About the job

Job summary

The Senior Conferences and Events Officer will be responsible for providing comprehensive support for the planning, co-ordination, and execution of the UKHSA Conference 2025, as well as other stakeholder-led event activity to be delivered across the organisation.

This is a crucial role in ensuring the success of the UKHSA Conference and other UKHSA-led events, working to the External Affairs strategy to encourage collaboration and partnership and the promotion of UKHSA's aims and mission to a diverse range of stakeholders.

The successful candidate will be an experienced event communications professional with a proven track record in delivering large conferences and events across in-person, virtual, and hybrid formats. Exhibition management skills and the ability to contribute to the delivery of a multifaceted conference programme will be key. The role requires a resourceful individual who can secure all essential event services, ensuring seamless coordination throughout. This includes managing vendors for AV equipment, catering and accommodation.

The post-holder is expected to be a competent negotiator with strong budget and time-management skills, with the requirement to work effectively and largely independently on several projects or elements of an event simultaneously. The role requires the ability to communicate and build effective relationships with colleagues at all levels of seniority across UKHSA, as well as with external suppliers, stakeholders and partners to maintain strong relationships and ensure active involvement and satisfaction in conference and events activity.

The Senior Conferences and Events Officer plays a vital role in enhancing UKHSA's brand, mission and reach among external audiences.  Their work facilitates knowledge exchange and fosters collaboration among key players within the health security sector.

Job description

• Support the Senior External Affairs and Events Manager to deliver the UKHSA Conference 2025, working to UKHSA guidelines, policies, procedures and protocols
• Oversee the logistics of the conference, including venue, catering, audio-visual, ePoster and exhibitor management
• Coordinate with external suppliers to ensure smooth delivery of all conference elements
• Collaborate with Communications colleagues to maximise promotion of the conference to UKHSA target audience (stakeholder engagement, internal communications, content creation, social media, press and media, regional comms)
• Develop and manage the conference website and registration and abstract submission process
• Liaise with external event software provider to explore new updates and innovations for elements such as registration, finance management and development of the conference app
• Contribute to the design process for key branded event materials, ensuring visual engagement and alignment with the overall conference them

Person specification

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Oversee on-site coordination of the UKHSA Conference 2025, ensuring a seamless experience for attendees, speakers, and exhibitors
• Manage a team of volunteers/staff to support logistics and operations during the conference
• Support development of a post-conference report, including a budget analysis, feedback from attendees, and key takeaways
• Work within agreed budgets, negotiate with suppliers and assist in the maintenance of records of costs and revenues
• Build strong connections throughout UKHSA to proactively discuss upcoming events and engagement opportunities. Ensure early scheduling to allow for optimal resource planning
• Review and refine working processes to ensure optimisation of available technology, ensuring a seamless and streamlined event management experience. Be proactive in finding ways to deliver higher quality event management services through continual improvement and innovations
• Monitor event costs and analyse spending after events to understand full costs against budget
• Be the central point of contact for event support requests within the organisation – highlight and communicate the External Affairs team remit, discuss requirements with senior managers and assess the strategic importance of proposed event activity
• Provide professional advice on event management to colleagues across the UKHSA. This includes providing advice on logistics, venues, budgets, invoicing, marketing, branding and suppliers.
• Deputise for the Senior External Affairs and Events Manager as required, attending meetings, writing reports and acting as a first point of contact for members of the Senior Leadership Team

This job description and person specification are an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role.  The job holder will carry out any other duties that may reasonably be required by their line manager. The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the Department and the organisation.

Essential criteria 

The successful candidate will have: 

• Extensive experience in organising successful conferences, including large, multi-stream events attended by 500+ people, preferably with commercial event management experience
• Excellent project management skills with the ability to prioritise and manage multiple tasks simultaneously
• Experience of using specialist event management software and setting up online registration for large events
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and negotiation skills
• Budget management experience
• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Attention to detail and a strong sense of organisation
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team 

Skills and capabilities  (these are part of the essential criteria)

• Lead by example, communicate in a truthful, straightforward manner with integrity, impartiality and promoting a working environment that supports the Civil Service values and code
• Demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills and set standards for communication
• Analytical skills, including effective use of insight and evaluation data
• Ability to recognise emerging issues and trends which might impact or benefit our work. Previous experience in working with the media would be helpful

Values  (these are part of the essential criteria)

An understanding of and commitment to UKHSA’s values: Impactful, Insightful, Inclusive, including the need to listen to a range of stakeholder voices and to work in partnership with our people, our partners and across communities.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,716, UK Health Security Agency contributes £11,533 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

Selection Process:  

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Stage 1: Application & Sift   

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on essential criteria, and this will be in the form of  a:

• CV/ Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application) 
• 1000 words Statement of Suitability.  

This should outline how you consider your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.   

The CV and Statement of Suitability will be marked separately, and you must pass both to move forward to interview.

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  

You will be invited to a (single)  face to face interview

Behaviours, technical and experience will be tested at interview.  

You will be asked to do a writing test and deliver a short presentation at interview, with instructions provided in advance. 

 The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be 

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Developing Self and Others
• Managing a Quality Service

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

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 your core location - 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU.  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.

Eligibility Criteria

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

Disability Confident scheme 

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.  

 

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.  

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.