Job Description

Details

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Reference number

437708

Salary

37,749 - 45,353
per annum, pro rata
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP

Job grade

Higher Executive Officer

Contract type

Fixed term

Loan

Secondment

Length of employment

to 10 September 2027 only

Business area

Science, Epidemiology, Surveillance

Type of role

Science

Other

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information

Location

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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).

About the job

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Job summary

As a Scientist you will be part of a dynamic team responsible for delivering the development, management and coordination of surveillance systems of communicable diseases, focusing on hepatitis and HTLV.


The post holder will:

Support the data collection and validation, and production of routine surveillance intelligence in these areas. Maintain and develop hepatitis and HTLV surveillance systems, working closely with a wide variety of professionals both within and outside UKHSA to ensure high quality data. Oversee the co-ordination of requests for data associated with hepatitis, the production of regular and ad hoc outputs from these systems for inclusion in routine national and international reports and information requests from external stakeholders. Liaise with stakeholders within the organisation and outside to lead on the mandatory reporting, quality assurance and standard processes. Have strong data management skills, ideally with experience in surveillance data. Have excellent interpersonal skills and an ability to work effectively both autonomously and within a team.

Working for your organisation

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

Job description

Professional Development

Identify, discuss and action own professional performance and training / development needs with your line manager through appraisal / individual development plan. Attend internal and external training events. Participate in all mandatory training as required (e.g. information governance training)

Key Working Relationships

The post holder will develop working relationships and communicate regularly with a wide range of individuals, clinical and non-clinical, internal and external to UKHSA. This will include:

Medical, scientific, ICT/bioinformatics and administrative colleagues within BSHSH and the CPH Group Staff in other divisions of UKHSA, especially colleagues in Laboratory Services Colleagues in the UKHSA Statistics Unit, Field Services, Local Health Protection Teams and the Communications Dept Patient networks and charities Department of Health and Social Care NHS Digital, NHSx, NHS England and NHS Improvement, NIMS Child Health Records Department managers, Screening and Immunisation teams, PHEC staff, Directors of Public Health, Immunisation Co-ordinators and immunisation leads European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Local government Devolved administrations (Public Health Scotland, Public Health Wales) Other agencies to develop clinical codes, data specifications and data systems related to vaccine coverage Other clinical, public health, scientific and academic staff in NHS Trusts, national, regional and local institutions within and outside the UK

Blood Safety, Hepatitis, STI & HIV Division

The Blood Safety, Hepatitis, STI and HIV (BSHSH) Division is the national centre for surveillance of hepatitis, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in England. It is within the Public Health Programmes (PHP) Directorate of the Chief Medical Advisor Group and is based mainly in Colindale, north London. The Division consists of around 100 permanent and project-funded medical, scientific, technical and administrative staff including epidemiologists, public health specialists, microbiologists, virologists, data managers and statisticians. The Division works closely with other Divisions, particularly Immunisation and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, Health Equity, Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance and Reference and Specialist Microbiology Services and with the Analytics and Data Sciences Directorate and Health Protection Operations. The Division also works in partnership with both national and regional teams in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), NHS England and NHS Improvement and NHSBT. The Division is also closely involved with the work of the NIHR-funded Health Protection Research Units, which are collaborative ventures involving UKHSA and academia.


The BSHSH Division aims to:

Describe trends in the incidence and prevalence of hepatitis, STIs and HIV, especially in important behavioural population sub-groups; Describe trends in the incidence and prevalence of all infections transmissible through blood, tissue and organ donations; Provide national reference and specialist microbiology and virology services, for public health, clinical and diagnostic purposes; Monitor the outputs and effectiveness of hepatitis, STI and HIV prevention activities and programmes and support development of national policy; Provide information for local needs assessment, service commissioning and evaluation, and to guide prevention activities aimed at reducing risk behaviours and interrupting infection transmission, including through blood, organ and tissue donation; Investigate national and uncommon outbreaks, respond to international health alerts, and provide advice on the risks posed; Train those working in blood safety and in hepatitis, STI and HIV surveillance, monitoring and prevention;
Lead and contribute to research in hepatitis, STI and HIV epidemiology, diagnostics, and infection prevention and control.

