About the job

Job summary

Animal Technician

Grade EO (National) - £25,976 to £30,264

UKHSA Porton Down

Permanent Contract

This role will require full UK security clearance and you should have resided in the UK for the past 5 years. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed.

The Biological Services Group offers in-vivo research services in high containment settings, with the main goal of safeguarding the UK public from various health threats. Some of the current areas of work are vaccine quality testing, influenza, COVID-19, tuberculosis, anthrax, and new human pathogens. We are looking for a new team member, who has experience in working with animal models, to help us achieve our research and health protection objectives. The role involves providing animal care, husbandry, and procedures in a high containment facility that operates under several regulatory authorities, such as Home Office, Health and Safety Executive, and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

As an Animal Technician, you will support and contribute to a wide range of projects, by providing animal care, husbandry, and procedures in a high containment facility. The facility follows the regulations of several authorities, such as Home Office, Health and Safety Executive, and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. The role expects the post holder to meet and maintain the responsibilities and criteria listed for the position. The applicant does not need to fulfil all the requirements at the time of application but should be able to achieve and maintain them through the training provided.

Location: Porton Down, Salisbury

Working Pattern – Full Time, on site, 37.5 hours per week.

Job description

• Work with the team to provide wrap around animal care of the highest standard:

• Ensure animals have ‘five freedoms of animal welfare’
• Maintain an awareness of current best-practice in animal care and welfare, with a view to improve utilised methods and equipment.
• Communicate effectively with team members, NACWO, NVS regarding animals in your care.

• Competently work in high containment facilities, housing animals infected with human pathogens.
• Hold a Home Office Personal Licence, to the required species, and maintain competency to:

• Conduct licenced animal procedures at high containment. under Home Office Licence authority.
• Assist in surgical procedures such as implantation of telemetric devices.
• Manage and maintain anaesthetic systems for delivery of gaseous anaesthesia to animals.
• Perform post-mortem examination and removal of specified tissue from a wide range of species. Be available to carry out emergency post-mortem (out of hours) procedures on animals that have met the specified humane endpoints.
• Operate and maintain specialist equipment (e.g. X-ray apparatus).

• Perform all duties within guidelines laid down by the Home Office, Health and Safety Executive, DEFRA and MHRA
• Take part in rota system for weekend and public holiday working and essential ‘out of hours’ scoring of animals in study.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

It is important through your application and Statement of Suitability of 1000 words that you give evidence and examples of proven experience of each of the following criteria:

Essential

• Good general education including a scientific subject (GCSE level).
• Educated to NVQ 2 level in a relevant subject, or equivalent level of qualification, or significant equivalent previous proven experience.
• Awareness of the regulatory requirements that the facility operates to, e.g. Home Office, Health and Safety Executive, and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
• An awareness and understanding of the concept of high containment systems whilst maintaining both animal welfare and staff safety.
• To be able to communicate effectively with peers, managers, and scientists.
• Can demonstrate reliability & the ability to work as part of a team.

Desirable

• National Certificate in Animal Technology
• Experience of working in a high containment facility with animals.
• Experience of working in a regulated environment
• Experience of working in a safety critical environment

Please ensure that your statement of suitability does not contain any personal identifiers such as Name, Gender, Location, Marital Status, Sexual Orientation or Religion. The UKHSA operates a fair and open recruitment policy.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £25,976, UK Health Security Agency contributes £7,013 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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 a face to face interview. 

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:

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on 11th April 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: 22nd April 2024

Interviews: w/c 7th May 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 SC Clearance.

For meaningful National Security Vetting checks to be carried out individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 5 years as the role requires Security Check (SC) clearance.  UK residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder / Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.

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/

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.