About the job

Job summary

Environmental Public Health Scientist (Monitoring)

SEO National £38,724 - £44,393 per annum

Based at UKHSA Manchester

Permanent Contract

 

UKHSA’s Environmental Hazards and Emergencies (EHE) Department is at the forefront of delivering expert scientific guidance to key stakeholders, including the government and the NHS, on the public health implications of environmental hazards and chemical exposures.

About the EHE Department:

Our multidisciplinary team, spread across the North, Midlands, and South, operates from nine strategic locations to deliver expert guidance on non-infectious environmental exposures at both local and national levels. Along with two specialist groups – Air Quality & Public Health and Noise & Health, the Department is dedicated to providing high-level advice on the public health ramifications of non-infectious environmental exposures, both acute and chronic.

Regional Teams based in London, Chilton, Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Cambridge and Bristol, are the backbone of frontline support for the UKHSA and local partners.

In your role within the chemical and environmental hazards team, you’ll tackle health threats posed by chemical incidents, delivering vital public health risk assessments, navigating challenges such as chemical fires, environmental contamination, or intentional chemical releases.

Role Overview:

Position: Environmental Public Health Scientist (SEO)

Location:  Manchester

Based at UKHSA Manchester – You will be expected to attend contractual base office regularly and meetings nationally, with potential for flexible working arrangements as per UKHSA policy

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) offers hybrid working – this means that whilst the role will be based in one of our offices, there will be opportunities for an element of working from home. UKHSA have office locations across the UK. 

You will be expected to attend contractual base office regularly and meetings nationally, with potential for flexible working arrangements as per UKHSA policy

 

Working Pattern – Full Time,

*Please be aware that this role can only be worked from within the UK and not overseas. Relocation expenses are not available.

Job description

Responsibilities include:

• To carry out monitoring and give advice with respect to atmospheric processes. The majority of this will concern physical processes but may include related aspects of chemistry, statistics and risk assessment. In the main, this work will focus upon ambient air and airborne pollutant emissions.
• To provide assessments of ambient air monitoring. The assessments will focus on the scientific methods used, the key assumptions made and the risks, to the environment, associated with any uncertainties. This task may occasionally require participation in key meetings and the presentation of scientific information to non-scientists.
• To provide monitoring and data analyses exploring atmospheric processes in support of investigative or project work. To author reports and presentations on this work and to use these to make practical recommendations for environmental public health protection and improvement.
• To plan, organise and deploy instrumentation to collect atmospheric data in support of the tasks detailed above.
• To carry out scientific analysis and report results, using a range of specified scientific methods and procedures. Providing advice and information on the environmental significance of the information obtained.
• Undertaking environmental public health risk assessments for both acute and chronic chemical and environmental hazard exposures to prevent or mitigate risks to the public.
• You may have personal responsibility for the use of scientific and technical equipment (this includes vehicles, trailers, scientific equipment and laboratory infrastructure).
• You will assist in ensuring the serviceability and operational efficiency of a workgroup or small range of scientific equipment.
• You may be part of a team responsible for the purchase of capital and non-capital scientific equipment and have responsibility for maintaining consumables and stock level, ensuring that requisitions are raised under specified procedures and that goods are received in stock on time.
• You may be required to carry out specific method development work. Preparing reports on results of methods development work and sample analysis, which require the synthesis of data and drawing of conclusions.

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 see job description attached for full list of duties and competencies associated with the post.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

It is important through your application and Statement of Suitability of 1250 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):

 

Essential

• Good post-graduate Masters degree in a relevant scientific subject (such as air quality, environmental chemistry or equivalent experience encompassing environmental monitoring)
• Knowledge of physical atmospheric processes, particularly those affecting air quality and familiarity with key concepts in atmospheric chemistry
• Knowledge of ambient air monitoring equipment and meteorological instrumentation along with the processing of the data from these systems.
• Demonstrated experience of coordinating projects in complex and challenging environments
• Experience of managing risks and reporting
• Ability to analyse very complex issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources
• Ability to communicate effectively at all levels, formally, informally, orally and in writing to UKHSA staff, and representatives from Government Departments and other organisations. This may require presenting technically complicated information to non-technical staff and members of the public

 

 

 

Desirable

• Knowledge of computer operating systems and their communication, particularly with instrumentation. Basic programming knowledge and knowledge of scientific packages (or their equivalents) such as: MS Office, ArcGIS, MATLAB, Openair R, Airviro, Surfer
• Experience of monitoring budgets and business planning processes
• Comprehensive knowledge of project planning and management
• Good presentation skills for training courses, scientific and more general meetings

 

Please ensure that your statement of suitability does not contain any personal identifiers such as Name, Gender, Location, Marital Status, Sexual Orientation or Religion. The UKHSA operates a fair and open recruitment policy.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £38,724, UK Health Security Agency contributes £10,455 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

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 in-person interview. 

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.

The Competency-based framework will be used to assess and recruit the most suitable candidate.  The following behaviours will be used at the interview:

• Making effective decisions
• Collaborating and partnering
• Building capability for all
• Managing a quality service
• Delivering at pace

 

You will also be assessed on your Knowledge, Experience and Technical Skills

 

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on 8th April 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: 19th April 2024

Interviews: w/c 29th April 2024

Please note these dates could be subject to change.  

 

Eligibility Criteria

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

Nationality requirements

Appointments to roles within UKHSA will be made in accordance with the Civil Service nationality rules. These can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.

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 welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.

Security clearance level requirement

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.  Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard.  People working with government assets must complete Basic Personnel Security Standard checks.

For posts on UKHSA Civil Service terms and conditions, new entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. For existing Civil Servants and roles advertised across government, the rules of transfer apply, i.e., level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive a 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest. 

Please Note

This role is to be appointed under Civil Service Terms & Conditions. Full details on the T&C’s are found https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/

Are you already a civil servant, or employed by a Civil Service Commission accredited public body? Please state home department on your application form.

Do you meet the nationality requirements for this post? https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/

Complaint process:

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. 

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

Security

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.