About the job

Job summary

Job title – Product Owner

Profession-  Data & Analytics

Directorate – Data Operations

Full Time equivalent - 37.5 hours

No of Roles – 1

Contract Type – Permanent

Location – Hybrid

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. 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.

Working Pattern – Full Time / Flexible Working / Hybrid Working /Part Time / Job Share

Grade & Salary – Grade 7. National banding -£51,824- £61,414 per annum. Outer London -£53,812- £63,252 per annum. Inner London - £55,799- £65,089 per annum.

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.

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/.

Closing Date – 13/02/2024. 23:55pm. Unfortunately, late applications will not be considered

Interview Date – W/C 26/02/2024 Please note, these dates are subject to change.

Job description

COVID-19 has reinforced the impact that threats to health can have on society and the economy and driven health security as a critical component of our national security architecture. The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is a system leader for health security; taking action internationally to strengthen global health security, providing trusted advice to government and the public and reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by infectious disease, environmental hazards, and other threats to health.

UKHSA’s remit, as an agency with a global-to-local reach, is to protect the health of the nation from infectious diseases and other external threats to health. As the nation’s expert national health security agency UKHSA will:

1. Prevent: anticipate threats to health and help build the nation’s readiness, defences and health security
2. Detect: use cutting edge environmental and biological surveillance to proactively detect and monitor infectious diseases and threats to health
3. Analyse: use world-class science and data analytics to assess and continually monitor threats to health, identifying how best to control and mitigate the risks
4. Respond: take rapid, collaborative and effective actions nationally and locally to mitigate threats to health when they materialise
5. Lead: lead strong and sustainable global, national, regional and local partnerships designed to save lives, protect the nation from public health threats, and reduce inequalities

UKHSA will build on the legacy of the COVID-19 response to ensure resilient and scalable infrastructure to secure the UK in the strongest position to protect the public from future threats to health.

UKHSA mission is challenging, innovative and in the spotlight. To achieve our objectives effectively and fairly, we commit to representing modern Britain and all its diversity. UKHSA recognises that diversity of background and life experience brings different insights, creates challenge, and encourages change and innovation. This in turn produces more accountable and trusted public services and better decisions; better because they are more attuned to the needs and interests of all our communities. Differences of thought and outlook are not only respected but expected. We want all our employees to feel that they can be themselves at work and that they are valued.

 

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

 

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

 

The UKHSA Data Operations Directorate provides strategic leadership and oversight for developing and managing a common and bespoke suite of performant, modern, secure, data and analytical tools, services, platforms and applications, ensuring access to high quality data and analytics services, internally and externally.

 

Job Overview

 

You will work in the Data Engineering and Enablement Division that reports into the Data Operations Directorate.  It’s an exciting time to join as we seek to create leading Health Protection data capabilities that enable data scientists and data analysts to develop insights that inform public health decisions with resilience platforms and curated data assets. 

The core activities of Engineering and Enablement include the ingestion of data sources, building data pipelines, curated data views and data capabilities fused from data, models and software that enable the exploitation of data by analysts, data scientists and MI teams.

You will be involved in the delivery lifecycle from engaging with stakeholders on new initiatives, analysing use cases, developing optimal designs that where possible re-use and extend capabilities, and implement and operate the design.  Our teams work collaboratively in an agile multi-disciplinary team mode and we are looking for a Product Owner to engage with stakeholders and acquire knowledge on a specialist field to delivery data engineering capabilities in line with business partner strategies.

You will draw from an extensive background of experience in translation of requirements into technical deliverables within a software and data lifecycle environment.  You will be fluent in the current data engineering capabilities and the potential extension and creation of new data engineering capabilities to achieve the objectives of their Data and Analytics Partners.

 

You will possess excellent people management skills, be able to engage and build strong relationships with business partners. The key skills required include strong relationship management, be commercially astute, strong data analysis, clear and concise communications both verbally and written and ability to develop business partnering.

Communication and key working relationships

Internal

• Delivery Leads
• Scrum masters
• Data Engineers
• Architect/solution leads

External

• Business Partners
• UKHSA leadership team
• Analytics and Reporting
• Central delivery team
• Surveillance and Covid Testing teams
• ONS

 

Main duties and responsibilities

 

• Product Delivery – You will be responsible for establishing and developing solutions with Stakeholders using product development techniques for road mapping (e.g. MOSCOW, Kano, or Pareto) and selected tools to describe the Product vision (e.g. business model canvas, lean canvas, or vision box). You will be commercial geared and propose new solutions to increase the Data Product’s business value ensuring alignment to their business partners objectives as part of the UKHSA strategy.
• Stakeholder Management – You will develop strong relationships and close collaboration with Business partners to define the next iterations of the Data Product and plan their releases. Deliver excellent communications, presenting the team’s perspective to the business partner, and building their trust. Understand the business and technical requirements and capabilities with the ability to propose new solutions to meet their Data and Analytics Partner’s needs.
• Delivery framework – You will demonstrate your experience across Product Lifecycle including Strategy, Development, End User Experience, into an agile delivery framework, working alongside scrum masters and data engineers to ensure all deliverable goals are met without any impact to quality.

Person specification

 

Essential Criteria

 

• Demonstrable product experience working with agile teams, driving product roadmaps and demonstrating progress in delivering value
• Strong relationship management: excellent communication and influencing skills – verbal and written – with the ability to liaise at all levels.
• Balance of both technical awareness and business acumen.
• Ability to manage in an ambiguous environment, clarifying strategies and plans, giving a sense of direction and purpose for self and team.
• Ability to drive change and overcome obstacles and resistance.
• Constructive and collaborative but with the ability to step in and take decisions in a timely manner to move the team forward.
• High attention to detail
• Experience with Agile delivery and working in Agile Scrum teams

 

Desirable Criteria

 

• Experience of working with JIRA (or Azure DevOps or similar tools) within an Agile/Scrum environment
• Experience/understanding of software and data lifecycle management
• Educated to degree level (not essential, experience is key). Relevant numerate, technical or computer science discipline would be an advantage
• Knowledge of data management platforms and development with SQLServer

 

 

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £51,824, UK Health Security Agency contributes £13,992 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, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Strengths

Stage 1: Application & Sift

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a Statement of Suitability in no more than 750 words. This should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the experience criteria or 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.

Note: both your Statement of Suitability and Employment History sections will be scored with equal weight in the sifting process. You must complete both to progress. If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to an interview.

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

 

Stage 2: Panel Interview

All applicants that progress to interview will be assessed based on Behaviours in the Civil Service Success Profiles. See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles. The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Changing and Improving

 

You will be expected to prepare a presentation for this interview

 

Benefits

• Alongside your salary of £51,824, UK Health Security Agency contributes £13,992 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.- https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/joining-the-pension-scheme/benefits-of-the-pension-scheme/
• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• 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.

 

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.

 

DBS - People working with government systems must complete Basic Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks which includes a disclosure and barring security check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed for this role is BPSS however there may be a requirement for this role to be SC cleared and you should familiarise yourself with the criteria of security clearance.

 

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

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

Government baseline personnel security standard

It’s important to note that there are currently exceptions to applications being considered if your conviction relates to any of the following:

• life sentences
• arson
• sexual offences
• hate and terror offences

Some departments will also consider the specific offence against the nature of the business, i.e., a conviction for fraud may rule you out for a finance role

 

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.

 

 

Contact Details – Sophie.Rigney@reed.com

 

 

 

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.