About the job

Job summary

The post holder will provide day-to-day Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) support. The post holder will employ specialist knowledge and project management skills in the development and delivery of emergency preparedness and response strategies in UKHSA and partner organisations. The post holder will provide support in the management and co-ordination of the UKHSA national response to incidents.

They will maintain effective working relationships with a variety of stakeholders both internal and external to the organisation. The post holder will work with minimal supervision and be expected to work flexibly as part of a multi-disciplinary team providing a wide range of duties. The post holder may work with colleagues who are based across the country at different sites and/or who work remotely.

The UKHSA National Response Centre is responsible for coherence and coordination of: 

• situational awareness and preparedness to effectively respond to incidents;  
• response to incidents; and  
• recovery from incidents.  

The National Response Centre works closely with the network of Regional Response Centres and aligns with the WHO Framework for Public Health Emergency Operations Centres.

Location

Role available one of UKHSA’s locations - Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool or London

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 one of UKHSA's locations (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London).  Specialist or regional roles will be based at the appropriate UKHSA site. 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.*

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

Job description

Responsibilities section:

As an Emergency Preparedness Officer your main responsibilities will include:

• Support and when required, act directly on behalf of seniors, with responsibility for implementation of projects within the area of emergency preparedness, resilience and response (EPRR) and ensure these are delivered to agreed deadlines and within budget.
• To provide specialist knowledge in EPRR and the supporting systems. Perform a response role in the National Response Centre (NRC), such as acting as a point of contact for requests for information from other departments, partner agencies and other organisations and supporting incident stand-up, response operations and recovery.
• Supporting with the use of data and information to inform situational awareness in incident response, such as development and maintenance of databases, spreadsheets, questionnaires, surveys and other tools relevant to public health.
• Support the assurance processes of EPRR activity against set standards.
• Support the development, planning and delivery of EPRR training and exercising activity across the agency to prepare, validate and review plans.
• Assist with the continuous improvement process following an incident to identify lessons and ensure recommendations and revisions are implemented as necessary. Coordinate the distribution of emergency response plans and amendments.
• Provide support and coordination function to EPRR groups as required
• To ensure 24/7 responsiveness, doing the work necessary to protect public health in the UK, you may be required to participate in an out-of-hours on call rota or work over a seven-day period at times
• To understand the restricted access nature of major incident and business continuity documents and handle requests for information sensitively. Contribute to and have a thorough understanding of the handling of protectively marked documents in abidance with the Official Secrets Act
• Responsible for organising and controlling own workload ensuring deadlines are observed and duties performed efficiently.
• Demonstrate a commitment to understanding and improving health equity.

 

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. Please review the job description for a full list of roles and responsibilities.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

It is important through your application and Statement of Suitability of 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, you must review this to produce your statement of suitability):

Essential

• Educated to degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level of qualification and/or equivalent experience
• Experience in emergency preparedness, resilience and response
• Experience in working in a results driven environment
• Experience of managing staff
• Highly motivated and able to plan and manage projects to tight deadlines
• Ability to research, analyse and interpret complex material
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills at all levels
• IT skills, including advanced Microsoft office experience
• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships

 Desirable

• Experience working across multiple agencies or organisations
• Background in health
• Awareness of a range of Health Sector provisions & issues

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%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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. 

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. 

Candidates will also be asked to participate in a session where they will be required to prepare and deliver a 5 minute presentation to the panel.  This will be followed by a question-and-answer segment.  The presentation will be designed to assess each candidate’s experience in line with the requirements of the role.  Full details will be provided prior to the interview.

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

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on 29th 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.

Shortlist: w/c 11th March 2024

Interviews: TBC

Please note these dates could be subject to change. 

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.