In the modern world of glass fronted buildings, high pressure attitudes, digital marketing and wearing casual clothes to work, it can be refreshing to find a company that could be described as more ‘traditional’ in its focus and environment.
Dermal is a pharmaceutical company with nearly 60 years of history. Privately owned, the current CEO is the son of the original founder. Here we focus on some of the jobs where Tate places candidates within this company.
Dermal is an independent UK pharmaceutical company with a focus on unique, topical, dermatological skincare products. The business began in London in 1963, with just two members of staff, when they launched their Psoriderm range. Since then, with years of ongoing research and development, they have expanded both in size and in their vast range of products.
Dermal’s head office has been in Hitchin, Hertfordshire since the 1970s. They also have a warehouse facility near Bedford and a manufacturing site in Great Yarmouth, employing over 180 staff members. Over the years they have produced many trusted product ranges, some for retail sale, and some prescription only, including Dermol and Doublebase. They continue to evolve their products, providing new and innovative treatments.
Despite being a large employer, Dermal has a family feel. This is a place where you are valued as a part of the team, whatever position or job role you are in.
Job roles at Dermal could be in marketing, human resources (HR) or administration.
Within marketing, as a Brand Marketing Assistant with Dermal you would provide support to the marketing team to manage one of their specific brands. This is a B2B role, working in conjunction with the sales team to develop marketing materials that will help them present the products to medical professionals. It is important to consider that many of the Dermal brands are prescription products, so there are specific regulations that must be adhered to when marketing them. This is quite a specialist form of marketing which involves more traditional marketing methods, including market and client research, the execution of marketing campaigns, and creating and analysing performance reports.
Within HR, HR Assistants at Dermal have a support role within the HR Department, with responsibilities for recruitment and administration. You would work closely with the team on recruitment campaigns, from processing applications and screening candidates to issuing contracts of employment and communicating with new starters.
Another role within the HR Department that Tate typically supports with, is a Payroll Assistant. As well as providing support in general HR duties, your key responsibility is for payroll related tasks. This involves processing payments, maintaining payroll records, applying necessary deductions, pay rate changes and overtime payments, administering the pension scheme and preparing payroll reports.
In administration roles, Tate places candidates in Administrator jobs at Dermal in the New Product Team. This team is responsible for implementing and managing new products in line with legal regulations. As an Administrator you would support your team with product management and evaluations studies and liaise with other teams within the business. You could find yourself working with scientific research specialists to gather product data, and with marketing executives to ensure product packaging is proofread and legally compliant.
All positions are Monday to Friday, 9 till 5, and employees are encouraged not to stay later. Dermal has traditional values when it comes to looking after their employees. They believe in taking care of their people, including providing a free lunch, every day. They believe in observing special events such as having Christmas parties, celebrating birthdays and recognising staff achievements. This helps to create a relaxed, positive atmosphere and a friendly team environment.
As part of their focus on their staff, Dermal also invests in personal development. This may be helping with training in a specific area or assisting with gaining accredited qualifications in marketing or HR. Working at Dermal is an environment where employees can grow both personally and professionally.
Tate places candidates in permanent roles at Dermal’s head office, just outside Hitchin, and their distribution plant near Bedford.
To work in a marketing role at Dermal you need to have marketing experience in the pharmaceutical sector. It is important that you have knowledge and understanding of this specialist market, particularly when it comes to the legal requirements that must be adhered to. As the marketing function is more traditional, it is preferred that you have worked with forms of printed materials and understand the requirements of marketing channels outside of the digital realm.
For a job in HR you need to have some experience as an HR professional in a similar role. You should have knowledge of the processes required for recruitment, understand compliance regulations and have good organisational skills. As a specialist Payroll Assistant you need to have experience in a similar role.
The Administrative jobs tend to be entry level positions, as full training is given. Any previous experience, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector, is a bonus but not essential. Anyone looking to work in admin needs to work well across various teams as well as being competent in carrying out tasks independently. You need to be proactive and adaptable to work on a variety of tasks as needed to support the department.
Tate often have opportunities for Marketing, HR and Administrative staff in companies like Dermal. To find out about current vacancies with Dermal, contact our Hitchin branch.
Visit our HR jobs, Marketing Jobs or Administration Jobs pages to keep a lookout for all new opportunities in these sectors.
For more career advice you can click here, or to review our recruitment process click here.
You can keep up to date with industry news and advice by visiting our blog or visit our LinkedIn page.
