About the job

Job summary

This Consultant role has been designed to combine applied health protection practice with academic research and teaching, strengthening the links between UKHSA South West and the University of the West of England.  This is an exciting and novel senior role which is likely to be uniquely challenging and rewarding.

This post will be joint between UKHSA and the University of West of England (UWE). The UWE role is to meet current and future needs for academic leadership across teaching, research and knowledge exchange in Health Protection, and to provide educational leadership on emerging dimensions of practice such as climate change.

The role may include managing individuals and teams, working closely with partners, and ensuring delivery of high-quality surveillance, response and support systems. The postholder will have responsibility for developing and maintaining close working relationships both internally and externally with partner organisations. In addition, they will contribute and lead on regional and national priorities, including contribution to wider public health initiatives consistent with the UKHSA delivery model and integrated working. 

Working for your organisation

At the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) our mission is to provide health security for the nation by protecting from infectious disease and external hazards. We are a trusted source of advice to government and to the public, focusing on reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by infectious disease, environmental hazards, and other threats to health. 

Our mission is challenging, innovative and in the spotlight. We will work to ensure our people have the diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds we need to thrive, that our employees are representative of the communities we serve and feel valued and enabled to play their part in delivering our work. 

Creating our working culture is an ongoing process which we are developing by listening and learning together, hearing and acting upon diverse voices and opinions to develop a common sense of identity and effective ways of working. 

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. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

Job description

You will be working in close partnership with local authorities and the NHS, the post holder will have operational responsibility for the provision of a safe and effective health protection service delivering to high quality standards responsive to the needs of the local community and UKHSA and UWE as partners in the local public health systems.

You will share the responsibility with the other medical consultants as well as health protection practitioners, for dealing with the surveillance, prevention and control of communicable disease and the response to non-communicable environmental hazards including chemical and radiation issues. You will contribute to the investigation and management of a full range of health protection incidents (including outbreaks of diseases), and will carry out surveillance, co-ordination, support, and monitoring of local implementation of certain key national programmes.

Please see attached JD outlining full responsibilities of the HP role and role outline for the secondment.

The post is subject to the core competencies as set out by the Faculty of Public Health for Consultant appointments and the post holder will be expected to demonstrate expertise in all of them (JD - appendix A)

Key areas include:

Response - management of incidents and outbreaks of infectious diseases; contribute, and/or lead the UKHSA response during incidents in line with Emergency Planning Resilience and Response (EPRR)

Surveillance - Contribute strategically to the development and maintenance of effective systems for the surveillance of communicable disease and environmental hazards

Partnership Working - proactive development and contribution to key relationships with a wide range of individuals and stakeholders both internal and external

Research, Teaching & Training – contributing to research activity and training programmes and providing clinical supervision where appropriate

Management & Leadership - To be a visible, positive leader and role model

Personal & Professional Development – Continuing own Professional Development and that of others

For a full list of main duties and responsibilities refer to the job description

The post is also subject to the core competencies as set out by the Faculty of Public Health for Consultant appointments and the post holder will be expected to demonstrate expertise in all of them.  These can be found in Appendix A of the Job Description

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Inclusion in the GMC Specialist Register or UK Public Health (Special Inclusion in the GMC full and specialist register with a license to practice (or be eligible for registration within six months of interview) UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) for Public Health Specialists or be eligible within 6 months
• If included in the GMC Specialist Register/GDC Specialist List in a specialty other than public health medicine/dental public health, candidates must have equivalent training and/or appropriate experience of public health practice
• Public health specialist registrar and specialist trainee applicants who are not yet on the GMC Register/UKPHR must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they are within 6 months of gaining entry at the date of interview; all other applicants must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they have applied for inclusion in the GMC/UKPHR If an applicant is non-UK trained, they will be required to show evidence of equivalence to the UK CCT
• Applicants must meet minimum CPD requirements in accordance with the requirements of the Faculty of Public Health/Royal College of Pathologists/Royal College of Physicians or other recognised body
• MFPH by examination, by exemption or by assessment, or equivalent

