GOVTALENT.UK

Emergency Preparedness Officer

This opening expired 2 months ago.
Location(s):
Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London
Salary:
£30,473 to £41,478
Job grade:
Higher Executive Officer
Business area:
Other
Contract type:
Permanent
Working pattern:
Full-time, Part-time

About the job

Job summary

We are looking for an Emergency Preparedness Officer to join our busy and dynamic National Response Centre (NRC) team, which is part of the Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) Directorate in UKHSA. The 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 post holder will provide day-to-day Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) support in the management and co-ordination of the UKHSA national response to incidents. They will employ specialist knowledge and project management skills in the development and delivery of emergency preparedness and response strategies in UKHSA and partner organisations.

Job description

Your key responsibilities will include:
•    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.
•    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 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
•    Supporting situational awareness in incident response.
•    Understand and apply information governance principles.
•    Provide support and coordination function to wider EPRR groups as required
•    Responsible for organising and controlling own workload ensuring deadlines are observed and duties performed efficiently.
•    Demonstrate a commitment to understanding and improving health equity.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities.

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

  • In addition to supporting incidence response, they will also support and lead projects designed to improve processes within the NRC, drive embed change and support team wellbeing.
  • They will maintain effective working relationships with a variety of stakeholders both internal and external to the organisation. They will work with minimal supervision and be expected to work flexibly as part of a multi-disciplinary team providing a wide range of duties. They will work with colleagues who are based across the country at different sites and/or who work remotely.
  • The postholder will support and occasionally act on behalf of senior leaders in Emergency Preparedness, Resilience, and Response (EPRR). They will ensure the implementation of various EPRR projects, adhering to deadlines and budgetary constraints. As a specialist in EPRR, they will provide expertise during response activities at the National Response Centre (NRC), acting as a key point of contact for information requests and supporting incident response operations and recovery efforts.
  • They will manage and utilize data to enhance situational awareness during incidents, developing and maintaining tools such as databases, spreadsheets, questionnaires, and surveys relevant to public health. They will support assurance processes for EPRR activities, ensuring they meet established standards and protocols.
  • Their role will involve planning, developing, and delivering EPRR training and exercises across the agency to prepare, validate, and review emergency plans. Following incidents, they will assist in the continuous improvement process by identifying lessons and supporting the effective implementation of recommendations. This includes coordinating the distribution and amendments of emergency response plans.
  • They will provide coordination support to various EPRR groups and handle protectively marked assets, ensuring the secure management of communications equipment. With financial authority within agreed limits, they will ensure that the NRC is equipped with the necessary resources.
  • Effective line management of staff, if applicable, will be another key responsibility, ensuring team flexibility and capacity to meet NRC needs, professional development, and staff well-being. To maintain 24/7 responsiveness, they may participate in an out-of-hours on-call rota or work over a seven-day period when necessary.
  • Their role requires sensitivity in handling requests for restricted access information related to major incidents and business continuity documents, in accordance with the Official Secrets Act. They will be responsible for organizing and managing their workload to meet deadlines and cover for team members in their absence as directed by their line manager.
  • A commitment to health equity and continuous professional development is essential. They will identify and address their professional performance and training needs through regular appraisals and individual development plans. This includes attending mandatory and ongoing training to build on their knowledge and skills and participating in relevant conferences and seminars to further their development and increase their expertise in the field.

Person specification

Essential criteria

•    Educated to degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level of qualification and/or equivalent experience
•    Experience in emergency preparedness, resilience and response and awareness of BS25999 and the Civil Contingencies Act
•    Substantial experience in working with senior managers and professionals across different agencies and professional groups within a results driven environment. As well as experience of managing staff
•    You must have IT skills, including advanced Microsoft office experience. You must also have knowledge of the design, development and maintenance of databases/ spreadsheets/ questionnaires/surveys and other intelligence resources and an understanding of data protection legislation.
•    Highly motivated and able to plan and manage projects to tight deadlines.
•    Excellent interpersonal and communication skills at all levels and an ability to research, analyse and interpret complex material.
•    An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships

Desirable criteria

•    Working towards a post graduate level qualification
•    Experience working across multiple agencies or organisations 
•    Background in health
•    Awareness of a range of Health Sector provisions & issues 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,473, UK Health Security Agency contributes £8,227 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 will be assessed using a competency-based framework which will assess your Qualifications, knowledge and experience and / or skills and capabilities outlined in the essential criteria.  

Stage 1: Application & Sift 

The CV and Statement of Suitability will be marked together.

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on essential criteria, and this will be in the form of  
•    a CV/ Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
•    a 750 word Statement of Suitability.

Please do not exceed 750 words.  We will not consider any words over and above this number.

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview & presentation

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2 – Interview

You will be invited to a remote interview.

Knowledge, experience, skills & abilities will be tested at interview.
There will be a Presentation.

Interviews will be held in July. Please note, these dates are subject to change.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Location 

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.

Eligibility Criteria

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants). 

Reasonable Adjustments 

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone. 

To help you during the recruitment process, we will take into account any reasonable adjustments that could help you. 

An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work.  

This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme.  

If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should:  

Contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.  

You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/ 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

I understand my application may be rejected or I may be subject to disciplinary action if evidence of plagiarism is detected. Examples of plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence (AI), as your own. 



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.

Added: 2 months ago