About the job

Job summary

We are currently advertising for two roles within this advert:

1. Deputy Director Immunisation Programmes, Clinical Policy and Implementation  (hybrid working with travel to 10SC, Canary Wharf)

2. Deputy Director Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases (This role is for medical qualified candidates and will be based at Colindale)

Flexible working in line with UKHSA policy.

Please state on your application which post / both you are applying for 

These two Deputy Director posts in the Public Health Programmes Directorate will work closely together to protect the public from vaccine preventable diseases. They will provide scientific and expert public health leadership to the teams who:

• Undertake the epidemiology and surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases
• Provide evidence to support timely decision-making to optimise the vaccination schedule and achieve a cost-effective programme that maximises protection across the life course
• Provide expert clinical and public health input to the relevant immunisation programmes.
• Provide programme design, coordination and clinical support to implementation

One medical post will be focussed on vaccine preventable diseases epidemiology and lead on vaccination science and provide expert clinical oversight of the work of Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. The second consultant post will manage the teams who provide clinical support and public health leadership to the UK’s current and future immunisation programmes.

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

Take overall scientific, public health and clinical responsibility for the relevant divisions, including

• setting the strategic direction
• ensuring a high standard of epidemiology and surveillance (jointly with the laboratories in science group)
• supporting outbreak investigation and control.
• providing expert professional advice to the development of policy on national immunisation programmes
• Creating, implementing and reviewing guidance in the prevention and public health management of relevant disease topic areas
• providing expert clinical and public health leadership to commissioners and providers of major immunisation programmes
• developing public communications and information resources to support national immunisation programmes
• contribute to the training of public health professionals and develop training resources for other professionals involved in delivering immunisation programmes
• undertake applied research in the topic area to increase the evidence based and inform interventions.

To lead the division (s) to deliver defined outputs to the required quality, within budget and on-time by:

• Taking measures to continually develop and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your service.
• Developing staff members to be the best they can be through robust internal communications appropriate delegation, effective appraisal and mentoring, and visible leadership.
• Acting as budget holder responsible for the financial performance of the division, ensuring a balanced financial position at each year end.
• Developing innovative practice and service delivery models, both within your Service and beyond, involving other staff groups as appropriate.
• Working with colleagues to identify and ensure the maintenance of business critical activities, i.e. that comprehensive business continuity plans are in place and tested regularly.

Person specification

Education / Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Inclusion in the GMC Full and Specialist Register with a license to practice/GDC Specialist List (or be eligible for registration within six months of interview) or Inclusion in the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) for Public Health Specialists (or be eligible for registration within six months of interview) Please note Deputy Director Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases, Public Health Programmes role is only open to GMC Registered candidates
• 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 specialty registrar applicants who are not yet on the GMC Specialist Register/GDC Specialist List in dental public health/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/GDC/UKPHR specialist registers [see shortlisting notes below for additional guidance
• If an applicant is UK trained in Public Health, they must ALSO be a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), or be within six months of award of CCT by date of interview. If an applicant is non-UK trained, they will be required to show evidence of equivalence to the UK CCT [see shortlisting notes below for additional guidance]
• Applicants must meet minimum CPD requirements (i.e. be up to date) in accordance with Faculty of Public Health requirements or other recognised body
• MFPH by examination, by exemption or by assessment

Desirable criteria

• Masters in Public Health or equivalent

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

• Able to influence senior members including directors and CEOs
• Able to both lead teams and to able to contribute effectively in teams led by junior colleagues
• Commitment to work within a political system irrespective of personal political affiliations

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria

• In depth understanding of the public health system and the relationships with both local and national government
• In depth knowledge of methods of developing clinical quality assurance, quality improvement, evaluation and evidence based public health practice
• Strong and demonstrable understanding of interfaces between health, social care and key partners (dealing with wider determinants of health)
• Understanding of the public sector duty and the inequality duty and their application to public health practice
• Understanding of key agencies involved in health protection
• Knowledge of vaccine immunological mechanisms and responses
• Experience of using complex information to explain public health issues to a range of audiences
• Minimum 6 months training or experience in health protection
• Experience of communicable disease control in a wide variety of settings including out of hours on call
• Postgraduate experience in infectious diseases epidemiology
• Personal expertise in dealing with complex clinical queries on vaccine and hepatitis
• Experience in programme evaluation
• Research experience including protocol development
• Experience in teaching postgraduate courses
• Experience of national level oral scientific presentations

Desirable criteria

• Minimum 12 months training in health protection, with at least 3 months at national and/or regional level
• Media experience demonstrating delivery of effective health behaviour or health promotion messages
• Evidence of successful proposals to obtain research funding
• Experience in the development of guidance at national or local level
• Experience in developing teaching materials
• Scientific publications in the field of immunisation

Skills / Capabilities /Behaviours

Essential criteria

• Strategic thinker with proven leadership skills and operational nous
• Able to demonstrate and motivate organisations to contribute to improving the public’s health and wellbeing through mainstream activities and within resources
• Ability to lead and manage the response successfully in unplanned and unforeseen circumstances
• Analytical skills able to utilize both qualitative (including health economics) and quantitative information
• Ability to design, develop, interpret and implement strategies and policies
• Substantially numerate, with highly developed analytical skills using qualitative and quantitative data
• Commitment to team-working, and respect and consideration for the skills of others
• Able to prioritise work, and work well against a background of change and uncertainty
• Adaptable to situations, can handle people of all capabilities and attitudes
• Self-motivated, pro-active, and innovative

Equality and Diversity

Essential criteria

• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships

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

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 as sub-headings in their application to make it clear how they meet each of the selection criteria.

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 9 depending on the role applied for. 

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

or Registration with the UKPHR

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

Further information

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 here

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

Mary Ramsay (mary.ramsay@ukhsa.gov.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.