Trac proudly powers the recruitment for
UK Health Security Agency
![UK Health Security Agency logo](https://static.trac.jobs/employer-logos/2383.png)
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.
Epidemiology and Information Systems Specialist
Accepting applications until: 09-Jul-2024 23:59
Vacancy status: Open
Accepting applications until: 09-Jul-2024 23:59
Key details
Location
- Site
- Birmingham, Nottingham
- Town
- Birmingham, Nottingham
- Postcode
- B2 4BH
- Major / Minor Region
- London
Contract type & working pattern
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job share
- Flexible working
Salary
- Salary
- £30,473 - £37,215 per annum, pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Grade
- (Civil Service: Higher Executive Officer (HEO))
Specialty
- Main area
- Epidemiology and Information Systems Specialist
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 Epidemiology and Information Systems Specialist works closely with UKHSA and NHS colleagues to support data capture, data quality and data management. Working within the Field Service Midlands team, the postholder will act as the team’s primary liaison with laboratories across the Midlands to secure the reporting of timely and high quality infectious disease test data to UKHSA’s Second Generation Surveillance System (SGSS).
Through the application of specialist skills, the post holder will undertake complex tasks with regards to database development and management, using modern tools and methodologies.
The role will involve supporting outbreaks and epidemiological investigations through the creation and administration of outbreak databases and through providing advice and expertise on data sources and capture.
The post holder will contribute to UKHSA’s surveillance work by supporting the implementation of new, and the improvement of existing, surveillance systems.
The post holder will support users through providing ongoing support and training and will also be required to contribute to a robust quality assurance programme.
Advert
The post also supports response to incidents and outbreaks of infectious diseases and works on the analysis, visualisation and communication of data.
Key systems for this include the SGSS web application, SQL Server and Power BI.
Liaison with laboratories, as well as with other internal and external stakeholders, is an important feature of this role.
The main duties and responsibilities for the role are displayed below
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
Specific duties of the role may vary depending on the site and teams/functions.
Outbreak support and epidemiological investigation
1. Advise on data availability and capture during outbreaks and create and administer outbreak databases
Surveillance
2. Support the development and operational testing of, and implement, new surveillance systems and provide ongoing support and training as required
3. Maintain and improve existing surveillance databases, validating the quality of surveillance data including the development and use of automated routines and through audit
4. Produce and update Standard Operating Procedures
Research
5. Develop and maintain study databases including advising on data linkage, storage and design
Software skills
6. Develop solutions and apply specialist skills using common database/mapping/web tools such as ArcGIS, SQL, SharePoint etc.
7. Undertake more complex analytical tasks using common software packages to support data extractions, analysis and validation, including programming and using web-based technologies
Communication
8. Present internally or to local partners on lead area / specialty
Teaching
9. Teach colleagues on surveillance systems and database management
Quality and Governance
10. Ensure that data transfer, extraction and storage of data are appropriate and secure
11. Identify data quality issues and implement data validation and correction solutions based on guidance from senior staff and policy
12. Ensure business continuity and disaster recovery procedures are in place for databases and systems
Workforce/HR
13. Be responsible for managing own workload, including developing objectives and reviewing progress against these, leading and motivating team members and effectively appraising and managing performance for staff line managed
Project management
14. Contribute to and ensure the delivery of project outcomes such as the implementation of new systems and processes
PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• The post holder will identify, discuss and action own professional performance and training / development needs with their line manager through appraisal / individual development plan. Attending internal / external training events
• To participate in all mandatory training as required, i.e. safeguarding, fire safety, information governance and all other mandatory training.
OTHER DUTIES
• The above is only an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. You will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by the Division.
• The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the organisation
For more information on the Job description and main duties please see the attached JD
Essential criteria - Please be aware that we will assess on the essential criteria stated on the advert rather than the full list on the job description document.
Selection process
This vacancy will be assessed using a competency-based framework which will assess your Qualifications, knowledge and experience and / or skills and capabilities outlined in the essential criteria.
Stage 1: Application & Sift
You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the essential criteria listed in the Person Specification below. This assessment will be in the form of
- CV/ Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
- 750 words Statement of Suitability.
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 do not exceed 750 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.
The CV and Statement of Suitability will be marked separately, and you must pass both to move forward to interview.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview and assessment.
Feedback will not be provided at this stage.
Unfortunately, late applications will not be considered
Stage 2: Interview
You will be invited to a (single) remote interview.
Knowledge, experience, skills & abilities will be tested at interview
As part of the interview you will be required to undertake a presentation, details of this will be provided to you.
Interviews will be held week commencing 22nd July. Please note, these dates are subject to change. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Location information
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 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 your core location - Birmingham or Nottingham.
Eligibility Criteria
Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).
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.
Working for the Civil Service:
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.
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 welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.
It’s important to note that there are currently exceptions to applications being considered if your conviction relates to any of the following:
- life sentences
- arson
- sexual offences
- hate and terror offences
Some departments will also consider the specific offence against the nature of the business, i.e., a conviction for fraud may rule you out for a finance role.
If you are interviewed for the post and do not meet the required threshold for the specified grade, your application may be assessed against a similar, lower grade role and you may be offered the post should one be available
Starting salary
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 .
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ
I understand my application may be rejected or I may be subject to disciplinary action if evidence of plagiarism is detected. Examples of plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence (AI), as your own.
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 & QUALIFICATIONS
Essential criteria
- Educated to degree level in public health or information science/systems or equivalent experience
- Higher qualification in in information science / systems or equivalent experience
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
Essential criteria
- Understanding of and experience in data validation and quality assurance through audit, creating, supporting and maintaining systems and databases
- Knowledge and experience of data sources, data capture mechanisms and data linkage
- Proficient in a common database/mapping/web tools such as SQL, GIS, SharePoint etc. including experience of developing solutions
- Experience of contributing to and ensuring the successful delivery of project relating to information systems
- Understand information governance including data protection and confidentiality requirements
Desirable criteria
- Experience in the production of Standard Operating Procedures
- Experience in the operational testing, development and implementation of new systems
- Experience of appraising staff and managing performance
SKILLS AND CAPABILITIES
Essential criteria
- Excellent oral and written communication skills.
- Able to maintain effective relationships with co-workers and key stakeholders and work in a multidisciplinary team
Desirable criteria
- Skills to undertake more complex analytical tasks using common software packages to support data extractions, analysis and validation, including programming
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
Essential criteria
- An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships, both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems
Documents
- Job description (PDF, 504.3KB)
- Functional requirement form (PDF, 344.6KB)
- Civil Service Recruitment Principles (PDF, 2.6MB)
- Civil Service Nationality Rules (PDF, 195.3KB)
- 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
- Vivian Dieli
- Job title
- Resourcing
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
For enquires about your application please contact the recruitment team [email protected] , for enquiries about the role please contact vacancy holder [email protected]
Start your application
You must sign in to a Trac account before you can apply for this job.
Sign in
Create an account
Create your account and apply for your new job!