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria

• Minimum 6 months experience in Health Protection practice
• Experience of communicable disease control in a wide variety of settings including out of hours on call
• Experience of working with other agencies
• Experience of emergency planning
• Understanding of key agencies involved in health protection
• Knowledge of methods of developing clinical quality assurance, audit, quality improvement and evidence based clinical and/or public health practice
• Understanding of social and political environment
• Understanding of laboratory microbiology services
• Understanding of clinical infectious diseases services
• Understanding of clinical toxicology services
• Understanding of the principles of radiological protection

Desirable criteria

• Experience of budget management and financial processes
• Experience and demonstrable competency in dealing with environmental hazards / chemical incidents
• Ability to undertake prophylaxis, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases of public health importance
• Peer reviewed scientific publications, presentation of papers at conferences, seminars
• Understanding of the public sector duty and the inequality duty and their application to public health practice

Skills and Capabilities

Essential criteria

• Strategic thinker with proven leadership skills, including management of change
• Able to prioritise work, and work well against a background of change and uncertainty
• Adaptable to situations, can communicate with people of all capabilities and attitudes
• Project management
• Understanding of epidemiology and statistics, public health practice, health promotion, health economics and health care evaluation
• Excellent oral and written communication skills (including dealing with the public and the media)
• Effective interpersonal, motivational and influencing skills
• Ability to respond appropriately in unplanned and unforeseen circumstances
• Sensible negotiator with practical expectation of what can be achieved
• Substantially numerate, with highly developed analytical skills using qualitative and quantitative data
• Computer literate
• Ability to design, develop, interpret and implement policies
• Ability to concentrate for long periods (e.g. analyses, media presentations)
• Resource management skills

Desirable criteria

• People management and training
• Training and mentoring
• Have an awareness of and be working towards the key core competencies set out in Civil Service Competency Framework 2010-2017 and KSF for those on AfC terms and conditions

Behaviours and Attitudes

Essential criteria

• Strong commitment to public health principles
• Commitment to team-working and respect and consideration for the skills of others
• Self-motivated, pro-active, and innovative
• High standards of professional probity

Equality and Diversity

Essential criteria

• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships, both in terms of day-to-day working practices, and in relation to management systems

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

Things you need to know

Selection process details

STAGE 1 – Application & Sift: 

This vacancy will be assessed using a competency-based framework which will assess your Qualifications, knowledge and experience and / or skills and capabilities outlined in the person specification.  You will be required to complete an application form. You will also be asked to provide information within the ‘Employer/ Activity history’ section of the application form. This will be assessed in line with the advertised criteria. 

As part of the application process you will be asked to provide a detailed personal statement / statement of suitability (max 1500 words) based on the essential criteria advertised. This should outline how you consider your skills, knowledge and experience meet the selection requirements. It should provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the person specification criteria outlined.  

Applicants are strongly advised to use the person specification section as sub-headings in the application to make it clear how you meet each of the selection criteria. 

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to an interview and assessment, a presentation will form part of this assessment.  

STAGE 2 – Interview 

All candidates who are successful at the sift stage will progress to an interview and will be assessed on the essential criteria as advertised. 

Option 3 – External - Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants)

Applicants are strongly advised to use the criteria in the Person Specification of the Job Description & Role Profile as sub-headings in their application to make it clear how they meet each of the selection criteria. Consideration should be given to the secondment role description.

The successful candidate will be appointed to the point of the Consultant salary scale appropriate to their years of seniority or if from a background other than medicine to NHS Agenda for Change Band 8d.

Inclusion in the GMC Full and Specialist Register with a license to practice (or be eligible for registration within six months of interview)

If included in the GMC Specialist Register/ in a specialty other than public health medicine, candidates must have equivalent training and/or appropriate experience of public health practice

Public Health Specialty Registrar applicants who are not yet on the GMC Specialist Register must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they are within 6 months of gaining entry at the date of interview; all other applicants must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they have applied for inclusion in the GMC

For further information or an informal discussion about the post, please contact:

Professor Dominic Mellon, Regional Deputy Director for Health Protection (South West). Email: dominic.mellon@ukhsa.gov.uk

Further information on the UWE role is available in the UWE job description (see additional documents). For an informal discussion about the UWE secondment, potential applicants are encouraged to contact

Professor Julie Mytton, Professor of Public Health, UWE. Email: julie.mytton@uwe.ac.uk

UK Health Security Agency promoted diversity in the workplace and is an Equal Opportunities employer.

 

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.