About the job

Job summary

We are looking for someone who can support exercise planning a delivery with the ability to act independently and provide their own judgement and decisions on many issues. The postholder will be expected to develop and manage business support functions and to build strong relationships with both internal and external customers. The individual will be required to coordinate the delivery of a variety of exercise and events across the UK and internationally on topics including chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, infectious diseases and naturally occurring events. The individual will need a good understanding of how their function fits within the wider UKHSA.

Job description

Working with an exercise manager you will form part of the team responsible for planning and delivery of exercises for UKHSA and partner agencies and training. You provide a key role in the coordination of a cross partnership team, delivery of the exercise managing logistics, developing materials, minuting planning meetings, assessing venues’ suitability and managing finances and look for constant improvement to the processes involved.

There is some travel and overnight stays in the UK.

You will use your problem solving and negotiating skills when dealing with internal and external partners to ensure key targets are met.

1.    Coordinate the development and delivery of a variety of exercises and training events designed to test and develop health emergency response plans and those of appropriate multi-agency partners. 
2.    Develop and maintain criteria for the selection of exercise, event and course locations; research, evaluate and contribute to an internal directory of potential locations. 
3.    Lead on the identification of all logistical requirements for events and ensure their delivery and provide facilities management capability prior to and for the duration of the exercise, event or course 
4.    Produce and disseminate minutes of meetings for circulation to a multi-agency audience 
5.    Coordinate all communications to exercise, event, course participants and other interested parties and manage participant responses to ensure as full engagement as possible and that appropriate evaluation data is collected. 
6.    Act as the interface between UKHSA and/or the client and the selected venue prior to and for the duration of the exercise, event, course 
7.    Supervise and train administrative and secretarial support to the exercise or event as required. 
8.    Coordinate and assist in report drafting, production and dissemination following each exercise and/or event. 
9.    Maintain financial information, including the payment of invoices, related to the planning and delivery of exercises and events. 
10.    Develop marketing and exercise pseudo–media material for allocated exercises and representative graphics of exercise statistics
11.    In line with other responsibilities, to perform any other tasks assigned or objectives set by the line manager commensurate with grade. 
12.    Assist in the development of Emergency Response Division and UKHSA wide policies for the development, planning and delivery of courses/events/exercises. 
13.    In the event of a national incident, undertake an operational appointment within UKHSA’s National Incident Coordination Centre in London or in Porton Down

Person specification

Essential criteria
•    Educated to degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level qualification or significant experience of working at a similar level in specialist area

•    Experience of arranging exercises, events, courses for large numbers (100+) of participants

•    Experience of Microsoft Office products and/or ECDL qualified

•    Clear communicator with excellent writing, report writing and presentation skills; capable of constructing and delivering clear ideas and concepts concisely and accurately for diverse audiences

•    Skills for communication on complex matters and difficult situations, requiring persuasion and influence

•    Skills for nurturing key relationships and maintaining networks

•    Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders and a broad range of stakeholders as required

•    Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands

•    Attention to detail combined with the ability to extract key messages from complex analysis

•    Independent thinker with demonstrated good judgement and analytical skills

•    Demonstrated capabilities to manage own workload and make informed decisions in the absence of required information, working to tight and often changing timescales

•    Flexible approach to working arrangements and able to work away from home base; including possession of a current passport and able to travel by air to international events

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

Desirable criteria
•    Experience in Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response

•    Experience of event platforms with delegate management systems

•    Experience of managing budgets and business planning processes e.g. monitoring budget management, processing invoices and procurement

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

Selection Process:  

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours, Ability, and Experience.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the above  essential criteria, and this will be in the form of :

• a CV/ Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application) 
• a 1000 word Statement of Suitability

This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria. 

The CV / Application form and Statement of Suitability will be marked separately, and you must pass both to move forward to interview.

Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist.

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

Please do not exceed 1000 words.  We will not consider any words over and above this number. 

Feedback will not be provided at this stage. 

Stage 2: Interview

You will be invited to a (single) remote interview.

Behaviours,  experience and abilities will be tested at interview. The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

1 – Making Effective Decisions 
2 – Communication and Influencing 
3 – Working Together 
4 – Delivering at Pace

Interview dates TBC.

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

Eligibility Criteria

External 

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

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.

Selection Process:  

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Ability, Experience and Technical skills.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the above  essential criteria, and this will be in the form of :

• a CV/ Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application) 
• a 1000 word Statement of Suitability

This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria. 

The CV / Application form and Statement of Suitability will be marked separately, and you must pass both to move forward to interview.

Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist.

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

Please do not exceed 1000 words.  We will not consider any words over and above this number. 

Feedback will not be provided at this stage. 

Stage 2: Interview

You will be invited to a (single) remote interview.

There will be a Presentation. Further details will be provided if successful.

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

1 – Making Effective Decisions 
2 – Communication and Influencing 
3 – Working Together 
4 – Delivering at Pace 

Interview dates TBC.

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

Location information

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. We are also offering this role at Porton Down, Salisbury.

Eligibility Criteria

External 

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

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.

Disability Confident scheme  

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.  

Reserve List

Candidates who pass the interview criteria but are not offered a post will be kept on a reserve list for 12 months and may be contacted if similar roles become available.   

If you are interviewed for the post and do not meet the required threshold for the specified grade, your application may be assessed against a similar, lower grade role and you may be offered the post should one be available. 

Starting salary

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

The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase.    

Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.   

For further details please refer to the Information Sheet- Starting Salaries & Benefits attachment.

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.