Job Description

This permanent post sits within the Respiratory Section of the Immunisation and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Division (IVPD), within the Public Health Programmes directorate of UKHSA. The position is for an epidemiological modeller with skills in statistical epidemiology to work on respiratory virus preparedness in UKHSA, particularly influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation policy, with the potential to work in novel scientific and policy areas of respiratory disease immunisation and prevention, such as pandemic preparedness and human metapneumovirus (hMPV) pharmaceutical countermeasures. As well as requiring specific technical expertise, this post requires broad scientific knowledge and involves substantial interdisciplinary working (e.g., with medical, clinical, and scientific staff) within UKHSA and in other organisations, nationally and internationally.



The post-holder will be responsible for providing high quality statistical analyses on the health burden associated with respiratory diseases, and to improve existing transmission-dynamic models to enable robust and reliable estimates of the impact and cost-effectiveness of interventions against vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases. The post-holder's work will directly inform deliberations by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and UK policy. The position also carries considerable potential for original scientific work and requires a high degree of personal motivation.



The post-holder will develop working relationships with a wide range of individuals internal and external to UKHSA. They will be expected to work closely with staff in the Statistics, Modelling and Economics Department (SMED) of UKHSA, and to collaborate with academic institutions, including as part of the recently renewed Health Protection Research Units (HPRUs) for Respiratory Infections (Imperial College London), Vaccines and Immunisation (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, LSHTM), and Health Analytics & Modelling (Imperial College London/LSHTM). They will also communicate regularly with Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) analysts/immunisation policy teams.



HPRUs are research partnerships between UKHSA and UK universities, funded by DHSC and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.



UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.



Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers



In this role you will



lead development of modelling and statistical analyses related to viral respiratory infections, contributing to the whole lifecycle of research, including accessing and processing large datasets, performing analyses in software such as R, and writing reports.

design and build new models or adapt and extend existing models, as appropriate for application to immunisation policy questions.

keep abreast of the latest scientific knowledge around the transmission of respiratory diseases and incorporate that knowledge into existing transmission-dynamic models/cost-effectiveness analyses, e.g., by performing new analyses to update model parameterisation.

lead extraction and ingestion of data, data ethics and governance, development of processing pipelines and software development.

participate in quality assurance of work, both reviewing teammates' code and work, and asking for appropriate review of own work.

manage own programme of work, using considerable initiative and independence.

attend meetings, including team meetings, wider organisation meetings, and project specific meetings, including supporting project coordination in an appropriate framework and engaging with stakeholders and customers.

work with colleagues in UKHSA's IVPD division, SMED, JCVI, DHSC, academic institutions and other organisations as appropriate.

give presentations at national and international meetings, as appropriate.

write papers for high-quality peer-reviewed scientific journals.



Essential criteria



An undergraduate degree in a quantitative discipline (e.g., mathematics, statistics, physics, biology or economics).

A postgraduate qualification in infectious disease dynamics, infectious disease epidemiology or a relevant quantitative discipline, such as mathematical and statistical modelling.

Significant experience of mathematical or statistical modelling in an epidemiological context, including extensive experience of transmission-dynamic modelling.

Experience of building and validating numerical mathematical/statistical models and ability to apply these to immunisation policy questions.

Experience of working with a wide range of data, such as healthcare data, serology and pathogen genomics.

Extensive experience of coding using R, Python or C++.

Ability to pay attention to detail and devise ways of checking own work carefully (including debugging code), and strong skills in developing robust workflows, including version control and reproducible research.

Collaborate across scientific disciplines/organisations and identify, formulate, solve problems, all whilst being able to demonstrate capability to plan over short and medium timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly.

Ability to work both with considerable initiative and independence, and as a team member (in a multidisciplinary team), including initiating, planning and executing own work programme and coordinating with collaborators.

Demonstrated excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the proven ability to (i) communicate complex ideas, methods, and results clearly and succinctly to a wide range of audiences, (ii) publish scientific papers in high-quality peer-reviewed journals, (iii) give presentations at international meetings (conferences and invited presentations).

Desirable criteria:

Experience of developing packages in R or comparable languages/environments.

Familiarity with health economics.



Selection Process

Stage 1:

Application & Sift



This vacancy is assessed using competency.



At sift stage you will be assessed against the essential criteria listed in the job advert.

You will be required to complete an:

Application form ('Employer/ Activity history' section on the application)

Up to 1000-word statement of suitability



Healthjobs UK has a word limit of 1500, but your statement of suitability must be no more than 1000 words.



This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role.



You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V - please be advised you will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible)



If we receive a large number of applications an initial sift against the lead criteria will be conducted:



"Significant experience of mathematical or statistical modelling in an epidemiological context, including extensive experience of transmission-dynamic modelling."

Longlisting :

In the event of a large number of applications we may longlist into 3 piles of:



Meets all essential criteria

Meets some essential criteria

Meets no essential criteria



Candidates meeting none of the essential criteria will not be considered for shortlisting.



Desirable criteria may be used if we receive a large number of applications.



Please note feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Interview stage (competency based):

You will be invited to a remote Teams interview.

During the interview we will assess against the below:

Knowledge

Experience

Skills and Abilities



You will be asked to prepare and present a 5 minute presentation at the start of your interview.



The subject of this will be "a recent piece of work you have led".



Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.



Eligibility Criteria

External:

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including internal applicants).



Location



This role is being offered as hybrid working based at our Scientific Campus in Colindale, London. We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, averaged over a month) working on site at Colindale



Salary Information



If you are successful at interview, and are moving from another government department, NHS, or Local Authority, the relevant starting salary principles for level transfers or promotions will apply. Otherwise, roles are offered at the pay scale minimum for the grade, but in exceptional circumstances there may be flexibility if you are able to demonstrate you are already in receipt of an existing, higher salary. Pay increases are through the relevant annual pay award for the role and terms.



Security Clearance Level Requirement



The level of security needed is



Basic Personnel Security Standard



Successful candidates must pass a standard disclosure and barring security check.



Successful candidates also require a (CTC) Counter Terrorism Check



As you will be based at one of our scientific campuses, you will be required to have a Counter Terrorism Check security vetting check as a minimum. For meaningful National Security Vetting checks to be carried out individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years as the role requires Counter Terrorism Check (CTC) clearance. In exceptional circumstances UK residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder/Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.