About the job

Job summary

We have an exciting opportunity to work within the Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Division in UKHSA.  As Senior Surveillance Scientist you will contribute to the maintenance, development, and analysis of surveillance systems for the evaluation of national vaccination programmes, specifically vaccine coverage and inequalities in uptake of vaccinations.

The postholder will also support the ongoing work of the department, contribute to the publication of routine and ad-hoc statistics and specifically develop processes to evaluate new data against existing gold-standard data collections.

Location:

This role will be based at: 61 Colindale Ave, London NW9 5EQ.

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

Job description

The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities, and duties:  

• Develop and maintain surveillance systems for monitoring vaccine coverage.
• Undertake evaluation of existing and novel surveillance systems.
• Management and epidemiological analysis of data
• Prepare routine surveillance reports.
• Work closely with members of the team to assist in responding to ad hoc queries which require scientific input.
• Liaise with NHSE and other stakeholders to assure the quality and validity of vaccination data.
• Assist in the investigation and control of outbreaks, as required.
• Contribute and project manage specific research studies evaluating immunisation programmes.
• Analyse surveillance data and results of studies and write reports and papers for scientific journals.
• Assist in the preparation of papers and reports to inform policy for the UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

Please review the job description for a full list of responsibilities.

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

Essential Criteria:

It is important through your application and Statement of Suitability of 750 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:

• First degree in a science subject.
• Higher degree in Epidemiology or allied discipline or relevant postgraduate experience.
• Postgraduate work/study in Public Health, public health microbiology, epidemiology, or an allied subject.
• Experience of developing / using relational databases (including Access, SQL), spreadsheets, statistical and graphics packages (e.g. Stata or R) to an advanced level.
• Experience of writing/evaluating scientific work, including report writing.
• Of interpreting and evaluating microbiological or epidemiological data on vaccine preventable diseases and numerate with deep analytical skills.
• Ability to analyse, summarise and interpret complex epidemiological data.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of vaccine schedule and polices in the UK.
• Experience of creating and giving presentations to a varied group of internal and external stakeholders.

 Please review the job description for the full criteria.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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. 

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).

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

STAGE 2 – INTERVIEW 

This stage will involve an in-person interview.

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.

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on 11th February 2024 – unfortunately, late applications will not be considered. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Shortlist: TBC

Interviews: w/c 4th March 2024

Please note these dates could be subject to change.  

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.