About the job

Job summary

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is responsible for protecting every member of every community from the impact of infectious diseases, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents and other health threats. 

We provide intellectual, scientific and operational leadership at national and local level, as well as on the global stage, to make the nation’s health secure. 

UKHSA is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). 

It is a distinct delivery organisation with operational autonomy to advise and support government, local authorities and the NHS in a professionally independent manner. 

The Commercial and Corporate Group’s aim is to provide UKHSA with efficient, effective and economic financial, estates and facilities and business development services to enable UKHSA to achieve its strategic goals, as well as taking the lead on a number of general activities. 

The Financial Control (FC) service sits within the wider finance function and is formed of local teams whose roles cover Financial Operations  

Management and maintenance of the Agency’s Finance, SCM, HR and Payroll system also sits within the FC service. 

Location

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 Canary Wharf London. 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.* 

Job description

The role has responsibility for providing support for the Agency’s Money and People Services (MaPS) system hosted on Oracle Cloud.

This role will be the first point of contact to provide functional support to Finance, HR and end-users across multiple locations resolving queries and if necessary to MaPS Tier 2 Support Team.

This role will also include writing procedures, process mapping and developing new ways of working.  

Expected to work across/within different modules by providing Tier 1 support.  

Must be able to demonstrate an excellent attitude to customer service and have a good telephone manner with attention to detail.  

Your main responsibilities will include:

• Provide a service of excellence to the UKHSA User community, guiding them through navigational steps if necessary and pointing them to self service/training documents where applicable.
• Willingness to learn and expand your own knowledge to improve first contact resolution
• Answering Telephone Queries ensuring all requests are registered in the Maps service Helpdesk with appropriate attention to detail and where possible resolved immediately.
• Managing MaPS Helpdesk requests, assessing, triaging and where possible taking ownership to resolve user queries 
• Escalation of Queries to relevant team’s including tier 2support team, providing feedback and to communicate with other departments where necessary
• Active involvement with quarterly patch testing of any changes to ensure the smooth running of the MaPS
• Following Standard Operating (SOPs) and (SLA’s) as appropriate within own work area
• Maintain and Contribute to a Central Knowledge Base by way of creating and maintaining supporting documentation, process maps, SOP’s  and other relevant information, always keeping them up to date.
• Assist in developing end-user self-service/training materials to ensure it remains up to date.
• Work closely with HR and ICT Service Desk where necessary to ensure movement of service request tickets is seamless to the end user and resolved within a timely manner 
• Assist with other routine support activities as required by the Customer Service Manager

Professional development 

You should pursue a program of continuous professional development in accordance with any relevant professional registration or statutory requirements, whilst maintaining appropriate awareness of service provider requirements. 

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.

Person specification

It is important through your application and Statement of Suitability of no more than 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):

Essential

• Experience within a busy customer service desk environment.
• Experience of identifying risks and issues and reporting to appropriate management.
• Good team player with the ability to switch between working independently and working within a team as and when required.
• Proven Excellent communication skills. 
• Proven experience in providing excellent customer service skills.
• Positive can-do attitude.
• Ability to multitask, managing and prioritizing a number of tasks simultaneously.
• Demonstrated capabilities to manage own workload and make informed decisions in the absence of required information, working to tight and often changing timescales.

Desirable

• Good understanding of Finance and HR processes.
• Experience of working within a busy service desk environment with oracle fusion cloud.
• Experience of successfully operating in a politically sensitive and confidential environment.
• Understanding of the public sector.

Benefits

Working for the UKHSA

For more information on the UKHSA please visit: UK Health Security Agency - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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%
• Range of health and wellbeing support

Any move to UKHSA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at Childcare Choices , 30 Hours Free Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More , Help with Costs , GOV.UK

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. Your Statement of Suitability should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria (outlined in the person specification section).

You will also be asked to provide information within the ‘Employer/ Activity history’ section of the application form. This is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV, setting out your career history.

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.   

The Success Profiles framework will be used to assess and recruit the most suitable candidate.  The following behaviours will be used at the interview:

• Seeing the Big Picture 
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace 

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

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on 11th 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.

Interviews: w/c 26th February 2024

Please note these dates could be subject to change.  

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

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.