About the job

Job summary

This is an exciting position within the Antigen Research Team. The ideal candidate must have practical experience of working in a research environment. We require candidates to have a BSc and either an MSc or equivalent experience in a relevant research environment. PhD or equivalent experience would be highly desirable.

The successful candidate will be part of a research team developing vaccines and therapeutics against human pathogens. The team uses a variety of techniques in the fields of molecular biology, microbiology and protein chemistry to produce and characterise antigens.

You will be collaborating with the Emerging Pathogen Serology group on a project concerned with developing high-throughput receptor binding inhibition assays for assessing the immunogenicity of vaccines for high-consequence infectious diseases.

You will have a track record of using insect cell expression systems to generate viral antigens which will be used to develop the immunogenicity assays. You will also need excellent attention to detail and the ability to clearly record results. The successful candidate will have good verbal communication skills and be able to give input at meetings with stakeholders.

This is an FTC Contract (till 31st March 2025).

Location

This role will be based at the UKHSA Porton Down office, Manor Farm, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 0JG. 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.

*Please be aware that this role can only be worked from within the UK and not overseas. Relocation expenses are not available.* 

 

Working Pattern – Full Time, Part Time, Job Share, Flexible Working

Job description

As the Research Scientist your main responsibilities will include:

• Implement/use a range of methods/assays/techniques in  support  of  all  activities associated with the project aimed to ensure project targets are met
• Take responsibility for the provision of reagents and consumables required
• Assist the team to identify, evaluate and adapt technologies where appropriate and to ensure that projects operate to a high scientific standard using current methods
• Take responsibility  for  the  supervision  and  training  of  staff/labs  allocated  to  the project as required
• Provide reports through analysis of data using software and databases as necessary, to meet project targets and for preparation of presentations and publications

  

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 1000 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

• Educated to degree level in a relevant subject
• MSc OR equivalent experience in relevant area
• Prior molecular biology experience in designing constructs for protein expression
• Prior laboratory experience with Insect cell protein expression system
• Prior laboratory experience of protein purification using chromatography systems
• Prior experience of working within a team
• Experience of individual research projects

Desirable

• PhD OR equivalent experience in relevant area
• Prior laboratory experience of characterising purified proteins (SDS-PAGE, Western blot, ELISA, size exclusion chromatography etc)
• Prior laboratory experience of developing Biacore binding assays
• Undertaking individual research projects with collaborators

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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours.

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. 

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

 

STAGE 2 – INTERVIEW 

This post will involve an interview which will be held onsite at the UKHSA Porton Down office, Manor Farm, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 0JG

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.  Candidates will also be asked to participate in a session where they will be required to prepare and deliver a 10-minute presentation to the panel.  This will be followed by a question-and-answer segment.  The presentation will be designed to assess each candidate’s experience in line with the requirements of the role.  Full details will be provided prior to the interview.

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.

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

• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

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

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.