Location
London

Hours
Full Time (hours not specified)

Salary
£37,389 per annum

About the Role
Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS trusts, providing a full range of hospital and community services across south London and specialist care for patients from further afield. The Trust is home to leading facilities including the largest dental school in Europe, a £160 million Cancer Centre, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, and one of the largest critical care units in the UK. In 2021, the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals joined the Trust, creating a world-renowned heart and lung centre.

The Higher Level Inventory Operative is responsible for ordering and processing purchase orders, ensuring compliance with relevant policies and procedures, and delivering an efficient and cost-effective service. The role involves working closely with department budget holders and clinical leads to ensure supplies meet service needs, streamlining supply management processes, and maintaining accurate data input into Trust systems.

Main duties include planning workload to meet deadlines, participating in audits, assessing customer requirements, liaising with suppliers, persuading staff to comply with procurement policies, raising requisitions for non-catalogue goods, producing monthly reports, and escalating supply issues to divisional managers. The post holder is expected to work independently with occasional guidance from the team leader.

The Trust values a caring, inclusive, and ambitious culture, committed to providing high quality, safe, and efficient care. Staff wellbeing and flexible working arrangements are supported to promote a healthy work-life balance.

Experience
- Knowledge of purchasing and contracting including Public Procurement Regulations and NHS Standing Financial Instructions (SFIs)
- Advanced computer skills including Word, Excel, Oracle
- Experience producing full financial reports and recommendations
- Experience working in a manual and automated stock supply clinical environment
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to balance multiple competing priorities

Desirable Experience
- Knowledge of items used within theatres
- Advanced organisational skills
- Experience managing external supplier relationships
- Ability to interpret statutory and Department of Health guidance
- Awareness of strategic direction of purchasing function
- Attendance at CIPS CPD seminars
- Knowledge of NHS procurement frameworks and regulations
- Experience managing high-value implants and consignment stock
- Advanced Excel skills (Power Query, Power Pivot, dashboards)

Skills
- Stock auditing and management of consignment stock
- Managing urgent and emergency orders
- Working effectively with clinicians, suppliers, and procurement departments

About You
You are competent and able to work independently most of the time, with the ability to refer to team leaders when necessary. You demonstrate strong organisational and communication skills, a commitment to compliance and value for money, and the ability to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders to support the delivery of high quality patient care.