About the job

Job summary

Are you someone who can lead and manage change in a challenging and dynamic environment? If so, we would love to hear from you!  This role is a unique development opportunity. It is an ideal position for able and ambitious candidates who are looking to expand and refine their skill set in a demanding environment.

At the Animal and Plant Health Agency, we safeguard animal and plant health for the benefit of people, the environment and the economy. 

The job holder will be responsible for Management of a SAPO3/ACDP3/Schedule 5 containment facility. 

The role will involve management, training and supervision of a small team working in a containment facility at APHA Weybridge.

The jobholder will co-ordinate APHA’s freeze-drying activities and unlicenced product portfolio, including supply of reagents and products meeting quality and validation criteria. These are supplied to customers within APHA and commercially.

The job holder will also provide managerial support for the production and supply of bacterial products and reagents.

Job description

Management of 

•    Management/operation of APHA’s fermenter capability.
•    Management of Building 1 containment facility.
•    Units ACDP3/SAPO3 and schedule 5 material.   
•    Undertake responsibility for routine and emergency repairs for equipment and facility.
•    Training, supervision, and competency assessment of staff engaged in containment activities.
•    Co-ordination of containment facility maintenance and shut down, working closely with Defra and FM provider to review service/calibration documentation generated during shutdown.
•    Manage unlicenced products portfolio. 
•    Periodic decontamination of containment cabinet and laboratory using formaldehyde, including validation of disinfectants.

Responsibility for freeze drying facilities & label printing facility.

•    Managing the freeze-drying process, including liaising with customers and final quality control checks of product.
•    Co-ordination of maintenance/calibration of freeze-dryer equipment.
•    Manage the production service of labels for customers throughout agency.

Laboratory Work

•    Maintain the smooth running of the ACDP 3/SAPO3/Schedule 5 containment laboratory facility.
•    Ensure all room officer duties are completed.
•    Managing the equipment servicing and calibration on behalf of the unit.

Safety

•    To maintain a safe working environment in accordance with local safety standards and COSHH regulations, including the regular review of risk assessments and standard operating procedures. 
•    To instil the highest standards of safety within the laboratory ensuring that staff are fully aware of their responsibility to colleagues and themselves.
•    Attend contingency and fire drills as required. 
•    Ensure that all relevant risk assessments are read and fully understood, that staff are signed up to these and all the relevant safety standards.
•    Ensure all work carried out within team complies with appropriate legislation e.g. Health and Safety; Data Protection.

Management

•    To manage 1x AO.
•    To work flexibly within the Bacterial Products Unit and the Biotechnology group if required to ensure continuity of work.   

Quality

•    To carry out all work to production specific quality systems required, including ISO9000/GMP/GDP.
•    To ensure that all key documentation - SOPs, Training Records, Quality verification and production records - are maintained and reviewed as appropriate. 
•    Write-up non-conforming work and trouble-shooting reports, making adjustments to the procedures if required.
•    Writing and reviewing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) and making amendments if required.
•    Writing, reviewing, and amending relevant Risk Assessments. 

Learning & Development 

•    Build and maintain appropriate expertise within the department by undertaking and contributing to appropriate formats and opportunities for Continuing Professional Development, both within and out with APHA for self and team members. 
•    Ensure the development of appropriate competence, skills, behaviours, expertise and knowledge exist for all team members and in consultation with the unit lead and contribute to departmental succession plans.   

Person specification

Your main day to day responsibilities will be:

• Experience working in containment.
• Experience managing in a production environment.
• The post holder will be required to quickly develop a good understanding of the operation of the agency’s fermenters.
• Manage the work within the facility, including monitoring the work of staff, refresher training and competency assessments.
• To ensure work in containment facility complies with APHA safety standards. Carry out contingency exercises and toolbox talks for staff working in containment facility.
• The post holder will be responsible for culturing bulk volumes of bacteria/fungi up to ACDP3/SAPO3 and must have a good understanding of the safety requirements.
• Lead on decontamination using formaldehyde, for both routine and emergency circumstances. Validation of room and cabinet disinfection.
• The post holder will be required to host safety inspections from SHaW, CTSA and HSE.
• The post holder will be managing three freeze dryers. This includes not only operation of the equipment but liaising with customers to fulfil their requirements. The post holder is expected to organize maintenance of the equipment.
• Manage the production and design of labels for customers throughout agency, including bar code labels.
• The post holder must be able to offer support to other parts of BPU.
• The post holder will be expected to train to cover for absences of managers in other areas.
• The post holder will be expected to manage the media production section as absence cover.    

The post is full-time, we may consider two part-time staff on a job-share basis if continuity can be arranged. The role is based at Weybridge where the team is located and due to the nature of the role and duties required.

The post will be based at APHA Weybridge.

In accordance with guidelines governing security, you will be expected to have the necessary CTC/SC/DV security clearance for the work of the post. 

Depending on the areas of work involved you will be expected to have any necessary vaccinations or health surveillance.  This will be arranged by the Health Team, Weybridge.  It may also be necessary to undergo a pre-employment medical assessment.

Travel will be required to attend training courses.  You must have a valid driving licence or be able to call upon suitable alternate means of transport.

Staff maybe be required to work rostered on-call duties, weekends, Bank Holidays and occasional evenings.  APHA Management reserves the right to change overtime patterns to meet requirements.  You may be eligible for overtime payments and where overtime is approved you will receive appropriate payment.

You will need to comply with a number of health protocols and wear protective clothing and Respiratory Personal Protective Equipment (RPPE), as required.

Restrictions on outside/domestic contact with small animals, mainly rodents and rabbits, will/may apply.  You should not keep pigs or poultry or live on premises where there are domestic livestock or poultry.

The work of the post can be physically demanding, and due to access requirements to bio secure areas, individuals must be physically able.

Periodic travel within the UK or overseas will be required and this could visit to farms, abattoir or other post mortem facilities. You may have to ensure that no contact is made with farmed animals for a period of 1-2 days or more before visiting these premises and may therefore preclude anyone who lives on a livestock farm. 

Out of hours work may be required in the event of an incident.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,827, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £8,323 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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Application Process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a 500 word personal statement and 250 word behaviour statements.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour, Making Effective Decisions. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Sift and interview dates as well as the interview location to be confirmed.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on the behaviours, essential skills and experience.

A presentation or additional exercise may also be assessed.

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s)

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Salary

New entrants are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

NSV

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Higher Security Clearance

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter.

The Weybridge site is a strategically important national asset due to its role as a reference laboratory supporting the Governments response to national emergencies including disease outbreaks. For this reason, all post holders based on the APHA Weybridge site must hold a valid Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) security clearance or above. It is up to each person applying for a post at APHA Weybridge to ensure they meet the residency criteria. Applicants must be currently resident in the UK & have at least three years continuous UK residency as this is a requirement to work at the Weybridge site where the team and work is situated.

Full Time Only

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying. 

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to Defra from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

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 counter-terrorist 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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.