About the job

Job summary

The postholder will lead a cross organisational needs assessment relating to outbreak surveillance, an important priority for the HCAI & AMR Division in 2024-25 and a deliverable for the UK National Action Plan for antimicrobial resistance. The needs assessment will describe: current capacity, practice and areas for improvement in the detection of outbreaks of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) within healthcare settings; their notification; surveillance and reporting; capture of learning; and linking reporting with implementation of public health action. Recommendations arising from this assessment may include interventions to enhance detection, improve understanding of transmission, facilitate information sharing and inform mitigation and control of MDRO outbreaks to prevent harms to patients and the public. This work should lead to publication.

The postholder will be a senior member of the scientific staff of the HCAI & AMR Division, within the Incidents, Outbreaks and Stewardship (IOS) Team and will be supervised in this work by a Consultant Epidemiologist and supported by members of the team. The HCAI & AMR Division is a multidisciplinary team including epidemiologists, microbiologists, public health specialists, bioinformaticians, behavioural scientists, data managers, statisticians, IT specialists, and operational and administrative staff.

Job description

The postholder will lead a cross organisational needs assessment relating to outbreak surveillance as described above. This post will also provide senior scientific support to the epidemiological investigation of HCAI & AMR related incidents and outbreaks as required, supporting local Health Protection Teams, the Field Service and in collaboration with the NHS and other partners. This will include leading and managing the technical and analytical aspects of epidemiological outbreak investigations and supporting junior team members in carrying out these tasks. 

 The post holder will also take a lead role in public health scientific analyses and writing reports on specific projects, regular and ad hoc publications and peer reviewed publications. Contributions to the work and professional development of other staff in the team are also expected. Building and maintaining strong relationships with colleagues across UKHSA and the NHS will also be required.

Main responsibilities

 Surveillance and Data Analysis

• Identify surveillance needs (including horizon scanning), create surveillance system specifications, conduct complex statistical analyses and interpret surveillance data, making appropriate recommendations, and translating it in to public health action, develop automated routines and solutions and supervise / assure on the preparation, quality and delivery of routine and ad hoc surveillance reports.
• Authorise /manage complex or sensitive data requests and in the development of outputs and statistical analysis. 
• Responsible for planning, implementing and maintaining a high level of surveillance and high quality epidemiology to meet needs, providing expert technical advice to PH practitioners on the design, analysis and interpretation of surveillance databases and data whilst assessing the current and future political /economic /scientific /technological /legal /environmental influences on team work.
•   Experience of using Stata and / or R

Outbreak Support and Epidemiological Investigations

• Lead and manage the technical and analytical aspects of epidemiological outbreak investigations including advising on study design, writing protocols for analytical studies, overseeing questionnaire design and study database development, training interviewers, preparing outbreak reports and supervising and supporting investigations into exceedances. 

Audit, Quality and Governance

• Evaluate existing surveillance systems (acting on results) and the acute response to incidents and outbreak, ensuring that it is used to improve standards and consistency across the team, evaluate teaching sessions and undertake and supervise audits as part of the team audit programme.

Research

• Identify research questions, project manage a research study, analyse datasets with appropriate methodology to answer research questions, and translate results into public health action.
• Perform systematic reviews of literature, co-author grant proposals/applications (including applying for ethical approval), present at scientific conferences, programme area meetings and other fora, and publish and present scientific papers on public health surveillance, outbreaks and infectious disease control in collaboration with health, public health, academic and other partners.

Management / workforce / HR

• Effectively manage others and yourself: lead, supervise and motivate scientific and information staff; effectively appraise, manage performance, and address HR/disciplinary issues for staff line managed; be recruiting manager for posts, update JDs, be responsible for managing own workload, including developing objectives and reviewing progress against these. 

Teaching/Training

• Teach colleagues and stakeholders on surveillance and epidemiology, supporting ongoing training activities within the department, develop teaching material and courses, assess teaching requirements of team and colleagues and supervise MSc and other short term team attachments.

Strategic thinking / partnership working

• Build and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders and partners, manage delivery of agreed work programme including timely reporting to stakeholders and work in partnership to ensure needs of stakeholders are met.

For a full list of the main duties and responsibilities of the role, please refer to the attached Job Description. 

Person specification

Essential criteria 

• Knowledge of principles and practice of surveillance, including data management, data transmission, data security, data quality, data analysis including descriptive statistics and graphics and data reporting
• Experience of interpreting and evaluating complex epidemiological data, sensitive health data analyses and performing analytical epidemiology and concepts in outbreak situations
• Demonstrable experience of public health, health protection or epidemiology including epidemiology for outbreak investigations
• Proficient and/or expert in common statistical/ database/mapping tools such as Stata, R, GIS, network analysis, SQL, etc.
• Able to build and maintain effective relationships with co-workers and key stakeholders, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups

Desirable criteria

• Experience of research activities with a suitable publication record (3+ papers including 1+ first author) and grant writing experience

You will be assessed on the above (5) essential criteria, which have been selected from the Job Description, for the full list of criteria's please check the job description. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £55,799, UK Health Security Agency contributes £15,065 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 skills and capabilities outlined in the essential criteria.  

 Application & Sift  
competency-based assessments

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 5 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 (5)essential criteria.  

The CV / Application form and Statement of Suitability will be marked together.

In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on (lead criteria) - Experience of interpreting and evaluating complex epidemiological data, sensitive health data analyses and performing analytical epidemiology and concepts in outbreak situations

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 (competency based) 

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

 Knowledge, experience, skills & abilities will be tested at interview  

There will be a Presentation task and details will be sent to applicants.  

 Interviews will be held week commencing TBC. Please note, these dates are subject to change. 

 Please note all the essential criteria listed in the job description will be assessed at interview stage. 

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 our London 10SC site. 

Eligibility Criteria

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.

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. 

Starting Salary  

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.