Trac proudly powers the recruitment for
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.
Healthcare Scientific Support Worker/Medical Laboratory Assistant
Closed for applications on: 3-May-2024 00:02
Vacancy status: Closed
Closed for applications on: 3-May-2024 00:02
Key details
Location
- Site
- Manchester University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester labs
- Town
- Manchester
- Postcode
- M13 9WL
- Major / Minor Region
- London
Contract type & working pattern
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Salary
- Salary
- £22,370 - £24,184 AO National
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Grade
- (Civil Service: Administrative Officer (AO))
Specialty
- Main area
- Administration
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
- Grade & Salary: AO (National) £22370 - £24184
- Location: Manchester University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, M13 9WL
The department employs around 130 staff and has a workload in excess of 1.2 million specimens covering major clinical specialties including respiratory medicine, transplantation, burns, renal medicine, urology & paediatrics.
The post holder will act as a laboratory assistant to provide support to the scientific team providing services to patients and clients as an aid to clinical diagnosis.
hours of 8am - 8pm Monday to Sunday.
Advert
Your main duties would include:
- Working as part of Laboratory Team
- Rotate through various managed units within
Microbiology - Sample receipt and handing.
- Sample preparation and reagent preparation following
protocols. - Clerical duties, including use of computers, and data
entry, telephone enquiries. - Provide results service to wards, GPs and other
hospitals - Dealing with patients, visitors and deliveries.
- Monitor and maintain appropriate stock levels, receipt
of deliveries and preparation of orders. - Cleaning and disinfection of equipment and
laboratory areas. - Monitoring and routine maintenance of equipment.
- Perform manual, semi-automated and automated
tests according to protocols. - Disposal of patient samples in accordance with
relevant guidelines - Autoclaving of waste material and patient samples
(involves moderate lifting). - Portering duties
- Work in a safe manner in accordance with Laboratory
Health and Safety policies and procedures.
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.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Processing specimens, sub culturing of specimens, cleaning and maintenance of equipment, assisting BMS staff in analytical techniques, and use of automated equipment within Containment Level 3 laboratory.
- You would be using automated equipment and assist with its maintenance within Containment Level 2 laboratories.
- You would need to participate in Quality Assurance and Quality Control activities, and assist the department in maintaining UKAS accreditation.
- The postholder would participate in audit processes, drug trials, research projects as required. You would be assisting in the production of bacteriological culture media.
- You may be expected to provide emergency cover between the laboratories at Manchester Medical Microbiology Partnership.
Selection process details
STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT:
You will be required to complete an application form. This will be assessed in line with the advertised essential criteria – please do provide evidence of how you meet this.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to an interview.
STAGE 2 – INTERVIEW
This competition will involve an interview by video or onsite face to face.
As part of the process, candidates will be invited to interview which will involve an in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification.
Your Statement of Suitability should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria (outlined in the person specification section).
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.
Please note that you may be required to provide a presentation or undertake a test at interview.
For further information on the selection process, please refer to the full job description.
Expected Timeline:
Advert close: 23:55hrs on 2nd March 2024 – unfortunately, late applications will not be considered. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Interviews: TBC
Please note these dates could be subject to change.
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/
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Person specification
Education and Qualification
Essential criteria
- • GCSE or Equivalent
- • Previously worked in a laboratory
- • Experience of working in a health care environment
- • Clear communicator with good writing, data entry and telephone skills ensuring accuracy.
- • Ability to work effectively as part of a team.
- • Problem solving skills.
- • Able to work on own initiative, organising and prioritising own workload to set deadlines.
- • An ability to maintain confidentiality and trust.
- • Good time keeping.
- • Flexible approach to work.
- • Ability to follow written protocols.
Desirable criteria
- • Evidence of ongoing training and development.
Documents
- Job description (PDF, 672.3KB)
- Job description (PDF, 672.3KB)
- 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
- Jon Payne
- Job title
- RPO Talent Partner
- Email address
- [email protected]
No longer accepting applications
Sorry, this vacancy is no longer accepting applications.
You can search for similar jobs on the employer's job board, or visit our national jobs board Health Jobs UK.