Pharmacy Assistant

Title: Pharmacy Assistant

State Role Title: Direct Service Associate II

Hiring Range: $38,000 - $44,999

Pay Band: 2

Agency: Virginia Department of Health

Location: Dept of Health

Agency Website: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/

Recruitment Type: General Public - G

Job Duties

This position serves as a Pharmacy Technician, front-line employee within the centralized pharmacy, and provides critical support to the daily operations within the pharmacy. This position assists pharmacists in the dispensing of prescriptions in support of agency programs and missions, some of which are mandated by the Code of Virginia. The Division of Pharmacy Services (DPS) performs critical functions for VDH by ensuring the timely delivery of prescribed medications, bulk medications, and vaccines to Local Health Departments (LHDs) in
addition to supporting programs/agencies that are largely state and federally supported. The incumbent of this position handles, transcribes and fills prescriptions for state and federally funded programs; screens for patient eligibility and performs database look-ups; provides consultation and answers questions regarding the coordination of benefits; ordering; storage and handling of pharmaceuticals for LHDs and medication access sites; assists with inventory replacement programs for multiple pharmacies; may conduct medication access site
visits, ensuring compliance with federal and state laws and regulations; may prepare audit and site visit reports; assists in the submission and adjudication of retroactive third-party billing; repackages and compounds non-sterile drugs; troubleshoots and maintains the pharmacy automated dispensing machines; assists in the ordering and management of pharmaceutical inventory and supplies; handles returns; generates reports; processes, fills and ships bulk and vaccine orders to LHDs. Performs additional administrative, shipping and operational duties as assigned.


The Virginia Department of Health offers 12 paid holidays, medical, dental, vision and life insurance, retirement plans (including 401a Cash Match and 457 Deferred Compensation Plan) as well as sick, family/personal, and annual leave.

Minimum Qualifications

• Knowledge of drug names (brand vs. generic); product strengths; abbreviations used in writing prescriptions; third party insurance billing; pharmacy operations; knowledge of vaccine names; and inventory management
• Strong typing, customer service, organizational, time management and communication (oral and written) skills
• Strong skills in using computer software (including Microsoft Excel and Word)
• Ability to enter data into a prescription/patient pharmacy data management system; package and repackage prescriptions; prepare pharmacy labels and prescriptions; maintain inventory; prepare and generate reports; analyze data; work independently; work efficiently and accurately to meet deadlines; maintain confidentiality of patient information; and provide technical assistance for the dispensing systems used

Additional Considerations

• Must be able to reach and stand for extended periods of time and lift up to 35 pounds
• Experience working in a pharmacy, working in a public health setting, repackaging medications, and pharmacy dispensing systems (QS/1 or PioneerRx), Oracle Health/Cerner electronic health record experience preferred.

Special Instructions

You will be provided a confirmation of receipt when your application and/or résumé is submitted successfully. Please refer to “Your Application” in your account to check the status of your application for this position.

VDH accepts only on-line applications. Faxed, mailed, or e-mailed applications will not be considered. Applications are accepted until 11:55 p.m. on the job closing date. Applications and/or resumes should include relevant work history which indicates your qualifications for this position. Supplemental questions are encouraged to be answered in a comprehensive manner and reference any pertinent knowledge, skills, and abilities as well as any previous experience that relates to the position.

Employment is contingent upon satisfactory results of a state and federal criminal history background check and the Department of Social Service’s Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry check, U.S. HHSIG Exclusion List check, employment reference check and E-Verify. Other financial, credit, driving, ba