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Main duties of the job

Develop, maintain and document (standard operational procedures) the surveillance systems. Planning, organising and delivering on a range of data requests requiring analytic input, including negotiating and agreeing the most appropriate data output, initiating and planning workloads and setting delivery timescales. Support senior staff in the management and continued development of surveillance databases Support senior staff in the management of outbreak investigations, liaising with internal and external stakeholders. Perform all work in cognisance of data protection requirements and the need to maintain confidentiality and security of surveillance information. Understanding which are the key local and national stakeholders with an interest in hepatitis or HTLV data both within and outside UKHSA. Attending meetings with key local stakeholders, representing the hepatitis team and BSHSH department at events. Communicate effectively specialist information with colleagues. Using a variety of methods including written briefings and oral presentations to communicate the implication of public health analytical outputs for action to improve local population health to internal and external stakeholders from a range of backgrounds. Working collaboratively as part of the analytical capacity. Assisting colleagues in the delivery of the analytical work programme and with colleagues in other analytical teams in UKHSA as required.

This list is not exhaustive.

Person specification

Essential criteria:

Educated to degree level in a Public Health related subject or equivalent level of experience in health data analysis and/or working in a public health agency/setting Data management, analysis and reporting as well as significant experience of working with multiple sets of data and information systems in health or related organisations Knowledge of data security and confidentiality issues Work on several separate tasks at the same time, whilst keeping to agreed deadlines; identify and solve day-to-day practical problems Analysing, summarising and interpreting complex epidemiological data, and resolving problems Ability to work independently and take responsibility for own technical work and time and to work as an effective team member Communicate ideas and methods clearly and succinctly to include excellent oral and written communication skills An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships.

Desirable criteria:

Experience of working as part of an outbreak investigation Experience of scripting and applied use of statistical computing environments such as R, SAS, STATA, SPSS, Mathematical or equivalent

Benefits

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Alongside your salary of 37,749, UK Health Security Agency contributes 10,935 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

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Selection process details

This vacancy will be assessed using a competency-based framework which will assess your qualifications, knowledge and experience and skills and abilities outlined in the essential criteria.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

Competency-based assessments

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 8 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:


Application form ('Employer/ Activity history' section on the application) 1000 word Supporting Statement.
The Application form and supporting statement will be marked together.


This should outline how you consider your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.


Please note you will not be able to upload your CV. You must complete the application form in as much detail as possible. Please do not email us your CV.

Longlisting:

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

Meets all essential criteria Meets some essential criteria Meets no essential criteria
Those falling into the 'Meets

all

essential criteria' pile will progress to shortlisting.

Shortlisting:

In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on the following essential criteria:

Educated to degree level in a Public Health related subject or equivalent level of experience in health data analysis and/or working in a public health agency/setting Data management, analysis and reporting as well as significant experience of working with multiple sets of data and information systems in health or related organisations

Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a large number of applications / large amount of successful candidates.


If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview & assessment.


Please do not exceed 1000 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.


Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

Competency based

You will beinvited to a face to face interview. In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to offer a remote interview.


Knowledge, experience, skills & abilities will be tested at interview.


There will be a 20 minute written test at the beginning of your interview.


Interviews dates are yet to be confirmed.


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

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


If you are not currently a civil servant, you will take up the post on a Fixed Term appointment. You may be able to take this role up as a Secondment. If you are an existing Civil Servant, based outside of the UKHSA, you will take up the post as a loan which you will need your department to agree. You cannot take the post up as a fixed term. If you are an existing UKHSA member of staff, you will take up the post as either a level transfer or a temporary promotion as per the UKHSA's Pay policy.

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).

Future location

UKHSA is investing in a new state-of-the-art National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow, Essex, which will eventually bring together teams currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale and Porton Down. For more details, please see: Huge biosecurity centre investment to boost pandemic protection - GOV.UK.


The new facilities will start becoming operational in the mid-2030s, with full completion by 2038. Staff will move in phases as facilities become available. If you're appointed to a role currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale or Porton Down, please note that we'll continue investing in these sites for the next decade. As we get closer to the transition, we'll provide full information about relocation support available to staff.

Salary

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

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.


Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Counter-terrorist Check.


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. 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.

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone. To help you during the recruitment process, we will consider any reasonable adjustments that could help you. An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work. This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme. If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.


You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

International Police check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and it could be time accrued over that period.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.


Link below:


Artificial intelligence and recruitment , Civil Service Careers

Internal Fraud check

If successful for this role as one aspect of pre-employment screening, applicant's personal details - name, national insurance number and date of birth - will be checked against the Cabinet Office Internal Fraud Hub and anyone included on the database will be refused employment unless they can show exceptional circumstances. Currently this is only for External candidates to the Civil Service.

Careers website

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



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check .



See our vetting charter .
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:


UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.



We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

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

Contact point for applicants

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Job contact :

Name : Carmelita Goodwin Email : Carmelita.Goodwin@ukhsa.gov.uk
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Recruitment team

Email : recruitment@ukhsa.gov.uk

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.




If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: Complaints@ukhsa.gov.uk




If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk