Senior Pharmacist (QA/QC), Deputy Head of Quality Services
NHS AfC: Band 8b
Main area: Pharmaceutical QA/QC
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 8b
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week (occasional weekend and out of hours work will be required)
Job ref: 361-PLN-5798250-E
Site: Lister Hospital
Town: Stevenage
Salary: £62,215 - £72,293 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 13/02/2025 23:59
Here at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust,
Our mission is: Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities.
Our vision to 2030 is: To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service.
Job overview
We are recruiting for a Senior Pharmacist (QA/QC), Deputy Head of Quality Services who shares our vision to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.
The Quality Control Department at the Lister Hospital is a specialist unit providing pharmaceutical and scientific services to NHS Trusts, private healthcare providers and commercial organisations. Joining the department, you will work with staff at various levels and become part of a wide range of customer networks, working closely with the Victoria Mason Institute.
We are looking for an enthusiastic, reliable, and conscientious individual with a keen eye for detail and a strong work ethic.
You will have good knowledge of current regulatory expectations applicable to facilities working under pharmaceutical GMP and significant experience in pharmaceutical facilities undertaking sterile or non-sterile manufacture of medicinal products for human use, as well as an understanding of a wide range of chemical and microbiological analytical techniques.
At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.
Main duties of the job
You will support the Head of Quality Services in leadership and development of professional and technical aspects of QA/QC services to both internal and external customers and be responsible for the operational management of the service.
You will undertake all duties related to pharmaceutical Quality Assurance and Quality Control, including customer and supplier QA visits and audits, management of Quality Exceptions, and testing of medical gases.
This is a hands-on position and you will be required to travel to customer sites and undertake work out of hours and at weekends when required.
Working for our organisation
At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general & specialist services we provide. Our 6,000 dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible & innovative in the way we work and deliver our services has never been more important than it is now.
We run the following hospitals:
* The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
* New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
* Hertford County, Hertford
We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation; our staff & patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role and a wide range of financial and non-financial benefits offered by the Trust.
Person specification
Qualifications/Training
* Masters degree in Pharmacy (4 year degree) +1 year Pre-Registration training and examination leading to Registration as a pharmacist
* Current registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council Mandatory CPD to maintain fitness to practice
* Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmaceutical Technology and Quality Assurance or equivalent postgraduate level of knowledge.
* Training as ISO 9001 internal auditor
* Training as Quality Controller (Piped Medical Gas Systems) as required by HTM 02-01
Previous Experience
* Significant experience in a QA/QC role in a facility operating under MHRA manufacturing or WDL licence for medicinal products
* Demonstrated ability to undertake staff training, day-to-day management, motivation and appraisals, and performance reviews of scientific and technical staff, managing staff sickness and disciplinary issues.
* Previous experience as a Releasing Officer for medicinal products with final decision making on fitness of the product for patient use.
* Experience in management and investigations of Quality Exceptions
* Experience and understanding of analytical techniques and instrumentation including AA, ICP, HPLC, UV, IR, LAL testing
* Experience in handling hazardous materials and undertaking risk assessments
* Experience of research projects and investigations.
* Registered as Quality Controller for Medical Gas Testing (Pharmaceutical) as per HTM 02-01 and included on the National Register of QC(MGPS)
Skills
* Ability to work with high precision laboratory equipment requiring a high degree of hand-eye co-ordination. Ability to work at speed accurately and concentrate for prolonged periods of time whilst able to deal with interruptions while maintaining accuracy.
* Auditing skills of facilities and processes.
* Ability to use technical knowledge, reasoning and professional judgement to critically review and assess highly complex data and information relating to facilities and products in order to evaluate their suitability for the intended use.
* Good interpersonal skills and ability to communicate with all levels of staff and customers with confidence, assertiveness, and tact. Excellent customer care skills.
* Ability to set up and manage databases and use statistics packages.
Knowledge
* Advanced knowledge of both chemical and microbiological analytical techniques
* Knowledge of current legislation and guidelines relating to pharmaceuticals QA and GMP, GLP, GCP and Quality Systems.
* Knowledge of Health and Safety at Work act, COSHH legislation and laboratory safety issues.
* Understanding of waste management regulations.
* Knowledge of validation requirements for pharmaceutical facilities, equipment, and processes.
Other requirements
* Able to travel to customer sites - required and may be necessary out of hours and at short notice
* Required to be flexible and willing to work out of hours and at weekends to meet customer service demands
* Required to have the ability to occasionally work at height and also in confined spaces.
* Required to have the ability to carry and handle moderately heavy equipment.
* Required to wear personal protective apparel for prolonged periods of time.
Knowledge
* Experience and evidence of engagement around the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda.
* Role model our Trust values every day
Our values
We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate, and live our values in everything we do.
Include: We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate, and grow together.
Respect: We create a safe environment where we are curious about the lived experience of others, seek out best practice, and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.
Improve: We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.
Commitment to our Community
East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients, and the wider community. We want to create a workforce that represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular, we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities and candidates from Black, Asian, and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce.
We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to supporting flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.
We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing resourcing.enh-tr@nhs.net.
We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans, and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.
We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.
When you apply...
Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date in certain circumstances. Please ensure that you make your application as soon as possible.
All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e-mail address you have provided on your application form. Some servers automatically send e-mails to your junk mail so please check as well as your inbox.
As a publicly funded employer, we need to ensure we utilise our funds responsibly. This may mean we are unable to support sponsorship required to gain the right to work for particular positions. We strongly advise you to contact the line manager or a member of the Resourcing Team before applying to confirm if we will be able to support with sponsorship for that post.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Name: M. Whitaker
Job title: Principal Pharmacist, Quality Services Manager
Email address: listerqc.enh-tr@nhs.net
Telephone number: 01438 285417
For further information contact: Miroslava Whitaker or Rawlings Osagie on 01438 285417 or e-mail listerqc.enh-tr@nhs.net.
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