Senior Assistant Technical Officer (SATO) - Women's and Children's
Band 3
Main area: Pharmacy
Grade: Band 3
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm with 1 hour lunch break)
Job ref: 387-DT0681-LH
Site: St Michael's Hospital / Bristol Royal Hospital for Children
Town: Bristol
Salary: £24,071 - £25,674 a year
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 10/03/2025 23:59
As an organisation, we recognise the value of a healthy work-life balance. When applying, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate flexible working, so your work life fits around your home life.
We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic candidates as they are under-represented within the Trust.
We have an exciting opportunity for a passionate and ambitious Senior Assistant Technical Officer (SATO) to join our friendly and supportive Women's and Children's team here at St Michael's and the Children's hospitals.
You must be highly organised, have excellent people and communication skills, and the ability to adapt quickly to new situations and challenges. You should also strive to be a proactive member of the supervision and training of new assistants and trainees once comfortable in the role.
After showing competency in the main responsibilities to the required standard, you will be considered for training towards participation in duties that involve ward level medication supply & advice. This will require the SATO to be willing to complete training modules relating to medicines optimisation for pharmacy support staff as provided by Pharmacy Workforce Development South (PWDS). Such training is a requirement of the GPhC (General Pharmaceutical Council) for pharmacy support staff involved in these duties.
Main duties of the job
Training under supervision will be provided to undertake counting and supply of stock medicines at ward level (known as top-up) and training to become a dispensing and ward stock supply SATO at W&C's. This will include assisting in the dispensing process of patient level medicines in both dispensaries, ensuring these are safely issued to patients, as well as supply of stock medicines at St Michael's Hospital.
The General Duties of a SATO also include assisting the pharmacy services to inpatients & outpatients through dispensing, packing, and labelling of medicines. Ensuring the dispensary is kept tidy and has all the items available that are used in supplying medicines to patients - these include making sure that the dispensary has sufficient stocks of bottles, caps, boxes, bags, labels etc.
The SATO also supports areas of stock keeping & management of pharmaceuticals within the dispensary including stock check, goods receipt, and stock preparation.
The SATO will regularly support the dispensary service in providing a friendly, professional, and informative front line service to all internal dispensary customers. Support will also be given by the SATO in answering the telephone and dealing with tracking and simple internal and external enquiries.
Working for our organisation
University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as ‘Good’ overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston, and beyond.
As a forward-thinking multi-award-winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston; join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds: city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer.
UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce, we aim to recruit and retain a workforce that represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For a more detailed job description and main responsibilities, please refer to the job description document attached to this vacancy.
Person specification
Qualifications and Training
* 5 GCSEs at level C equivalent including Maths, Science, and English
* Completed an NVQ Level 2 (or equivalent) in Pharmacy Services relating to dispensing or stock supply OR Completed the PWDS BTEC Level 2 Certificate in the Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Support Staff Unit 5
* Working towards OR willingness to undertake the PWDS medicines optimisation for pharmacy support staff programme
Knowledge and Experience
* Pharmacy experience working in a hospital or retail pharmacy
* Previous experience working in customer services
* Previous work experience of stock control and goods receipt
* Computing experience including email, windows, and any other employer-based system
* Demonstrate accurate dispensing and stock supply
* Supervision of others' work/assistance with training of new staff
* Minimum of 1 year previous hospital experience
Skills and Abilities
* Good oral and written communication skills
* Good team player and interpersonal skills
* Good time manager
* Ability to work in a busy environment
* Flexible and adaptive approach
* Caring and helpful attitude
* Attention to detail & tidy worker
* Previous working to written procedures / follow directions accurately
* Reliable and self-motivated
* Committed to providing a high quality pharmacy service
Behaviours and Values
* Respectful
* Supportive
We hope that you will decide to join us and become part of this exciting journey, helping us to shape our future together.
IMPORTANT:
Please note that if you apply for a position with this Trust, you may be contacted via Trac or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your Trac account and email accounts. We may also contact you by texting the mobile number, if provided, on the application form.
Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore, please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification.
Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Name: Dzhuliya Vlahova
Job title: Lead Pharmacy Technician Women's and Children's
Email address: dzhuliya.vlahova@uhbw.nhs.uk
Telephone number: 01173425357
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