Pharmacy Buyer - Pharmacy Technician

St. Elizabeth Healthcare•Edgewood, KY

11d

About The Position

The Pharmacy Buyer handles daily purchasing, procurement, and inventory management for St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s inpatient and outpatient Pharmacy departments, helping ensure clinicians have access to the pharmaceuticals, supplies, and services they need. The role oversees pharmacy procurement processes, monitors ordering, receiving, storage, and maintenance, coordinates with pharmacy procurement staff across the health system, and tracks accounting and records for products supplied or dispensed by Pharmacy. The Pharmacy Buyer builds and maintains relationships with wholesalers, vendors, and manufacturers and serves as a liaison between them and Pharmacy leadership. The position works to ensure supply channels are cost-effective and operationally feasible, and partners with Pharmacy leadership to address urgent requests, backorders, shortages, and product allocations. The role manages inventory controls, automated inventory systems, audits of critical and high-cost products, and annual physical inventory. It also processes and validates purchase orders and invoices, checks pricing against agreements, identifies cost-saving opportunities, monitors recalls and expired-product disposal, and ensures compliance with controlled-substance procurement requirements and applicable regulations. The Pharmacy Buyer collaborates with Supply Chain, assists with formulary maintenance and procurement-related financial assessments, evaluates contracts and pricing arrangements, and complies with 340B and DSCSA requirements. This is a PRN position that may average about 20 hours per week, though hours may vary. The schedule is Monday through Friday on first shift. A certified pharmacy technician may have the option to pick up additional shifts as a technician. Pharmacy technician experience is sought, and certification is preferred but not required.

Requirements

High school diploma.
Documented on-the-job training in procurement, purchasing, inventory management, operations, business, finance, and accounting functions in organizational settings.
Eligible for applicable state Board of Pharmacy registration.
Knowledge of purchasing, procurement, and inventory management.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office, especially Excel.
Two years of experience in supply chain management, procurement, or pharmacy purchasing/inventory management in a hospital or retail setting.

Nice To Haves

Pharmacy technician experience.
Pharmacy technician certification (preferred, not required).
Experience with Excel, Pyxis, Omnicell, and Logistics software.
Familiarity with EMR programs such as Epic Willow, FSCM platforms such as PeopleSoft, wholesaler ordering platforms such as ABC Passport, 340B split-billing software such as Sentry, inventory management systems such as Talyst or Logistics, and other IT resources supporting procurement.

Responsibilities

Oversee procurement processes for the Pharmacy division.
Monitor the ordering, receipt, storage, and maintenance of pharmaceuticals, supplies, and purchased services.
Coordinate daily communication with Pharmacy procurement staff across the health system.
Track accounting and recordkeeping for products supplied or dispensed by the Pharmacy division.
Maintain relationships with wholesalers, vendors, and manufacturers, and act as a liaison between them and Pharmacy leadership.
Ensure pharmacy supply channels are optimal in cost and operational feasibility.
Work with Pharmacy leadership to address urgent supply requests, backorders, shortages, and allocations.
Maintain inventory controls through par levels and inventory turns; optimize automated inventory systems and storage units.
Audit and track on-hand quantities of critical and high-cost items, and participate in the annual physical inventory.
Process purchase orders and invoices accurately and verify prices against contractual agreements.
Identify cost-saving opportunities and educate and coach staff on assessing opportunity costs.
Monitor responses to drug recall notifications and coordinate the collection, handling, and disposal of expired products.
Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements for controlled-substance procurement, handling, storage, and tracking.
Collaborate with Supply Chain on centrally sourced products and use enterprise software and other tools as directed.
Assist with formulary maintenance and assess financial impacts and value related to drug and supply purchases.
Evaluate contracts and other procurement-related pricing arrangements.
Comply with 340B program and DSCSA policies and consult Pharmacy leadership on Board of Pharmacy and DEA implications as needed.
Remain informed about policies and regulatory standards related to Pharmacy practice.
Perform other duties as assigned.