Principle Scientist

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 Respiratory Virus Section leads on the surveillance of influenza, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus and other seasonal respiratory viruses as well as monitoring and evaluation of respiratory virus vaccination programmes. The section also has a key role in supporting the surveillance of emerging respiratory viruses. The Immunisation and Vaccine‑preventable Disease Division is looking for a highly‑capable public health / epidemiology scientist with advanced data skills and well‑developed skills in epidemiological assessment to join a team working on the surveillance of vaccine‑preventable diseases. The postholder will have responsibility for providing specialist epidemiology expertise on respiratory viruses and vaccine‑preventable diseases. This may include taking a leading role in and maintaining and developing surveillance systems, overseeing surveillance reports, and monitoring and evaluating vaccination programmes. The postholder will have responsibility for management of scientific staff and will work with internal and external stakeholders. In addition, the post holder will contribute to the management of national incidents, including the investigation and control of outbreaks, development of new analyses and the support of other scientists and colleagues working directly in these areas.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and analyse special surveillance studies and studies into the efficacy of vaccines, and use knowledge gained to inform vaccination strategies.
• Prepare bids for external funding for research projects including international collaborations.
• Write and publish results of research and surveillance studies in peer‑review journals and present these papers at national and international meetings or conferences.
• Use common statistical/database tools such as R, SQL, and Stata in routine reports, surveillance activities and the development of solutions.
• Undertake complex analytical and programming tasks using common and specialist software packages to undertake data extractions, analysis and validation.
• Lead the development of surveillance systems and manage scientific staff responsible for data collection to improve and enhance the quality of data collected and disseminated.
• Lead collaborative surveillance within UKHSA between the Immunisation Department and the appropriate UKHSA specialist and reference laboratories, providing epidemiological expertise to regular meetings with virology staff from the UKHSA Specialist Microbiology and Laboratories Directorate.
• Provide specialist advice on the epidemiology and interpretation of available statistics on vaccine‑preventable / respiratory virus diseases in response to requests for information from the NHS, DHSC, WHO and other organisations.
• Communicate areas of expertise to the media through preparation of briefing materials, interviews with the medical and lay press, as well as radio and television interviews, with the support of UKHSA Press Office.
• Lead the interpretation of routine surveillance reports and act on surveillance signals by liaising with key stakeholders.
• Supervise scientists in the preparation of regular surveillance reports.
• Prepare ad hoc reviews of various viral infections and other vaccine‑preventable diseases for policy development and publication in journals, including peer‑review journals and the medical/nursing press.
• Lead incident and outbreak investigations, including providing specialist information during incidents and outbreaks to NHS and UKHSA staff.
• Contribute to teaching and training programmes for medical, scientific, nursing, pharmacy and other professional groups, including postgraduate courses in public health, communicable disease, epidemiology, child health/community paediatrics, medical microbiology, and immunisation updates/seminars for health professionals.
• Line‑manage scientists in the division and deputise for consultant epidemiologists / Lead Scientific staff when appropriate.
• Represent the Immunisation and Vaccine‑Preventable Diseases Division on national or international committees by invitation, as agreed with the Deputy Director.
• Represent the Division at internal surveillance meetings and other meetings.
• Carry out any other duties as reasonably required by the directorate.

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 under‑represented 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.

Required experience and qualifications

• First degree in a relevant biological, physical or social science subject
• Higher degree in epidemiology or an allied subject (MSc or PhD) or significant experience of working at a similar level in the immunisation or respiratory infections field
• Extensive experience in infectious disease epidemiology and surveillance
• Ability to analyse, summarise and interpret complex epidemiological and situational awareness data
• Effective communication of epidemiological assessments to colleagues and external agencies, including high‑level stakeholders
• High level abilities in statistical and graphics packages/environments, and use of databases and spreadsheets (e.g. R and SQL)
• Experience in presenting scientific papers at national and international meetings and conferences
• Experience in team leadership and supervision
• Experience in managing public health surveillance systems
• Ability to work independently, to tight deadlines and in response to unexpected demands
• Ability to plan and conduct multidisciplinary scientific projects
• Writing clear and concise scientific papers and/or project reports
• To be well‑organised, to work in a professional and calm manner, and produce methodical accurate work
• Ability to maintain required levels of confidentiality
• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships

Desirable criteria

• Extensive experience of collating, understanding and reporting situational analysis outputs
• Managing collaborative, multidisciplinary projects
• Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check (Counter‑Terrorist Check). The level of security needed is Counter‑Terrorist Check. Applicants must normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years to meet the security requirements.

Benefits and working arrangements

• 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, providing greater flexibility about where and how we work
• Possible secondment or loan arrangements for existing UKHSA members of staff or new civil servants; fixed‑term appointments may be offered to non‑civil servants

Eligibility & application

To be eligible for employment in the UK Civil Service applicants must meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules (CSNRs). Applicants must also meet necessary security and vetting requirements, and may require residency in the UK for the last 3‑5 years (Counter‑Terrorist Check). The position is open to UK nationals, nationals of the Republic of Ireland, Commonwealth citizens with the right to work in the UK, EU/Switzerland/Norway/Iceland/Liechtenstein nationals (and eligible family members), Turkish nationals and certain family members, and others meeting the settled or pre‑settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme.

Applications must include an application form (Employer/Activity history section) and a 1500‑word supporting statement addressing the 15 essential criteria. Long‑listing will occur in three piles: Meets all essential criteria, Meets some essential criteria, Meets no essential criteria. The next stage will require a successful candidate to have passed a security check (Counter‑Terrorist Check) and meet the competency requirements listed above.

Security & vetting

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check, with the level of clearance required being Counter‑Terrorist Check. Applicants should normally have lived in the UK for the last 3 years to meet the security requirement. Applicants with more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years may need an International Police Check. An internal fraud check will also be conducted as part of pre‑employment screening.

Latest developments

UKHSA is investing in a new state‑of‑the‑art National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow, Essex, which will eventually bring together teams currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale and Porton Down.

Contact

For more information or to submit an application, please visit the Civil Service Careers website. For concerns about the recruitment process, contact the UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: publicaccountability@ukhsa.org.uk or the Civil Service Commission website.