About the job

Job summary

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and works on behalf of the Scottish Government and Welsh Government. Our diverse teams of over 3,000 skilled and committed professionals come together to provide research, advice and support to UK Government for safeguarding animal, public and plant health for benefit of the environment and economy.

The Science Directorate (SD) delivers high quality, high impact and highly relevant multidisciplinary science. Our People are diverse, talented, engaged and inspired to deliver innovative outcomes.

The Software Development Team, in the Department of Epidemiological Sciences, builds and maintains bespoke scientific software and infrastructure spanning multiple high impact areas including disease management databases, data science, and specialist scientific computing for analysts across Defra group. 

Specialism: Modelling Software Development

This specialist post focusses on the design, coding, execution and maintenance of bespoke scientific algorithms and software concerning animal disease control, with a focus on models simulating national animal disease spread, surveillance and management.

The post holder will primarily work on Linux systems in the cloud, supporting legacy code in Java and R, and developing and maintaining new systems in Python and Rust.  The work involves high performance computing, such as software, algorithm and data processing optimisation, system automation and cluster computing.

The outputs from this work will support important capabilities concerning animal disease control in the UK.

This post is being recruited subject to a potential deferred start date of February 2025.

Job description

Main areas of responsibility:

• Leading on agreed project activities within the Software Development Team.
• Working with customers, collaborators, and suppliers to translate business objectives into deliverable technical outcomes.
• Developing and implementing analytical algorithms; creating and automating systems to test, build and deploy code, potentially on large bespoke clusters; developing and ensuring analytical, scientific and software good practice.
• Using collaborative approaches (primarily Agile/Kanban) to provide transparency and assurance throughout delivery.
• Contributing to outcomes, capabilities, and culture concerning scientific software development and computing, including technical collaboration, review, documentation, and quality assurance.
• Helping prioritise and protect the allocation of limited technical resource, including balancing time between legacy maintenance and new systems development.
• Helping develop and maintain a responsive, supportive, and knowledgeable community.
• Line and functionally managing technical staff.

Person specification

You will need to demonstrate the following:

• A proven track record of software development for simulation modelling, using a programming language such as Python, Java, C/C++, Rust.
• Demonstrable scientific computing experience including quality assurance, data analysis and communication of technical outputs.
• Experience of project leadership; leading on requirements gathering, stakeholder relationship and delivery.

Security clearance

The Weybridge site is a strategically important national asset due to its role as a reference laboratory supporting the Government’s response to national emergencies including disease outbreaks. For this reason all postholders based on the APHA Weybridge site must hold a valid Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) security clearance or above. It is up to each person applying for a post at APHA Weybridge to ensure they meet the residency criteria. Applicants must be currently resident in the UK & have at least three years continuous UK residency as this is a requirement to work at the Weybridge site.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,439, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £10,648 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, Experience and Technical skills.

Application Process

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV & personal statement.

For the personal statement, please write up to 500 words demonstrating how you meet the required skills and experience for this role.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

Sift and interview dates as well as the interview location to be confirmed.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Behaviours, technical skills and your experience.

A presentation or additional exercise may also be assessed.

Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s)

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Merit Lists

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Near miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in APHA which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match.

Salary

New entrants are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.  This post is eligible for a technical specialist pay allowance of up to £6k, subject to a skills assessment after 3 months in post.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
• Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service or Disclosure Scotland on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

Internal Fraud Database Check

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.

Full Time Preferred

The post is full-time, but we may consider two part-time staff on a job share basis if continuity can be arranged, or part-time (at least 0.75 FTE).

Higher Security Clearance

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter.

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold basic security clearance. Candidates posted to Weybridge may be subject to a higher level of clearance because of the security requirements for that location. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer. 

The Weybridge site is a strategically important national asset due to its role as a reference laboratory supporting the Government’s response to national emergencies including disease outbreaks. For this reason all postholders based at the APHA Weybridge site must hold a valid Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) security clearance or above. It is up to each person applying for a post at APHA Weybridge to ensure they meet the CTC residency criteria. Applicants must be currently resident in the UK & have a minimum of 3 years continuous UK residency. If you cannot meet this criteria CTC clearance will not be possible as this is part of pre-employment checks before taking up the post.

NSV

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Childcare Vouchers 

Any move to Defra from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

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.