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UK Health Security Agency
About
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will be responsible for planning, preventing and responding to external health threats, and providing intellectual, scientific and operational leadership at national and local level, as well as on the global stage. UKHSA will ensure the nation can respond quickly and at greater scale to deal with pandemics and future threats.
Senior Epidemiology Scientist
Closed for applications on: 7-Oct-2022 00:00
Vacancy status: Closed
Closed for applications on: 7-Oct-2022 00:00
Key details
Location
- Site
- Colindale/other London Locations
- Town
- London
- Postcode
- NW9 5EQ
- Major / Minor Region
- London
Contract type & working pattern
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job share
- Flexible working
Salary
- Salary
- £40,074 - £45,998 Per Annum, Pro Rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Grade
- (Civil Service: Senior Executive Officer (SEO))
Specialty
- Main area
- Public Health & Clinical
The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is a system leader for health security; taking action internationally to strengthen global health security, providing trusted advice to government and the public and reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by infectious disease, environmental hazards, and other threats to health.
UKHSA’s remit, as an agency with a global-to-local reach, is to protect the health of the nation from infectious diseases and other external threats to health. As the nation’s expert national health security agency UKHSA will:
- Prevent: anticipate threats to health and help build the nation’s readiness, defences and health security
- Detect: use cutting edge environmental and biological surveillance to proactively detect and monitor infectious diseases and threats to health
- Analyse: use world-class science and data analytics to assess and continually monitor threats to health, identifying how best to control and mitigate the risks
- Respond: take rapid, collaborative and effective actions nationally and locally to mitigate threats to health when they materialise
- Lead: lead strong and sustainable global, national, regional and local partnerships designed to save lives, protect the nation from public health threats and reduce inequalities.
Job overview
The COVID-19 National Epidemiology team is located within United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Clinical and Public Health Group at Colindale. The remit of the team includes providing specialist epidemiology and surveillance, coordinating the investigation of national outbreaks, advising government on the risks posed by COVID-19 and responding to international health concerns.
The postholder will be a member of this team, working on the surveillance, epidemiology and investigation of COVID-19. The postholder will develop, manage and maintain surveillance databases.
The postholder will also provide specialist scientific support for a range of national and international surveillance programmes, research projects and outbreak investigations. This will include the design and development of new surveillance and data management systems in response to developments in microbiological typing methods in collaboration with other epidemiologists and relevant specialists, conducting complex statistical analyses to produce surveillance outputs.
Please note this role will have a start date of 1st April 2023.
Advert
The main duties of the post are related to UKHSA’s national epidemiological function for COVID-19 incident and will work. This role is one of a team of Scientists working within the national COVID-19 epidemiology team and will have responsibility for supporting and developing the multiple epidemiological processes and outputs provided by the team. The post involves data collection, analysis and interpretation, and the writing of scientific reports and publications. The post holder may also have the opportunity to participate in COVID-19 related research projects. Work within this national team involves shift working and is fast paced; the postholder will need to be able to respond to sudden unexpected demands, demonstrate good interpersonal skills and to work as a team member. Detailed knowledge of STATA would be beneficial for this post.
This role will also involve shift working including working at weekends
Working for our 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.
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.
People working with government assets must complete Basic Personnel Security Standard checks.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Develop, manage and maintain the surveillance databases.
- Manage existing national surveillance systems and co-ordinate the development of new surveillance systems for COVID-19 and to supervise and advise junior scientific and administrative staff in the maintenance and development of integrated or enhanced surveillance datasets.
- Conduct complex statistical analyses of data on COVID-19 drawn from a variety of surveillance sources.
- Advise scientific and administrative staff conducting routine analyses of surveillance datasets for standardised outputs and ad hoc enquiries.
- Supervise junior scientific colleagues and the administrative team in the production of surveillance reports and publications
- Provide technical advice and assistance to public health practitioners on the design, maintenance, analysis and interpretation of surveillance databases.
- Assist in the design and development of new surveillance and data management systems in response to developments in the application of microbiological typing methods including contributing to the drafting of Standard Operating Procedures.
Detailed knowledge of STATA would be beneficial for this post.
To apply you will be invited to complete an application, where you will be asked to provide a Personal Statement / Statement of Suitability in no more than 750 words .Please be aware the box provided for this statement may allow more than the word limit requested so please do check your word count.
This should outline how you consider your skills, experience and achievements, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential and desirable criteria outlined in the Person specification.
You will also be asked to provide information within the ‘Employer/ Activity history’ section of the application form. This is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV, setting out your career history this will be used in sifting process and will be assessed.
Unfortunately, late applications will not be considered.
-
STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT:
You will be required to complete an application form. This will be assessed in line with the advertised criteria.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to an interview.
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STAGE 2 – INTERVIEW
All candidates who are successful at the sift stage will undertake a single video interview.
Candidates who are successful in being invited to interview will be required to take a test in addition to the interview process.
Interview date
TBC
Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including internal applicants).
New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.
The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase.
Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.
For further details please refer to the Information Sheet- Starting Salaries & Benefits attachment.
