupboards & training of other pharmacy staff
CLINICAL TRIALS DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
The apprentice will be trained in clinical trials to the standards required to meet the apprenticeship criteria
To maintain patient records via the CMM computer system to ensure information is accurate & up to date for future reference & complies with the Data Protection Act To provide dispensing services to the Trust including clinical trial medication, oral systemic anti-cancer therapies (SACT) & supportive medication, ensuring that prescriptions have been screened, entered onto the computer system, dispensed & labelled following departmental standard operating procedures To understand how to take in and hand out prescriptions to patients, following departmental guidelines To understand how to counsel patients & carers to ensure the patients understanding of their medication is correct & that they are aware of any side effects to promote patient compliance To support all aspects of pharmacy requirements for medicinal products within the context of a clinical trial (handling, dispensing, drug accountability, administration, storage, disposal of medicinal products & attending to monitoring visits) To liaise with other healthcare professionals within research teams providing advice & support pertaining to clinical trial pharmacy issues To ensure clinical trial pre-orders & vial allocations are turned around in a timely fashion to prevent any delay in patient treatment To support the generation of worksheets & labels for Investigational Medicinal Products for both the aseptic service and the dispensary To support the clinical trials team in ensuring supplies of Investigational Medicinal Product are ordered in a timely manner To assist the clinical trials pharmacy team in all areas of R&I administration as required To assist the clinical trials staff in maintenance of pharmacy documentation where required To support regulatory compliance across all clinical research services within pharmacy in compliance with the principles of GCP (Good Clinical Practice), Good Dispensing Practice and Good Manufacturing Practice
DISPENSARY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
The apprentice will be trained in dispensary duties to the standards required to meet the apprenticeship criteria
To be able to dispense & issue prescriptions including inpatient, discharge, TPN & outpatient prescriptions in accordance with standard operating procedures & all local, Trust & national guidelines To understand how to provide advice to patients & carers regarding their medicines To understand how to supply stock items to wards & departments To undertake an accuracy checking log as part of the Level 3 knowledge and skills, in accordance with standard operating procedures & all local, Trust & national guidelines To have a working knowledge of pharmacy procurement including ordering medications from wholesalers & processes around the replenishment of ward stock
GENERAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
To undertake housekeeping duties daily where necessary To report any complaints, incidents or near misses to one of the chief or senior pharmacy technicians &/or pharmacists & record via the internal error reporting system To be fully aware of all departmental operational policies and always follow procedures. To comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act To participate in the extended hours of the department. To be able to participate in weekend and bank holiday working as required by the service. This may be reviewed and altered depending on the service demands. To maintain patient records via the pharmacy computer system to ensure information is accurate & up to date for future reference & complies with the Data Protection Act To ensure all mandatory training requirements are up to date
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- 3 GCSEs 9 – 4 (A – C) (or equivalent) which must include Maths, English and Dual science
- 2 GCSEs 9 – 4 (A – C) (or equivalent) which must include Maths and English plus NVQ Level 2 certificate in Pharmacy Services
Experience
Essential
- Working as part of a team
Desirable
- Basic understanding of pharmacy practice
- Experience of working in a pharmacy environment
Skills
Essential
- Comprehensive written communication
- Excellent verbal & interpersonal skills
- Excellent organisational skills, able to multitask
- Ability to prioritise work effectively
- Ability to undertake physical and manual tasks
- Reliable, honest, and flexible
- Ability to adapt to change and to develop services and system to meet changing need
Knowledge
Essential
Values
Essential
- Able to deal with varied situations with tact and diplomacy
- To show empathy and understanding staff and patients
- To treat people with dignity and respect
Other
Essential
- Motivated and willing to learn new skills
- Able to contribute constructively to a team-working environment
- Able to follow general processes and procedures and working using own initiative without direct supervision
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
