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Job summary

Main area
Public Health
Grade
Civil Service: Grade 7
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Full time
  • Part time
  • Job share
  • Flexible working
37.5 hours per week
Job ref
919-LT-305442-EXT
Employer
UK Health Security Agency
Employer type
Public (Non NHS)
Site
London,Leeds,Birmingham,Liverpool
Town
London,Leeds,Birmingham,Liverpool
Salary
£54,416 - £68,344 per annum, pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
25/11/2024 23:59

Employer heading

UK Health Security Agency logo

Principal Public Health Scientist

Civil Service: Grade 7

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 UKHSA Guidance team is part of the Clinical and Public Health Response (CPHR) Division. 
CPHR consists of three teams led by the Deputy Director of Clinical and Public Health Response:

  • CPHR Advice team (includes Senior Medical Advisors and Consultants in Public Health)
  • CPHR Guidance team
  • CPHR Evidence review team

Collectively CPHR provides evidence reviews, quality assured guidance, and clinical and public health advice on all hazards and threats across the agency and to the NHS, Other Government Departments (OGDs) as well as internationally. We provide clinical and public health leadership 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to mitigate health security threats and support incident response.

Working in a team of public health scientists and operations staff the postholder will support UKHSA through the provision of high quality public health guidance. 
The CPHR Guidance team leads on developing standards and quality assurance processes for all hazards guidance production and publication across the organisation and provides expert guidance support to public health incidents via the National Response Centre (NRC) as requested.

Main duties of the job

The postholder will:

  • Support the development of all hazards health protection guidance for a range of audiences including the public, the health and adult social care system and high-risk settings
  • Provide scientific support to develop and summarise the evidence base (working with the CPHR Evidence team) and translate it into guidance content
  • Work closely with knowledge and evidence specialists to update guidance in line with emerging evidence and policy
  • Audit guidance against the UKHSA Quality Standards for Guidance Development
  • Work across the organisation to improve the quality and consistency of guidance for both business as usual and incident response
  • The postholder will report to the Head of Guidance and will be expected to work closely with the Evidence and Advice teams across CPHR.

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.  

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

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Specific duties of the role will vary depending on the type of guidance being produced (e.g. business as usual/incident response) but include:

  • Respond to commissions to develop new guidance for the public and specific settings including the health and social care system
  • Respond to public health incidents by contributing to the stand-up and operation of advice and guidance cells. This will involve working directly with subject matter experts and other incident response cells to produce and update guidance for the public and high-risk settings in dynamic and fast paced situations
  • Lead on updating published guidance in line with new evidence, regulatory changes and/or new policies
  • Proactively engage with stakeholders to develop relationships and agreed ways of working to support the effective provision of high quality guidance across UKHSA
  • Contribute to the evaluation, quality assurance and governance of assets produced by the Guidance team
  • Secure input from a range of partners including behavioural science, communications, rapid evidence, expert stakeholders and legal/policy
  • Ensure health inequalities, Public Sector Equality Duty and accessibility considerations are given to all guidance products
  • Participate in working groups or committees as required
  • Contribute to the development of systems and process to ensure good governance and a learning culture
  • Deputise for the Head of Guidance as necessary

Other

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 your line manager.

The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the organisation.

Incident response work may involve a change in working patterns including weekend working and overtime.

For a full list of essential and desirable criteria, please refer to the attached job description.

Selection Process Details

Stage 1: Application & Sift 

Competency-based assessment

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

  • an Application Form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
  • a 1,500 word Statement of Suitability. 

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

The CV and Statement of Suitability will be marked separately, and you must pass both to move forward to interview.

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 

In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on the lead criteria of: Experience of guidance development.

Please note that candidates in the Disability Confident Scheme will be shortlisted if you meet the minimum essential criteria.   

Late applications will not be considered.

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

Please do not exceed 1,500 words.  We will not consider any words over and above this number.
Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview 

You will be invited to a remote interview where you will be tested on your knowledge, experience, skills & abilities.  

There will be a 10 minute presentation on the day of your interview; further detail will follow in due course.

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

Location

This role is being offered as hybrid working. 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).

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.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • Masters in Public Health or equivalent experience

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria
  • Experience of working with other government agencies
  • Experience of working on own initiative and as part of a team
  • Experience of guidance development

Skills/Capabilities/Behaviours

Essential criteria
  • Clear communicator with excellent oral and written communication skills
  • Resilient and able to cope with multiple competing demands and tight deadlines
  • Commitment to reducing health inequalities
  • Strong planning and organisational skills and ability to work at pace
  • Good public health and scientific knowledge and ability to understand complex technical issues
  • Ability to assimilate and distil information to support consensus development

Equality and Diversity

Essential criteria
  • An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Purple SpaceApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyAge positiveImproving working livesMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerThe Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei) is the UK's leading employer network covering all aspects of equality and inclusion issues in the workplace.Carer Confident -AccomplishedHappy to Talk Flexible Working

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Lisa Tweedie
Job title
Resourcing Support Officer
Email address
[email protected]
Additional information

For information regarding the role please contact  Sam Collins, [email protected] Head of Guidance, Clinical and Public Health Response

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