Job Description

Details

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Reference number

422962

Salary

40,661 - 50,472
per annum, pro-rata
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP

Job grade

Senior Executive Officer
SEO National, SEO Inner London

Contract type

Fixed term

Length of employment

Until 10th July 2026

Type of role

Human Resources

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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Canary Wharf, Birmingham, Leeds or Liverpool

About the job

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Job summary

Job overview

UKHSA is seeking a skilled and confident Senior Caseworker to provide expert HR advice and support on complex, sensitive, and multi-faceted HR cases. In this pivotal role, you'll manage a varied caseload, balancing competing priorities while ensuring timely, high-quality outcomes that mitigate risk and uphold organisational standards.

This role is being offered on a fixed-term appointment until 10th July 2026.

You'll work closely with managers across the agency, guiding them through challenging HR issues with professionalism and clarity. As a senior member of the team, you'll also help ensure consistency in service delivery and contribute to building a strong, collaborative casework function across UKHSA.


We're looking for someone with proven experience in complex case management, excellent judgement, and a proactive approach to problem-solving. Strong communication skills and the ability to influence and support stakeholders are essential

Job description

Main duties of the job

Effectively manage a portfolio of HR cases including (but are not limited to); long term sickness, discipline, grievances, appeals whistleblowing and employment tribunals, to specified deadlines to a high standard. Providing advice and support on a range of queries escalated at pace at times with limited information. Ensure cases are proactively managed in a timely manner and appropriate conclusions met, adhering to employment law, a range of policies and terms and conditions and ensuring operational and business needs are met. Responsible for developing, maintaining, and achieving own personal development plan. Supporting a culture of continuous development and improvement across all team activity, identifying opportunities to be more efficient and improve service delivery.

Person specification

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Responsibilities will include

Actively support project work which develops the casework service in collaboration with the Casework Management Lead and/or Head of HR Casework, HR Policy & Employee Relations. Ensuring governance and day to day responsibilities are understood and complied with to inform evidence based, robust effective decision making. This includes the appropriate and timely escalation of risks to the Casework Management Lead. Supporting the design and delivery of upskilling to line managers and others as a HR expert advisor. Demonstrate a strong customer service ethos focussing on continuous improvement and building and maintaining excellent relationships with managers, senior leaders and other HR professionals. Identify risks e.g. reputational and financial to the UKHSA, ensure these are recorded and escalated to the Casework Management Lead. Understand the bigger picture through data analysis as required, identifying trends/themes and communicate findings through a range of reporting styles. Ensure that all information managed / given is in accordance with GDPR and the Data Protection Act.

The job holder will carry out any other duties that may reasonably be required by their line manager.

Essential criteria:

A HR-based qualification i.e., CIPD or relevant experience such as working within or closely to HR casework Demonstrable experience of managing and providing expert HR advice on complex and sensitive HR cases Up to date knowledge of employment law Experience of working autonomously and managing a workload of multiple competing priorities Experience of analysing, interpreting and reporting information in an effective manner to recommend an appropriate course of action Ability to problem solve, think quickly and adapt and respond appropriately to a range of varied and immediate customer needs Ability to influence and coach stakeholders at all levels Able to interpret information from various sources i.e. policies, legislation, case law and provide sound HR advice or propose a policy or service change Effective verbal, written and presentation communication skills; capable of constructing and delivering clear messages accurately for a range of audiences

Desirable criteria:

Experience of Line Management and training staff Experience of working across diverse organisation with multiple terms and conditions and associated processes e.g., professional registration obligation impacts.

Benefits

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Alongside your salary of 40,661, UK Health Security Agency contributes 11,779 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 is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

Success profiles


You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 9 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:

Application form ('Employer/ Activity history' section on the application) 1000-word supporting statement.

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


The Application form and supporting statement will be marked together.


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

Meets all essential criteria will be taken through to shortlisting.

Shortlisting:

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

"Demonstrable experience of managing and providing expert HR advice on complex and sensitive HR cases"

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 (success profiles)

You will be invited to a (single) remote interview.


Behaviours and experience will be tested at interview.


There will be a Presentation. The topic of the presentation will be provided nearer to the time of interview


The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be

Managing a quality service Communicating and influencing (lead behaviour) Making effective decisions Working at pace

Interviews will be held week commencing 29th September 2025. Please note, these dates are subject to change.

Eligibility Criteria

External


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

For Fixed term posts

For Temporary Appointments, 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.

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 Basic Personnel Security Standard

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.

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.

Location: Hybrid any Core HQ

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQ's. 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 at one of UKHSA's core HQ's (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London)


Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

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.

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 take into account 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/

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



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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
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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The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
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 : Recruitment team Email : recruitment@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 here: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk.