About the job

Job summary

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is currently recruiting a Strategy Advisor for the UKHSA Strategy team, which sits in the Strategy directorate.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) ensures the nation can respond quickly and at scale to deal with a range of health threats, including a future pandemic. UKHSA is responsible for planning, preventing and responding to external health threats, and providing intellectual, scientific and operational leadership at national and local level, and on the global stage.

​The UKHSA mission is challenging, innovative and in the spotlight. The impact we make is profound. We work to ensure our people have the diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds we need to thrive, and that staff members feel valued and enabled to play their part in delivering our work.

UKHSA’s Strategy Directorate is an inclusive, high-performing team with an exciting and challenging remit including leading the organisation’s strategic and business planning, delivery of priority outcomes and decision making, and building key relationships both within Government and external stakeholders at home and overseas. We play a critical coordination and integration role to make sure UKHSA is greater than the sum of its parts.

This role is based in the UKHSA Strategy team which focuses on setting the organisation’s direction, including developing UKHSA’s overall strategy, as well as supporting the development of supporting strategies (for example UKHSA’s Science and Health Equity strategies) and the plans needed to deliver individual UKHSA priorities.

Location

The UK Health Security Agency (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 our London office. Specialist or regional roles will be based at the appropriate UKHSA site. 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.

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

Job description

As a Strategy Advisor, you will play an essential role in helping establish UKHSA as a leading agency in domestic and global health protection. You will be working with a highly motivated and passionate group of people in an exciting and fast paced environment with the opportunity to influence government policy and delivery. You will be responsible for developing and securing agreement to responses to strategic problems facing UKHSA, plans to address the organisation’s top priorities and advancing the key capabilities needed to deliver health security. This includes realising the new possibilities created by bringing together complementary skills, capabilities and responsibilities from multiple organisations into UKHSA.

We are looking for a candidate who is driven, ambitious and ideally possesses the following skills and experience for the role. However, we are also committed to helping you learn and develop, to allow you to and get the very best out of yourself. If you possess some or all of these skills, we would like to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

With UKHSA having published its 3-year Strategic plan, the team is now prioritising:

• Ongoing development and delivery of a support offer for teams creating internal strategies for key aspects of UKHSA’s activities. This involves collaborating with teams across UKHSA to ensure that the skills and structures needed for the development of strategies are in place, as well as ensuring alignment with the UKHSA Strategic Plan.
• Working with the Senior Responsible Owners for UKHSA’s six strategic priorities to agree the specific outcomes we will aim to achieve over the three years of the UKHSA’s Strategic plan, metrics we will use to measure success and effective plans for delivery.

The role will be focussed on delivery of one or more of these work areas. The team’s work will evolve over time as particular projects conclude, but will continue to be based around the core objectives of setting the organisation’s direction and longer term planning to deliver UKHSA priorities.

Your main responsibilities are likely to include: 

• Working collaboratively with colleagues and senior leaders to help develop and advance the delivery of strategic plans, shaping proposals and coordinating contributions.
• Building, maintaining, and improving systems to support a controlled and comprehensive approach to strategy development across UKHSA. 
• Supporting colleagues and senior leaders to maintain clarity on strategy and associated delivery plans across UKHSA. 

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The UKHSA Strategy team’s core work is focussed on  setting the organisation’s direction and doing the longer-term planning needed to deliver UKHSA’s priorities. Currently our main projects are working with the Senior Responsible Owners to ensure effective plans for the delivery of UKHSA’s strategic priorities and supporting teams creating internal strategies for key aspects of UKHSA’s activities. The role will centre on elements of one or more of these projects.

The post-holder will collaborate with colleagues and senior leaders, leading the development and agreement of cross-organisational action on strategic issues. This will require consulting and negotiating with stakeholders, including effectively engaging colleagues from a wide range of professional backgrounds, to define problems, develop solutions and reach consensus on strategic direction and initiatives. It will be important to understand and test colleagues’ assumptions, ensuring the identification, analysis and synthesis of evidence from across the organisation to inform strategic decision-making. The post-holder will lead the development and drafting of policy submission and strategy documents, working closely with private offices and teams across UKHSA, to facilitate agreement and communication of the conclusions and recommendations of their projects. 

The role is also likely to include responsibility for advising UKHSA colleagues on effective approaches for developing strategies and addressing strategic issues, in line with the tools and guidance developed by the Strategy directorate. This includes building, maintaining, and improving the systems needed to support a controlled and comprehensive approach to strategy development across UKHSA.

A key aspect of all work will be to support colleagues and senior leaders to maintain clarity on strategy and associated delivery plans across UKHSA. Working with stakeholders across the organisation to ensure significant new decisions, commitments and implementation plans align with UKHSA’s overall strategic plan.

The post-holder will also be expected to contribute to the effectiveness of a high-performing team, including helping to set direction and support the well-being and development of team members. 

Person specification

This recruitment process is using Success Profiles, and will assess your experience, behaviours and abilities. You will find it helpful to read the guidance available here: Success Profiles - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The selection process will assess you against the following essential criteria at application and interview stages. Please ensure you have provided examples of where you have demonstrated these skills:

Skills / experience / knowledge
Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate these essential skills, abilities, and experience of:

• Ability to see the bigger picture and draw together varied information into a coherent whole. 
• Great stakeholder management skills, especially with senior colleagues. The ability to build productive working relationships quickly and to engender confidence with colleagues and stakeholders.
• Critical strategic thinking, including ability to identify and assess options, and make well-argued recommendations.
• Excellent communication skills, able to communicate messages clearly to a range of audiences at all levels – both verbally and in writing.
• Strong organisational skills and ability to prioritise work
• Experience of supporting your team to deliver priorities in a fast paced, constantly changing work environment to achieve successful outcomes.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook.

 

Benefits

Working for the UKHSA

For more information on UKHSA please visit: UK Health Security Agency - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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%
• Range of health and wellbeing support 

Any move to UKHSA 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 at Childcare Choices , 30 Hours Free Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More , Help with Costs , GOV.UK

Things you need to know

Selection process details

The selection process will assess you against the following essential criteria at application and interview stages:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Interviews will include a brief presentation (the topic will be confirmed in advance).

STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT:

Please submit your application and a statement of suitability (maximum 1000 words) to provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential/desirable skills set out above, providing relevant examples of how they have demonstrated these skills, providing relevant examples of how you have demonstrated these skills.

Please note: The system will not restrict your wordcount, however only the first 1000 words will be considered

Applications will be sifted based on the essential/desirable skills. If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview

All candidates who are successful at the sift stage will be invited to interview. We are part of the Disability Confident Scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Interviews will include a number of behaviour-based questions, focused on the behaviours set out above.

Interviews will be blended and therefore include a mix of strength and technical questions.

Although we are only advertising 1 role at this point, we expect to create a ‘merit list’ and to offer further roles to candidates in the coming weeks and months

Feedback is not provided at this stage.

STAGE 2 – INTERVIEW:

This competition will involve an interview via Teams.

All candidates who are successful at the sift stage will be invited to interview. We are part of the Disability Confident Scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Interviews will be a blended format. This means questions will test a mix of:

• Behaviours, to understand the actions and activities you do which result in effective performance in a job
• Strengths, to understand whether your personal strengths and motivations are relevant to the job role

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 27/05/2024 – 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.

Interviews: TBC

Please note these dates could be subject to change.  

Security clearance level requirement

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard.  People working with government assets must complete Basic Personnel Security Standard checks.

For posts on UKHSA Civil Service terms and conditions, new entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. For existing Civil Servants and roles advertised across government, the rules of transfer apply, i.e., level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive a 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest. 

Please Note

This role is to be appointed under Civil Service Terms & Conditions. Full details on the T&Cs are found https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/

Are you already a civil servant, or employed by a Civil Service Commission accredited public body? Please state home department on your application form.

Do you meet the nationality requirements for this post? https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: Complaints1@ukhsa.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website. 

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.