About the job

Job summary

We are looking for people with a passion for leadership, wanting to do interesting and creative roles that help civil servants and public sector leaders to succeed in their roles and support citizens by collaborating across the public sector. 

Are you someone who can lead and manage change in a challenging and dynamic environment?  

Do you want a role safeguarding standards of animal and plant health and welfare? 

Would you like to be part of an agency where we value managers responsible for building and maintaining employee morale, helping employees reach their full potential and inspiring employee loyalty? 

Are you someone who can lead and manage successfully in a challenging and dynamic environment?  

The successful candidate will manage and provide leadership to the Unit Heads of Biological Products Unit, Reagent Production Unit and Cell & Tissue Culture, including supply of tuberculin and anthrax vaccine in the UK, and Marketing Authorisation for injectable BCG vaccine for cattle and badgers.

You will act as Laboratory and Surveillance Operations Manager for SLSD Laboratories, providing leadership and management for an allocated multi-disciplinary team, comprising of laboratory and administrative staff.

Job description

Strategic and Technical Leadership – 50%

• Maintain and develop expertise in GDP and GMP.
• Liaison with regulatory authorities such as VMD, to ensure APHA is aware, compliant and advisory.
• Ensure that APHA maintains capability and expertise in large scale production of reagents, and is able to respond to changing demands across the agency utilising specialist clean rooms and containment facilities.
• Ensure appropriate maintenance of essential equipment in the production units. Preparation of bids and economic justification for the purchase of capital equipment to maintain scientific capability or improve efficiencies.
• Overseeing the management of the pay and non-pay budget for the units to include authorisation of unit expenditure and ensuring that cost efficiency is maintained.
• Lead on the achievement and maintenance of the relevant quality standards in the unit, and to actively participate in audits as part of the APHA Quality Strategy, and ensure that staff remain updated and aware of the standard that they should be working to. Ensure all quality related actions are cleared.  Ensure all new procedures are validated and accredited as appropriate.
• Liaison with internal and external customers to establish service levels required and ensuring requirements are met.  Estimate demand and throughput against expected levels.  Encourage new areas of activity for the production Units.

Resource Management – 50%

• To work with the Head of Surveillance and Laboratory Services to devise and implement strategies for the effective deployment and management of surveillance and laboratory testing resource.
• To oversee the operational surveillance and laboratory testing activity at designated Laboratories through line management of multi-disciplinary teams, management of resources to meet the required delivery and performance requirements, monitoring and ensuring quality standards are met, policies and procedures consistently applied, and to report accurately on operational activities.
• Oversight of budget management for their allocated surveillance/laboratory sites, and where appropriate, programme budget responsibility.
• To provide visible leadership to reportees and other colleagues providing coaching and mentoring as necessary
• To proactively manage the performance, conduct and attendance of reportees, reviewing performance on a regular basis and implementing performance improvement and development where necessary.
• To create an environment in which everyone can and does contribute effectively, and that different perspectives are heard and channelled.
• To contribute to the departments business continuity and contingency plans with responsibility for their own work groups.

Person specification

Skills and Experience

• Extensive management experience in a laboratory area.
• Direct work experience of management of production of reagents with experience of working to quality systems, IS9001:2008, GDP, GMP, and implementing H&S requirements in containment (ACDP3 and SAPO) laboratories handling pathogens.
• Experience of delivering reagent production to time and quality standards.
• Experience in contract tender and management for supply of key reagents
• Experience and understanding in obtaining market approvals for key reagents.
• Degree in science subject, or suitable career experience.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £57,316, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £15,475 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 is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Application Process

As part of the application process you will be asked give details in a Personal Statement and complete a CV template. For the personal statement, please write up to 750 words demonstrating how you match the required skills and experience for this post. You will also be required to give a 250-word Technical statement. 

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Sift and interview dates as well as the interview location to be confirmed.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Behaviours and your experience.

Please use the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to provide evidence of each behaviour.

A presentation or additional exercise may also be assessed, further details of this will be given at the time.

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s)

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Salary

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

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
• Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

NSV

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter.

Full Time Only

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying. We may consider two part-time staff on a job share basis if continuity can be arranged. Part-time hours will only be considered as part of a job share.

Childcare Vouchers 

Any move to Defra from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

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 counter-terrorist 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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.