About the job

Job summary

Inner London location: £29,737 - £34,453

About the Organisation:

This role sits within UKHSA’s Commercial Group, which played a critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Truly dynamic, our teams operate at significant pace in a commercially complex environment to procure a diverse range of goods and services in a highly competitive global market. 

As the organisation evolves, UKHSA’s Commercial teams continue to play a central role in priority activity – building on the legacy of the COVID-19 response to ensure a resilient and scalable infrastructure to secure the UK in the strongest position to protect the public from future threats to health. 

About the Team:

This position sits within the Market Engagement, Insight and Resilience team, the team that leads external engagement, market intelligence, insights and resilience activities for UKHSA.

We work across Commercial and the wider business to lead on external commercial engagement, market scanning and building resilience in our relationships. Work ranges from creating and inputting on events, engagement plans, industry strategies, policy, intelligence and many other activities. It is a varied and exciting area, with involvement across UKHSA.

We’re a small friendly team based across the UK and welcome people from different ages, experiences, and backgrounds.

Location

10 South Colonade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) operates a hybrid working model where business needs allow.  This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. 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 at the Canary Wharf London office base. For certain roles, some additional flexibility may be possible, which will be agreed upon with the hiring manager based on individual requirements and business needs.

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

Job description

As a Commercial Strategy Support Officer you will be a key part of a wider team, providing commercial support to a range of activities. Your role will involve providing support across the market engagement, insight, and resilience function and also across the wider Commercial Strategy & Partnerships team this sits within, which covers a range of activities.

This role has a number of key responsibilities including managing the organisation of several key working groups and boards, alongside setting up events and engagement activities across UKHSA. Therefore, this role offers the opportunity for significant interaction with senior managers, and internal and external stakeholders. You will be part of a cross-cutting team and will be expected to flex workloads to support colleagues and provide continuous service across the area you are supporting.

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 underrepresented 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.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is responsible for planning, preventing and responding to external health threats, and providing intellectual, scientific and operational leadership at national and local level, as well as on the global stage. UKHSA ensures that the nation can respond quickly and at greater scale to deal with a range of health threats, including those of a future pandemic.

You will be working with a highly motivated and passionate group of people and will be working alongside them in an exciting and fast paced environment with the opportunity to make your mark and influence government policy and delivery.

Your main responsibilities will include:

• Involvement in the planning and support for external commercial events and engagement activities
• Supporting the Market Engagement Lead on the delivery of the industry engagement programme of events
• Secretarial and administrative support, acting as the primary point of contact and assisting in the management of the day to day activities through the key tasks of diary coordination, compilation of correspondence and documents as well as the organisations of meetings and other engagements
• Efficient maintenance of diaries ensuring that time management is optimised
• Support planning and finalising of agendas for meetings, overseeing coordination and distribution of paperwork
• Taking minutes at relevant meetings and distributing to relevant parties
• Overseeing several key team mailboxes and the external webpages
• Acting as a key liaison for external queries

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 no more than 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 in an executive support role and working across organisational boundaries to deliver results
• Ability to manage a complex workload, in a fast-paced environment
• Can demonstrate excellent organisational and prioritisation skills
• Experience of handling and processing complex and sensitive information, alongside the ability to negotiate and communicate with senior management, partner agencies and key stakeholders on difficult or controversial issues
• Experience of collaborative working across a wide range of stakeholders and ability to build strong working relationships
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and enjoy working in a fast paced and dynamic environment
• Experience in managing inbox queries

Desirable

• Previous involvement in the support of planning and executing engagement events

Benefits

Working for the UKHSA

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 underrepresented 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.

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.  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.

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. 

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions

For further information on the selection process, please refer to the attached Candidate Pack.

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on 11th 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.

Interviews: Provisionally 29th February 2024

Please note these dates could be subject to change.  

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.