Business Change Officer

At the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), we are recruiting 6 (1 x Permanent, 5 x Fixed Term Contract) Business Change Officers to support our vital mission of protecting the nation from health threats. They will contribute to shaping, delivering and embedding change across a diverse range of projects, programmes and portfolios.

Successful candidates may be assigned to initiatives such as:

• UKHSA major change programmes
• Health protection and public health initiatives
• Technology and digital transformation programmes
• Infrastructure development projects
• Organisational change and transformation activity

We are looking for candidates with experience of supporting the delivery of change, particularly those who have contributed to transformational activity, government reform, or large-scale infrastructure projects.

As Business Change Officer, you will support the implementation of change across a designated portfolio, collaborating closely with project and programme teams to prepare the business for change and ensure successful adoption. You may also lead low complexity change activity.

You will provide a bridge between project teams and end users, ensuring that change activity is well planned, effectively supported and safely implemented to realise agreed benefits.

This role is a government project delivery profession role and part of UKHSA’s project delivery resource model. It is aligned to the Project Delivery Capability Framework career pathway Business Change Manager HEO.

Main Responsibilities:

• Act as lead on business change activities, working with the project to support the delivery of the business case benefits and outcomes.
• Assess the impact of change on stakeholders to support successful delivery of the change.
• Support the preparation of the change management elements of the Business Case.
• Provide input to the creation and maintenance of Business Change products, such as change plans, impact assessments and readiness documents.
• Support the Project Manager with preparing and updating the change plan.
• Contribute to the assessment of business readiness before implementation.
• Support the Project Manager and/or Benefits Manager with identifying and tracking benefits.
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of the communications plan.
• Identify stakeholders and include them in the stakeholder engagement plan, building strong working relationships.
• Act as a point of contact for queries relating to the business change activity.
• Use digital tools and data to support tracking of change impacts, adoption and progress.
• Promote the use of recognised business change approaches and assist colleagues in applying best practice.
• Be an active member of the UKHSA Project Delivery Profession Community.

You will be supported to work towards achieving Government Project Delivery Accreditation should you not already hold this.

The above is only an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of these roles. You will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required. The job descriptions and person specifications may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the organisation.

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles Success Profiles - GOV.UK and will assess your Experience, Behaviours and Technical Skills.

Application & Sift

At sift stage you will be assessed against the 7 Essential Criteria listed in this job advert. You will be required to complete:

• An Application form (‘Employer/Activity history’ section on the application)
• A 750 word Supporting Statement - do not exceed 750 words as we will not consider any words over and above this amount

This should outline how your skills, abilities, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the 7 Essential Criteria listed in this job advert.

You will receive a joint score for your Application Form and Supporting Statement. The application form is the kind of information you would put into your CV – please be advised you will not be able to upload or email us your CV. Please complete the Application Form in as much detail as possible.

Longlisting

In the event of a large number of applications, we may longlist into 3 piles of:

• Meets all Essential Criteria
• Meets some Essential Criteria
• Meets no Essential Criteria

Only those that 'Meets all Essential Criteria' will progress to Shortlisting.

Shortlisting

In the event of a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift on the following 2 Essential Criteria:

• Recent experience supporting business change activities or change implementation within a project, programme or operational change environment.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to build effective working relationships with a range of stakeholders.

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to the Stage 2: Pre-Interview Assessment. Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Pre-Interview Assessment

Candidates will be invited to a 20-minute pre-interview assessment which will be undertaken remotely, via MS Teams.

The pre-interview assessment will assess your Technical Skills through instinctual critical thinking and situational judgement, drawing from your Business Change technical experience.

A scenario will be presented on the screen, read aloud and shared using the chat function. You will be expected to consider the situation (5 minutes) and share your thinking (10 minutes).

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to Stage 3: Interview.

Stage 3: Interview

You will be invited to a remote interview. Interview date(s) to be confirmed.

Behaviours and Technical Skills will be assessed at interview. The Behaviours being assessed during the interview will be as follows:

• Communication and Influencing - Lead Behaviour
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Technical Skills will be assessed from questions during the interview.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Incident Response Activity

From time to time, the role holder may be required to support UKHSA’s incident response activity by contributing their appropriate expertise within an Incident Cell; during such periods, supported by the line manager, this work will take priority over normal day-to-day responsibilities, commensurate with their grade, skills and experience.

Qualifications and Registrations

For roles where specific qualifications or registrations are required, successful applicants will be asked to provide appropriate evidence. Employment cannot commence until satisfactory documentation has been received and verified.

Eligibility Criteria

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service as well as internal applicants.

Location Details

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQs in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool and London Canary Wharf.

We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using 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 one of UKHSA's core HQs (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London).

Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport links and benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

For Fixed Term Posts

If you are not currently a civil servant, you will take up the post on a Fixed Term Appointment. You may be able to take this role up as a Secondment. If you are an existing Civil Servant based outside of UKHSA, you will take up the post as a loan, which you will need your department to agree. You cannot take the post up as a fixed term. 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 UKHSA’s pay policy.

Salary Information

Higher Executive Officer (HEO): Salary is subject to base location and is per annum, pro-rata.

• National HEO: £33,422 - £40,731
• Outer HEO: £35,587 - £43,244
• Inner HEO: £37,749- £45,353

If you are successful at interview, and are moving from another government department, NHS, or Local Authority, the relevant starting salary principles for level transfers or promotions will apply. Otherwise, roles are offered at the pay scale minimum for the grade, but in exceptional circumstances there may be flexibility if you are able to demonstrate you are already in receipt of an existing, higher salary. Pay increases are through the relevant annual pay award for the role and terms.

Security Clearance Level Requirement

Successful candidates must pass a basic disclosure and barring security check before they can be appointed.

Future location

UKHSA is investing in a new state-of-the-art National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow, Essex, which will eventually bring together teams currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale and Porton Down. For more details, please see: Huge biosecurity centre investment to boost pandemic protection - GOV.UK.

The new facilities will start becoming operational in the mid-2030s, with full completion by 2038. Staff will move in phases as facilities become available. If you're appointed to a role currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale or Porton Down, please note that we'll continue investing in these sites for the next decade. As we get closer to the transition, we'll provide full information about relocation support available to staff.

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 consider 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/

International Police Check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and it could be time accrued over that period.

Internal Fraud Check

If successful for this role as one aspect of pre-employment screening, applicant’s personal details – name, national insurance number and date of birth - will be checked against the Cabinet Office Internal Fraud Hub, and anyone included on the database will be refused employment unless they can show exceptional circumstances. Currently this is only for external candidates to the Civil Service.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.