About the job

Job summary

Do you want to be part of a team protecting Great Britain from exotic notifiable diseases?  If so, why not join us and make a difference!

We have an exciting SSO opportunity in the virology outbreak area to drive and deliver frontline diagnostic delivery. The critical aspects of the role include ensuring delivery of frontline diagnostic testing for notifiable avian diseases of wildlife, although predominantly focusing on delivery of Avian Influenza testing in wild bird and free-living mammals. This will include interactions across APHA, DEFRA, Devolved Administrations and wider (including Crown dependencies). This role is critical to support outbreak response, and related statutory surveillance activities of notifiable avian diseases, and will line manage or functionally manage staff, including work planning and personal development, as required.

Job description

The post holder will:

• Manage the wild bird testing projects in the delivery of frontline diagnostic assays generated from report cases
• Deliver the key activities in support of wild bird collection, delivery and testing including triage of cases in discussion with the disease consultant(s) and external customers
• Analyse, process, and report results and data to the relevant departments across science directorate and veterinary directorate and stakeholders, including Devolved administrations, NGOs
• Update positive wild birds gov.uk spreadsheet on a weekly basis
• Oversee the wild birds carcass collection contract together with the Veterinary Lead
• Liaise, interact, and engage with third party organisations such as Natural England, Nature Scotland, Natural Resources Wales and NGOs
• Prepare and write scientific reports and papers stating surveillance results

Person specification

Skills/experience

• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Ability to liaise and communicate with external and internal stakeholders
• Technical laboratory experience in virology, molecular biology and serology
• Knowledge of sequence analysis and understanding of phylogenetic analysis
• Knowledge of and a willingness to work at Containment levels -2 and -3
• Experience of managing own workload and balancing competing priorities
• Experience of delivering in a timely manner under stressful situations
• Good customer service skills
• A PhD in a relevant subject or equivalent experience

This post will require that you participate in duty rotas relevant to your work. A duty rota may include, but is not limited to, telephone duties, incident management and out of hours work. Your line manager will provide you with details and your inclusion on any rotas.

This role will require you to vary your working practices (including your working hours and days, working location, tasks and responsibilities), as required to reflect business needs. This will be due to disease emergencies or other business needs as they arise.

The post will require you to undertake periods of detached duty as required to meet business needs. Detached duty will involve staying away from your home to work at an alternative site to your normal place of work. This may involve tasks and responsibilities that are different to your usual role, and your working pattern may be temporarily changed. Your manager will provide you with further information.

The work of the post can be physically demanding, and due to access requirements to biosecure areas (laboratory and animal facilities), individuals must be physically able.

Periodic travel within the UK or overseas may be required. A valid full driving licence is necessary or access to an alternative means of transport.

Staff will be required to work rostered on-call duties in support of statutory disease response, including rotas covering weekends and Bank Holidays. Out of hours work may be required in the event of a disease incident. When overtime or out-of-hours work is required, APHA Management reserves the right to change overtime patterns to meet requirements. You may be eligible for overtime payments and where overtime is approved you will receive appropriate payment.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,577, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £11,495 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 give details in a Personal Statement (500 word max) of how you match the skills and experience detailed and complete a CV template during the application process. 

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

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

Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

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, a non-anonymised CV will be requested, along with a list of scientific publications. At interview, Behaviours, Technical ability, and Experience will be assessed. 

A presentation or additional exercise may also be assessed, further details of this will be given at the time.

Please use the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to provide evidence of each behaviour at the interview.

Location

Please be aware that this role(s) will be contractually based in a Defra group workplace/office. 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.

As part of the pre-employment process, 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.

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.

Salary

New entrants are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.

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 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. 

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 Only

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying. We may consider two part-time staff on a job share basis if continuity can be arranged. Part-time hours will only be considered as part of a job share.

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

The Weybridge site is a strategically important national asset due to its role as a reference laboratory supporting the Governments response to national emergencies including disease outbreaks. For this reason, all post holders 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. UK residency is required from 3 to 10 years depending on the level of Security. However, residency qualification maybe reduced for certain roles and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

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. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.