About the job

Job summary

We are currently looking for a Scientific assessor to join our Authorisation Lifecycle Team within the Healthcare Quality and Access Group.

This is a full-time opportunity, on a permanent basis. The role will be based in 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf London, E14 4PU. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas.  

We are currently operate a flexible, hybrid way of working, with a minimum of 8 days per month working on site to enable the collaboration and contact with partners and stakeholders needed to deliver MHRA business. Attendance on site is driven by business needs so depending on the nature of the role, this can flex up to 12 days a month, with the remainder of time worked either remotely or in the office. Some roles will need to be on site more regularly.

 

Who are we? 

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency enhance and improve the health of millions of people every day through the effective regulation of medicines and medical devices, underpinned by science and research.  

The Product Information Quality Unit is part of the Authorisation Lifecycle Team, responsible for ensuring that the labels and leaflets accompanying licensed medicines in the UK both comply with the relevant legislation and also meet the needs of patients and healthcare professionals.

We are working on issues that are at the heart of public health – enabling the provision of clear and accessible information with medicines, providing regulatory solutions to ensure continuity of medicines supply and exploring how medicines information may be provided in the future. Alongside regulatory assessment work, the team works closely with both internal and external stakeholders to provide support, training and information on medicines labelling and patient information.

Job description

We are looking for talented, committed scientific professionals who are seeking a role which has real impact on patients and offers the opportunity to develop regulatory knowledge and expertise across a number of areas. 

We are recruiting a HEO Scientific Assessor to assess medicine labelling and patient information leaflets submitted for approval under the current regulatory framework. Additional activities for this role will include responding to queries from both internal and external stakeholders, attendance of Scientific Advice Meetings (SAM) with industry partners and providing support to the Advertising Unit when required.

Key responsibilities: 

• To assess labelling and patient information leaflets submitted for approval, taking into account current regulatory requirements, legislative timelines and the needs of patients, carers and healthcare professionals.
• To complete strategic targeted reviews of labelling and/or patient information leaflets, following a complaint and suggest improvements to the pharmaceutical companies or if necessary, take regulatory action.
• To provide clear, reliable and timely scientific, regulatory advice and data for Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and other types of queries.
• To work with colleagues in the Advertising Unit to support their work on advertising scrutiny and complaint resolution, as required.

 

Person specification

• Seeing the Big Picture - Understand the key priorities for your area of work and how these contribute to wider organisational goals. Be aware of emerging issues and trends which might impact your work area. Develop understanding of how the strategies and activities of the team create value and meet the diverse needs of all stakeholders.
• Communicating and influencing - Communicate clearly, honestly, and enthusiastically with others, choosing appropriate styles to maximise understanding and impact and being persuasive when required.
• Making effective decisions - Analyse and use a range of relevant, credible information from internal and external sources to support decisions. Display confidence when making difficult decisions, even if they prove to be unpopular. Consult with others to ensure the potential impacts on end users have been considered.
• Delivering at Pace - Regularly monitor your own work against milestones and act promptly to reassess workloads and priorities when there are conflicting demands to maintain performance
• Working together - Actively build professional relationships with a range of stakeholders and collaborate with these to share information, resources and support

 

If you would like to find out more about this fantastic opportunity, please read our Job Description and Person Specification! 

Please note: The job description may not open in some internet browsers. Please use Chrome or Microsoft Edge. If you have any issue viewing the job description, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,841, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency contributes £9,407 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

We use the Civil Service Success Profiles to assess our candidates, find out more here. 

• Online application form, including questions based on the Behaviour, Experience and Technical Success Profiles. Please ensure all application questions are completed in full; your application may not be considered if any responses are left blank. Our applications are CV blind, and our Hiring Managers will not be able to access your CV when reviewing your application.
• Interview, which can include questions based on the Behaviour, Experience, Technical and Strengths Success Profiles.

Applicants are assessed on whether they meet any mandatory requirements as well as the necessary skills and experience for the role. Applications are scored based on the competency-based answers provided- ensure you have read these thoroughly and allow sufficient time. You can view the competencies for this role in the job description. 

Applicants must ensure that anything submitted must be factually accurate and truthful. Plagiarism ‘can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

 

 

If you require any disability related adjustments at any point during the process, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk as soon as possible. 

  

Closing date: 24th May 2024

Shortlisting date: 29th May 2024

Interview date: 13th& 14th May 2024

Candidates will be contacted within a week of the sift and the interviews completed to inform them of the outcome.

 

If you need assistance applying for this role or have any other questions, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk 

 

Candidates will be subject to UK immigration requirements as well as Civil Service nationality rules. Further information on whether you are able to apply is available here. 

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check as well as animal rights and pro-life activism checks. People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

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.

Any move to the MHRA 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 here.

 

Successful candidates may be subject to annual Occupational Health reviews dependent on role requirements. If you have any queries, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk.

 

In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by the requirement of selection for appointment on the basis of merit by a fair and open competition. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should firstly contact Mira Mepa, Head of Recruitment and Operations, Mira.Mepa@mhra.gov.uk.  

 

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk 

 

info@csc.gov.uk 

Civil Service Commission 

Room G/8 

1 Horse Guards Road 

London 

SW1A 2HQ 

 

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. 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.