Lead Epidemiologist (Emerging infections)

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is a system leader for health security; taking action internationally to strengthen global health security, providing trusted advice to government and the public and reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by infectious disease, environmental hazards, and other threats to health.
UKHSA's remit, as an agency with a global-to-local reach, is to protect the health of the nation from infectious diseases and other external threats to health. As the nation's expert national health security agency UKHSA will:
+ Prevent: anticipate threats to health and help build the nation's readiness, defences and health security
+ Detect: use cutting edge environmental and biological surveillance to proactively detect and monitor infectious diseases and threats to health
+ Analyse: use world-class science and data analytics to assess and continually monitor threats to health, identifying how best to control and mitigate the risks
+ Respond: take rapid, collaborative and effective actions nationally and locally to mitigate threats to health when they materialise
+ Lead: lead strong and sustainable global, national, regional and local partnerships designed to save lives, protect the nation from public health threats and reduce inequalities., The Emerging Infections and Zoonoses team is recruiting two new Lead Epidemiologist post. This is an exciting opportunity be at the forefront of national, and international, incident and policy work in this high-profile field. This is a challenging and rewarding specialist epidemiologist role with a balanced portfolio of proactive core epidemiology functions, and reactive outbreak and incident response.
The Emerging Infections and Zoonoses team sits within the TB, Acute Respiratory, Zoonoses, Emerging infection, and Travel health division (TARZET), whose mission is to protect the public from respiratory, imported, emerging, and novel infections through world-leading public health microbiology and virology, outbreak response, surveillance, research and interventions. We are a multidisciplinary team delivering surveillance, epidemiology, public health and clinical advice, microbiology and virology, incident and outbreak response, and advice to government. We work closely with NHS England and NHS Trusts, with international agencies and colleagues, and in a fully integrated way with multiple academic partners, with associated research opportunities., The senior epidemiologist role will provide expert epidemiological leadership in emerging, zoonotic, international and high consequence infections within the Emerging Infections and Zoonoses team. They will support collaboration within UKHSA and across Government and with other key partners, including academic and international collaborators. They will also play a key role in ensuring delivery of UKHSA commitments to the prevention of, and response to, emerging infections. The post holder will take a leading role in infectious disease epidemiological and public health scientific analyses and writing reports on specific projects, regular and ad hoc commissions and publications. The postholder will contribute to the teaching activities of EIZ and TARZET at local, national and international level.
The post-holder will be expected to work closely and develop further collaborations with colleagues in other parts of UKHSA, particularly with colleagues across the TARZET division, as well as cross-government and academic collaborators both in the United Kingdom and abroad. The post-holder will be expected to coordinate applied research in a multidisciplinary environment.
Line management is an essential component of this role and the post holder may be expected to directly line manage a small team of epidemiologists/scientists.
Please read all the information on this page carefully - The main duties and responsibilities for the role are displayed below.

