About the job

Job summary

We have an exciting opportunity for a Clinical Technician to be part the Biological Services Group within UKHSA.  The Biological Services Group provides high containment in-vivo research services, with the primary aim of protecting the UK public from a range of health risks. Ongoing areas of work include vaccine batch release testing, influenza, COVID-19, tuberculosis, anthrax, and emerging human pathogens.

As Clinical Technician you will actively support and contribute to the delivery of a wide range of projects, through the provision of animal care, husbandry, and procedural skills within a high containment facility. The facility operates under several regulatory authorities, including, Home Office, Health and Safety Executive, and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Location:

This role will be based on-site at: Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4 0JG.

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

Working Pattern – Full Time, Part Time, Job Share, Flexible Working.

Job description

The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:

• 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.
• Assist with the generation of risk assessments, standard operating procedures, and codes of practices for work to be performed in the facility.
• Hold a Home Office Personal Licence, to the required species, and maintain competency.
• Conduct licenced animal procedures at high containment. under Home Office Licence authority.
• Perform a wide range of complex procedural techniques on a wide range of animals, including NHPs.
• 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).
• Maintain an awareness with all relevant Project Licences, their associated severity bands, and limits of individual Personal Licence authority.
• Supervise and train junior staff.
• Collate and interpret data from studies and present, in an appropriate format for presentation/discussion, with Project Team Leaders and Research Leads.
• Perform all duties within guidelines laid down by the Home Office, Health and Safety Executive, DEFRA and MHRA.
• Record all information regarding duties performed in relevant documentation and within specific guidelines.
• Take part in rota system for weekend and public holiday working and essential ‘out of hours’ scoring of animals in study.

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

Essential Criteria:

It is important through your application and Statement of Suitability of 500 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

• Educated to degree level in relevant subject, or equivalent level of experience of working in a similar environment/specialist area.
• Home Office Personal Licence holder with a wide range of regulated procedures and species.
• Knowledge of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
• Knowledge of the regulations controlling the use and containment of high hazard biological materials i.e. ACDP, SAPO, Select Agents, NaTSCO etc.
• Understanding of the concept of high containment systems whilst maintaining both animal welfare and staff safety.
• An understanding of the requirement to continually review processes with the aim to improve animal welfare through refinement of husbandry and procedural techniques.

Desirable

• IAT Membership (or equivalent).
• Experience of working in a high containment facility with animals.
• Experience in training staff.
• Experience with NHPs.

Please review the Job Description for the full criteria.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,473, UK Health Security Agency contributes £8,227 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 and submit a statement of suitability. 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 stage will involve an interview either in-person or via MS Teams.   

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

Behaviours:

• Changing and Improving
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Strengths:

• Improver
• Team Player
• Service Focused
• Precise
• Adaptable
• Focussed

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on 29th 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: TBC

Interviews: TBC

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 barring security check and Security Check (SC) clearance. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed.

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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission. 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.