Appointment
This is a permanent appointment.
Further information
The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit based on fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ
This is a Non-Reserved post under the Civil Service Nationality Rules. To be eligible for employment in the UK Civil Service applicants must meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules (CSNRs) which operate independently of and additionally to the Immigration Rules. Applicants must also meet necessary security and vetting requirements, along with any other relevant pre-employment checks.
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) (opens in a new window)
- 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
For more information on job nationality requirements and the right to work in the UK, see the Civil Service Nationality rules (opens in a new window) and the UK Visas and Immigration rules (opens in a new window)
For posts on UKHSA Civil Service terms and conditions, new entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. For existing Civil Servants and roles advertised across government, the rules of transfer apply, i.e., level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive a 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.
The Civil Service pay structure and progression is different from NHS Agenda for Change (AfC), most local authority pay grades and other systems that have annual pay increments. For further details, please refer to the Information Sheet- Starting Salaries & Benefits attachment.
For AfC or Medical/Dental posts, you must have the correct professional registration to be appointed. The pay will follow the AfC or Medical & Dental terms & conditions. You may be asked to provide evidence of previous service whilst we are conducting pre-employment checks to determine your starting salary.
For Temporary Appointments, if you are not currently a civil servant, you will take up the post on a Fixed Term appointment. If you are an existing Civil Servant, based outside of the UKHSA, you will take up the post as a loan. 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.
Given the nature of the work of the UKHSA, as a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, you may be required in an emergency, if deemed a necessity, to redeploy to another role at short notice. You may also be required to work at any other location, within reasonable travelling distance of your permanent home address, in line with the provisions set out in your contract of employment.
Late Applications will unfortunately not be considered.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. 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 (attached as a supporting document).
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: [email protected] 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 here.
Reserve List - If more than the required number of suitable candidates pass the interview criteria, you may be kept on a reserve list for 12 months subject to your agreement. You may be contacted, in merit-order, if similar roles with closely matching essential criteria become available and the department choose to appoint from a reserve list.
Interview expenses will not be reimbursed.
UKHSA is required to check employment and/or education history covering three consecutive years. Please ensure you give details of at least two different referees, even if you were employed in one company for three years or more.
If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.
Any move to UKHSA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
Benefits of working at UKHSA include:
- Generous annual leave:
-26 days for the first 5 years of continuous service
-28 days after 5 years of continuous service
-32 days after 10 years of continuous service
-Plus public holidays and one privilege day for the King’s birthday - Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions.
- Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving.
- Access to a retail discounts and cashback site.
- We also promote flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours). UKHSA views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they are able to enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including working from home, compressed hours and job sharing.
- We also offer a generous maternity/ paternity and adoption leave package.
Hybrid Working
UKHSA operates 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 usually spend a minimum of 60% of your contracted hours (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's locations (approximately 3 days a week pro rata) and the rest of your time working from home.
Disability Confident Scheme
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria at sift to ensure these candidates are invited to interview. If you wish to be included in this scheme please tick the box on your application form.
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/
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- First degree in a science subject
- Higher degree in Epidemiology, Public Health or an allied subject
Knowledge and experience
Essential criteria
- Postgraduate work/study in public health, epidemiology or an allied subject.
- Interpreting and evaluating epidemiological data, using Access/ SQL databases, spreadsheets, statistical and graphics packages to an advanced level
- Statistical analysis of large and complex epidemiological datasets.
- Managing epidemiological studies and outbreak investigation.
- Writing scientific papers and/or project reports
Desirable criteria
- Having a thorough understanding of recent advances in the epidemiology and microbiology of COVID-19 and presenting scientific papers at national and international conferences
Skills and capabilities
Essential criteria
- Ability to work independently and take responsibility for own technical work and time and to work as an effective team member
- Ability to analyse, summarise and interpret complex epidemiological data
- Communicate ideas and methods clearly and succinctly to include excellent oral and written communication skills
- Identify and solve day-to-day practical problems.
- Ability to work on several separate tasks at the same time, whilst keeping to agreed deadlines.
- Ability to analyse very complex issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources
- Demonstrated capability to act upon incomplete information, using experience to make inferences and decision making
Desirable criteria
- Experience of creating and giving presentations to a varied group of internal and external stakeholders and an ability to liaise with a range of health professionals and scientific specialists.
Equality and diversity
Essential criteria
- An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships
Documents
- JD (PDF, 467.1KB)
- FRF (PDF, 93.1KB)
- Civil Service Recruitment Principles (PDF, 2.6MB)
- Civil Service Nationality Rules (PDF, 345.1KB)
- Application Form Guidance Notes (PDF, 77.3KB)
- Information Sheet - Starting salaries and benefits (PDF, 129.4KB)
- Information Sheet - Selection Process (PDF, 110.1KB)
- Working at UKHSA and your benefits (PDF, 219.2KB)
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Sharon Cooper
- Job title
- Resourcing Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
For further details about the role or an informal chat ,please contact:
Meaghan Kall
No longer accepting applications
Sorry, this vacancy is no longer accepting applications.
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