Working for our organisation
We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.
UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all., + Develop and utilise information and intelligence systems to underpin public health action across disciplines and organisations, and lead collation and interpretation of relevant data to develop the most appropriate analyses from a range of sources.
+ Have responsibility for the synergistic development of information systems in partnership with epidemiologists in TARZET and the Data and Analytics Service;
+ Undertake, and facilitate teams responsible for, the specialist and complex analyses of quantitative and/or qualitative datasets which will require selection of the best option from a range of possible solutions.
+ Analyse and evaluate quantitative and qualitative data and research evidence from a range of sources to make recommendations and inform decision making which may have long term impacts.
+ Receive, interpret, provide and advise on highly complex epidemiological, microbiological and statistical information about the health of populations of the UK and international populations
Outbreak Support and Epidemiological Investigations
+ Lead and manage multidisciplinary Incident Management teams and contribute to a range of national and international outbreak responses. This may include the technical and analytical aspects of epidemiological outbreak investigations including advising on study design, writing protocols for analytical studies, overseeing questionnaire design and study database development, training interviewers, preparing outbreak reports and supervising and supporting investigations into exceedances and assigning and managing team resources during outbreaks.
+ Lead the collection and statistical analysis of epidemiological data, coordinate the incorporation of qualitative information to inform risk assessments and production of reports and publications. Liaison with internal UKHSA stakeholders, including the Data, Analytics and Surveillance group, on appropriate data architecture and analytics development.
Expert advice and Evaluation
+ Provide expert public health advice and leadership in emerging infections to support and inform an evidence-based approach within ethical frameworks, across sectors including local authorities, voluntary organisations, etc, in potentially contentious and hostile environments where barriers to acceptance may exist.
+ Influence external agencies in their public health policy decisions by working with complex professional, managerial and population groups and other organisations in the statutory, non-statutory and private sectors.
+ Communicate effectively and diplomatically with a wide audience including the media and the public in sometimes highly challenging circumstances relating to emerging infections.
+ Act in an expert advisory capacity on public health knowledge, standards and practice, to national and international advisory committees and similar expert panels. Deputising for the senior colleagues as and when necessary both at external forums and within the UKHSA. Chair or be a member of these groups as required.
+ Write and/or contribute to national policy setting reports on the health of the population in relation to emerging infections
Leadership and Management
+ Be a member of the Emerging Infections and Zoonoses senior management team, with involvement in business planning and development of surveillance, research and training strategies. Support senior managers within TARZET to ensure day-to-day operational delivery of the service, its responsibilities and resources are fully equipped and fit for purpose. Deputize where appropriate, using leadership approaches and skills.
+ Be responsible for the development and implementation of multi-agency long-term public health programmes as required, based on identification of areas of potential health improvement, the diversity of national and local needs and the reduction of inequalities; providing emerging infections and expert international epidemiology and public health advice on and leadership to support and inform an evidence-based approach to compare, analyse and interpret highly complex options for running projects identified as key public health priorities, and communicate this information across organisations.
+ Compare, analyse and interpret highly complex options for running projects identified as key public health priorities, and communicate this information across organisations and the local community.
+ Oversee a team of staff including their day to day management.
This is not an exhaustive list please see the Job description document for full list of duties., You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the above listed (14) essential criteria, and this will be in the form of
+ a CV/ Application form ('Employer/ Activity history' section on the application)
+ a Statement of Suitability of no more than 1500 words.
This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria. Please do not exceed 1500 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.
The CV/ Application form and Statement of Suitability will be marked together.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview.
Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview
You will be invited to a (single) remote interview.
Knowledge, experience, skills & abilities will be tested at interview.
As part of interview, you will also be asked to prepare a presentation prior to the interview - further details of this will be confirmed to you nearer the time.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Eligibility Criteria
Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).
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.
Working for the Civil Service:
TheCivil Service Codesets 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'srecruitment principles.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.
It's important to note that there are currently exceptions to applications being considered if your conviction relates to any of the following:
+ life sentences
+ arson
+ sexual offences
+ hate and terror offences
Some departments will also consider the specific offence against the nature of the business, i.e., a conviction for fraud may rule you out for a finance role.
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
IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ
This is a Non-Reserved post under the Civil Service Nationality Rules. To be eligible for employment in the UK Civil Service applicants must meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules (CSNRs) which operate independently of and additionally to the Immigration Rules. Applicants must also meet necessary security and vetting requirements, along with any other relevant pre-employment checks.
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
For more information on job nationality requirements and the right to work in the UK, see the Civil Service Nationality rules (opens in a new window) and the UK Visas and Immigration rules (opens in a new window)
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.
The Civil Service pay structure and progression is different from NHS Agenda for Change (AfC), most local authority pay grades and other systems that have annual pay increments. For further details, please refer to the Information Sheet- Starting Salaries & Benefits attachment.
For AfC or Medical/Dental posts, you must have the correct professional registration to be appointed. The pay will follow the AfC or Medical & Dental terms & conditions. You may be asked to provide evidence of previous service whilst we are conducting pre-employment checks to determine your starting salary.
For Temporary Appointments, if you are not currently a civil servant, you will take up the post on a Fixed Term appointment. If you are an existing Civil Servant, based outside of the UKHSA, you will take up the post as a loan. If you are an existing UKHSA member of staff, you will take up the post as either a level transfer or a temporary promotion as per the UKHSA's Pay policy.
Given the nature of the work of the UKHSA, as a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, you may be required in an emergency, if deemed a necessity, to redeploy to another role at short notice. You may also be required to work at any other location, within reasonable travelling distance of your permanent home address, in line with the provisions set out in your contract of employment.
Late Applications will unfortunately not be considered.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. 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 (attached as a supporting document).
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: [email protected] 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 here.
Reserve List - If more than the required number of suitable candidates pass the interview criteria, you may be kept on a reserve list for 12 months subject to your agreement. You may be contacted, in merit-order, if similar roles with closely matching essential criteria become available and the department choose to appoint from a reserve list.
Interview expenses will not be reimbursed.
UKHSA is required to check employment and/or education history covering three consecutive years. Please ensure you give details of at least two different referees, even if you were employed in one company for three years or more.
If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.
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 https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
Benefits of working at UKHSA include

+ First degree in science subject or related field
+ Higher degree (MSc or equivalent) in related discipline
+ PhD in epidemiology/public health/health promotion or equivalent from experience
+ Training in research methods, infectious disease epidemiology, surveillance, prevention and/or public health
Knowledge and Experience
+ Proven experience of data management and analysis of large and complex datasets and reporting, with advanced knowledge of computers and database software packages
+ Significant experience of scientific report writing and scientific publication including presentation of papers at conference etc.
+ Extensive practical experience of facilitating change, managing staff and budgets
+ Working at a senior level in coordination of multi-centre projects, developing and managing projects, managing research programmes and/or sections
+ Extensive knowledge and experience of communicable disease epidemiology, surveillance and/ or prevention
Skills and capability
+ Understand information governance, including data protection and the need to maintain required levels of confidentiality
+ Liaise with a wide range of external collaborators including health service, academic and international professionals
+ Lead and facilitate effective team working; plan strategically and work to a consistently high standard and to deadlines
+ Communicate ideas and methods clearly and succinctly, both orally and in writing
Equality and Diversity
+ An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships, both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems., + Advanced knowledge and experience of epidemiological and statistical research methods (i.e. post-doctoral level)

Plus public holidays and one privilege day for the King's birthday
+ Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions.
+ Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving.
+ Access to a retail discounts and cashback site.
+ We also promote flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours). UKHSA views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they are able to enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including working from home, compressed hours and job sharing.
+ We also offer a generous maternity/ paternity and adoption leave package.
Hybrid Working
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 usually spend a minimum of 60% of your contracted hours (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's locations (approximately 3 days a week pro rata) and the rest of your time working from home.
Disability Confident Scheme
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria at sift to ensure these candidates are invited to interview. If you wish to be included in this scheme please tick the box on your application form.
Reasonable Adjustments
The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone.
To help you during the recruitment process, we will take into account any reasonable adjustments that could help you.
An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work.
This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme.
If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should:
Contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.
You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments