About the job

Job summary

The UKHSA’s Scientific Foresight and Innovation Division is seeking an Administrative Officer to join their team! As an Administrative Officer, you will be responsible for providing secretarial and administrative support to the Deputy Director for Scientific Foresight and Innovation. You will be the primary point of contact and assist in the management of the day-to-day running of the division. Your key tasks will include diary coordination, inbox management, compilation of correspondence and documents, and the organization of meetings and other engagements. This role has been designed to be flexible with organizational needs, and there may be times when you may be asked to carry out the above tasks for senior colleagues in the organization other than the Deputy Director for Scientific Foresight and Innovation, however, this would be agreed upon in advance with you.

The Scientific Foresight and Innovation Team is a group of highly skilled individuals who aim to bring scientific expertise to wider audiences through innovation. They work with internal and external partners to discover, evaluate, and apply novel ideas where they can secure better health security outcomes. By joining this team, you will have the opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in the industry and contribute to the advancement of health security outcomes.

Location

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) operates a hybrid working model where business needs allow. 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 our UKHSA Canary Wharf office (10 South Colonnade, E14 4PH).

*Please be aware that this role can only be worked from within the UK and not overseas. Relocation expenses are not available.*

Job description

• Diary management. Efficient maintenance of the Deputy Director for Scientific Foresight and Innovation’s diary ensuring that time management is optimised, resolving conflicting demands in planning schedules and arranging travel and hotel bookings. Liaising directly with internal and external colleagues and partners to deal with enquiries and to co-ordinate appointments and engagements.
• Inbox management. Acting as the first point of contact for the Deputy Director, using initiative and responding to and/or directing queries to the relevant parties. Acting as a screening point for the Deputy Director on general correspondence and e-mails, highlighting priority work and responding to queries using an understanding of departmental service delivery.
• Providing a full range of secretarial and administrative support and assistance to the Deputy Director. The role may develop to involve research and small ad hoc projects for the Deputy Director.
• Maintaining comprehensive and up-to-date electronic and manual filing systems to ensure effective storing and retrieving of data. Support planning and finalising of agendas for meetings, overseeing coordination and distribution of paperwork; taking minutes at meetings and distributing to relevant parties.
• Assist in the coordination of Parliamentary Questions for the Division, ensuring a timely response to the Parliamentary Team.
• Assist with the procurement of general equipment/stationery supplies for the Division.

The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The Job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary.

Person specification

It is important through your application and Statement of Suitability of 750 words that you give evidence and examples of proven experience of each of the essential criteria (for full details of all essential criteria please refer to the attached job description):

Essential

• Experience of working in a fast-paced environment with the ability to juggle multiple priorities at once
• Strong communication and team working skills
• Good time-management, organisational and prioritisation skills
• Administrative/secretarial experience, including organising meetings and producing supporting paperwork, including agendas and taking minutes/action notes
• Experienced in IT skills, advanced Microsoft Office skills, including Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint
• Experienced at working under pressure handling multiple tasks and prioritising own workload
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to establish a good rapport with people from a wide variety of personal and professional backgrounds.

Desirable

• Experience working in a public-sector organisation
• Experience of working in a Private Office

Benefits

For more information on the UKHSA please visit: UK Health Security Agency - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• Range of health and wellbeing support

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 Childcare Choices , 30 Hours Free Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More , Help with Costs , GOV.UK

Things you need to know

Selection process details

STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT: 

You will be required to complete an application form. This will be assessed in line with the full list of essential criteria as detailed in the attached job description – 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. 

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.  

The Success Profiles framework will be used to assess and recruit the most suitable candidate.  The following behaviours will be used at the interview:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on the 21st of February 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.

Shortlist: w/c 26th of February 2024

Interviews: w/c 11th of March 2024

Please note these dates could be subject to change.  

Eligibility Criteria

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants)

Nationality requirements

Appointments to roles within UKHSA will be made in accordance with the Civil Service nationality rules. These can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

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 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 welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.

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.  People working with government assets must complete Basic Personnel Security Standard checks.

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. 

Please Note

This role is to be appointed under Civil Service Terms & Conditions. Full details on the T&C’s are found https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/

Are you already a civil servant, or employed by a Civil Service Commission accredited public body? Please state home department on your application form.

Do you meet the nationality requirements for this post? https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/

Complaint process:

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. 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: Complaints1@ukhsa.gov.uk. 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.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). 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.