Job Description

Hourly range:

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS: The work involves purchasing a variety of assigned commodities and services for and assisting licensed pharmacists with dispensing and compounding drugs in the Pharmacy Department at the Erie County Medical Center Corporation (ECMCC). The incumbent is involved with the competitive bidding process (sourcing, negotiating, issuing purchase orders, and following through on confirmations) in the purchasing of a diversified group of products and/or services and assisting in compounding and preparing drugs used to fill patient medication orders. General purchasing supervision is received from Vice President of Pharmacy Operations and all pharmacy technician duties are directly supervised by a licensed pharmacist. Supervision may be exercised over lower level technical and clerical staff. Does related work as required.

TYPICAL PURCHASING WORK ACTIVITIES:

Initiates and prepares bids and specifications which lead to purchase contracts for goods and services;

Selects vendors and places purchase contracts for materials and/or services and confirms orders and communicates to requisitioners if needed;

Edits requisitions and confers with departments regarding requirement, specifications, quantity, and quality of merchandise and deliver requirements;

Actively participates in ECMCC’s 340B oversight programs and monitors and analyzes utilization records and 340B purchasing accounts;

Maintains inventory in compliance with 340B program requirements;

Recommends substitutes where a savings in costs or improved delivery will result;

Interviews vendors and their representatives personally and maintains a close contact by correspondence, telephone, and email;

Serves in an advisory capacity to assist pharmacy department in purchasing;

Solicits and reviews bids from vendors for a wide variety of commodities and/or services;

Keeps abreast of current price trends, market conditions and new or improved items of supply;

Expedites delivery on orders by phone, email or letter;

Checks requisitions and purchase orders with departments for clarification;

Checks requisitions and purchase orders against specifications and catalogs, reacts to changes in demand and logistics and works in conjunction with Receiving and Accounts Payable departments for completion of process;

TYPICAL PHARMACY TECHNICIAN WORK ACTIVITIES:

Retrieves drugs from stock and returns them to stock;

Prepares dosage units of drugs in appropriate containers to fill medication orders;

Monitors medications and intravenous solutions for expiration dates and removes expired medications from all stock areas;

Repackages medications into dispensing units.

FULL PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGES, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: Good knowledge of the laws related to public purchasing; good knowledge of purchase order software platforms in addition to Word and Excel; working knowledge of applicable laws, rules, regulations, policies, procedures and accreditation standards as they relate to the profession of pharmacy technician in a healthcare facility; working knowledge of healthcare facility pharmacy and pharmacy procedures, including drug compounding, drug/medication labelling, drug distribution, drug repackaging, intravenous admixture preparation and stock/supply activities; working knowledge of applicable laws, rules, regulations as they relate to 340B program administration; skill in making

mathematical calculations; ability to meet and deal effectively with salespeople and County departmental representatives; ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a diverse constituency; strong interpersonal skills; attention to detail; initiative; thoroughness; accuracy; sound professional judgment; capable of performing the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Possession of a Bachelor’s degree* and four (4) years of purchasing experience; or:
2. Possession of an Associate’s degree* and six (6) years of purchasing experience; or:
3. Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and eight (8) years of purchasing experience.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Possession of a license to practice as a Registered Pharmacy Technician in New York State at time of appointment and maintenance throughout duration of appointment.

NOTE: Years spent as Pharmacy Technician may be substituted for up to two (2) years of purchasing experience on a year for year basis.

NOTE 2*: Your degree must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional,

national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of

Education/U.S. Secretary of Education. If your degree was awarded by an educational institution

outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of

equivalency. A list of acceptable companies who provide this service can be found on the Internet

at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm You must pay the required evaluation fee.

NOTE 3: Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting full-time experience requirements.