Consultant Epidemiologist Cardiff

The successful candidates will be appointed to the Medical and Dental Consultant salary scale (£114,099 - £166,585) or if from a background other than medicine to NHS Agenda for Change Band 9 (£114,475 - £131,732). All appointees will also be part of the Health Protection Out of Hours Rota providing consultant support regarding incidents and enquiries made to the service. Candidates must be on the GMC Specialist Register in Public Health, General Dental Council, or UK Public Health Register for Public Health Specialists.

The Consultant epidemiologist will join a team of consultants within CDSC, providing surveillance, field epidemiology, research, and teaching and training in the area of infectious disease epidemiology. They will contribute to the CDSC duty rota (in hours), providing leadership and oversight for surveillance and epidemiological investigations. There are also opportunities for developing a research portfolio, working with academic partners, and for teaching and training. This post will be the epidemiology lead for the Healthcare associated infections and Antimicrobial Resistance (HARP) specialty group, which works with the HARP programme on surveillance and epidemiology of HCAI, AMR and (with health boards) healthcare epidemiology.

We are Public Health Wales - the national public health organisation in Wales. Our purpose is 'Working together for a healthier Wales'. We exist to help everyone in Wales live longer, healthier, happier lives. Together with our partners, we work to increase healthy life expectancy, improve health and well-being, and reduce inequalities for everyone in Wales, now and for future generations. Our teams work to prevent disease, protect health, and provide leadership, specialist services and public health expertise. We are the leading source of public health information, research and innovation in Wales. In a world facing complex health challenges, our work has never been so important. We are guided by our Values, 'Working together, with trust and respect, to make a difference'. We are committed to building an inclusive workplace that values equality and diversity. We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of the communities we serve and are supportive of flexible working arrangements, including part time roles and job sharing.

The post holder will provide the strategic leadership and technical input to the Healthcare associate infections and antimicrobial resistance specialty group within CDSC. This is a replacement post following the departure of a consultant epidemiologist working in Public Health Wales.

• Strategic leadership of the surveillance of infectious disease and health effects from exposure to environmental hazards
• Providing a field epidemiology service for the investigation of outbreaks and incidents in the community or healthcare settings
• Provision of data, evidence and policy guidance in support of programmes/priority areas as required
• Two-way collaborative support for Health Protection teams; information and advice to support and guide HPT work, including surveillance and case management, regular CDSC and UK teleconferences
• Provide consultant cover for the acute health protection service via the All-Wales Acute Response rota
• Providing scientific advice and support to other public health and NHS staff, including Directors of Public Health, on health protection issues
• Providing scientific and policy advice and support to Welsh Government, local authority Directors of Public Protection, and other professional colleagues on health protection
• Promotion of professional standards including training, research and audit, including leading and delivering training, and supervision of registrars and field epidemiology fellows.

For suitably qualified candidates, consultant in communicable disease control/health protection sessions could comprise part of this role. Similarly, opportunities may arise for leadership roles in infection control and the national health protection service, and for supervision of epidemiologists as part of the healthcare epidemiology network. The consultant (in collaboration with the other consultants in CDSC) will have lead responsibilities as agreed with the head of CDSC. The post holder will be able to work in PHW offices or from a home base (home working arrangements are possible in line with current organisational policy but this may be subject to future change) and administrative and IT support is provided. Travel to meetings in various locations in Wales will be required, and interactive working via MS Teams is extensively utilised. CDSC staff are mainly based in Capital Quarter 2 in central Cardiff.

Education/Qualifications

• Inclusion in the GMC Specialist Register or UK Public Health (Specialist) Register
• If included in the GMC Specialist Register in a specialty other than public health medicine, infectious diseases medicine or medical microbiology, candidates must have equivalent training and/or appropriate experience of public health medicine, infectious diseases medicine or medical microbiology practice
• Applicants who are not yet on the GMC Register/UKPHR must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they are within 6 months of gaining entry at the date of interview; all other applicants must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they have applied for inclusion in the GMC/UKPHR
• Applicants must meet minimum CPD requirements in accordance with the requirements of the Faculty of Public Health or other recognised body and be licensed to practise MFPH

Personal Qualities

• Strong commitment to public health principles
• Strategic thinker
• Able to prioritise work, and work well against a background of change and uncertainty
• Adaptable to situations, can handle people of all capabilities and attitudes
• Commitment to team-working, and respect and consideration for the skills of others
• Self-motivated, pro-active, and innovative
• High standards of professional probity

Skills

• Strategic thinker with proven leadership skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills (including dealing with the public and the media)
• Effective interpersonal, motivational and influencing skills
• Sensible negotiator with practical expectation of what can be achieved
• Ability to design, develop, interpret and implement policies
• Expertise in epidemiological and statistical methods
• Substantially numerate with highly developed analytical skills
• Computer literate (MS Office, statistical software)
• Resource management skills

Desirable

• Able to develop research proposal and grant applications
• Budget management skills

Experience

• Two or more years' experience of health protection, including out of hours on call
• Practical experience of field epidemiology
• Practical experience in facilitating change
• Scientific publications, presentation of papers at conferences, seminars etc.
• Experience of working with other agencies

Desirable

• Experience of health protection at consultant level
• Project management
• Staff management and training

Knowledge

• Detailed knowledge of the epidemiology of infectious disease and environmental hazards
• Familiarity with the symptoms, signs, investigations and treatments used in the diagnosis and management of health protection problems
• Detailed knowledge of NHS and key agencies involved with health protection
• Understanding of public health practice, health promotion, health economics and health care evaluation
• Knowledge of methods for developing quality assured and evidence based public health practice
• Knowledge and understanding of information, sources on health and the wider determinants of health
• Understanding of social and political environment
• Understanding of laboratory microbiology services
• Understanding of clinical infectious disease services
• Understanding of local authorities and social services

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.