Plant Health Research Support Officer

Do you want to help shape and deliver research that protects the UK’s plants, trees and horticulture from emerging threats?

Can you bring people, science and evidence together to support effective plant health decisions?

If so, we would love to hear from you!

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is a brilliant place to work where our people feel valued, have a voice and can be their authentic selves. We value difference and diversity, because it helps us be more innovative and make better decisions.

We are dedicated to being an inclusive employer, offering equitable opportunities for all individuals. Our goal is to build a diverse workforce, and we hope to attract applications from all backgrounds and underrepresented groups.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Plant Health Research Support officer to join our National Centre for Environmental Horticulture and Plant Health (NCEH). We have one mission, which is to safeguard animal and plant health for the benefit of everyone in society, the environment, and the economy. Every one of our employees is passionate about achieving this mission. Responding to the Government’s mission for kickstarting economic growth, this role has been created to capitalise on the UK’s excellence in plant science and translate this into commercial success for the environmental horticulture sector. This sector is facing a number of interrelated challenges including increasing pest and disease risks, reductions in pesticide use and the use of alternative growing media.

Your core activity will be to support the newly established National Centre for Environmental Horticulture and Plant Health and work alongside the NCEH Head of Centre. The NCEH research programme brings together long-term strategic research on emerging and future threats with more applied research on immediate risks. This research is developed with partners across the United Kingdom, the European Union and further afield.

The role involves a wide range of work including, but not limited to, the following:

• Support the NCEH Head of Centre in administering and delivering the NCEH, a virtual research centre led by the Royal Horticultural Society and APHA
• Develop and manage elements of the NCEH research portfolios, including commissioning, overseeing and assuring a small portfolio of high-quality research projects and related activities to deliver value for money and support plant health policy, decision making and knowledge exchange
• Ensure research projects and outputs are delivered and disseminated efficiently and on time, using scientific knowledge and wider programme management skills
• Manage the NCEH pipeline of project reports, journal articles and other outputs from submission to Defra through approval by Defra’s publication panel and publication, liaising with research partners, managing risk and preparing defensive lines for communications support
• Work with the Defra Plant Health Evidence and Analysis (PHEA) team, policy makers and specialists across evidence professions, including natural scientists, economists, statisticians and social researchers, to commission and assure the evidence underpinning plant health policy and risk-based decision making
• Collaborate with experts across the Defra network, including APHA, the Forestry Commission, Forest Research and RBG Kew, and with the wider UK academic sector
• Contribute to high-profile work on priority plant health threats, including Xylella, ash dieback, oak processionary moth and acute oak decline, supporting the GB Plant Biosecurity Strategy and the Tree Health Resilience Strategy
• Support other Defra group plant health programmes, including those within APHA, as required, such as the PHEA Future Proofing Plant Health programme, and contribute to essential APHA work when needed

Science degree 2:2 minimum, or equivalent scientific knowledge and/or experience relating to the management of plants in forestry, agriculture, horticulture, social science or the natural environment.

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 (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Stage 1

Application Process

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

• A CV submitted through an on-line tool accessed through the Civil Service Jobsite; there is no requirement to upload your personal CV.
• A 750-word Personal Statement.
• A Behaviour statement of 250-words for the lead Behaviour, Communicating and Influencing, following the Behaviour criteria outlined in the Success Profiles: Civil Service behaviours - GOV.UK framework for the grade of the role.

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

CV Guidance

Your CV should consist of your career history, including any key achievements and your main responsibilities in each role and be no longer than 2 pages. Your CV will be used to provide further context on your Personal Statement and scored against the essential criteria of the Person specification section.

Personal Statement Guidance

When completing your Personal Statement, please read and understand the Person Specification thoroughly, as this is what your written evidence will be assessed against. Please ensure you evidence the key personal qualities and experiences that align with the criteria. Consider the Person Specification and look to demonstrate how your previous experience may align with the expectations and be applicable to the role. The written evidence you provide must relate to your own experiences. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc.

We encourage you to use the full word allowance of the Personal Statement but not to exceed.

You may choose to address each criteria separately, however, one narrative example may cover and evidence several criteria.

Should a high volume 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 and/or progressed straight to interview.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

For further guidance and information on how to construct your application (CV, Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit the Civil Service Careers website. How to write your CV , Civil Service Careers

Stage 2

Preparing for the interview

During the interview you will be assessed based on:

• Your previous experiences relevant to the role requirements outlined in the advert following the Success Profiles: Experience - GOV.UK framework.
• The Behaviours specified in the Job Advert, following the Behaviour criteria outlined in the Success Profiles: Civil Service Behaviours - GOV.UK framework for HEO positions.

Additionally, a presentation will be used to assess the Behaviour Managing a Quality Service.

If you are selected for interview, you will receive an electronic notification to your Civil Service Jobs account.

Upon receiving the interview invitation, please log into the system to schedule your interview slot in advance.

Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.

The interview

The interview will last approximately 45 minutes.

After the interview

Once all the interviews have been conducted, candidates will be notified of the outcome by email. If you are successful at the interview stage, we will be in touch to offer you a role. Offers will be made in merit order.

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

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake, please contact us via: DefraRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk using the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example – ‘Please re-open my application – [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]’

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Near Miss

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Defra which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match.

Merit Lists

Candidates will be posted in merit order.

Loan and Fixed Term Appointments

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

This is a Fixed-term Appointment as a Plant Health Research Support officer at the National Centre for Environmental Horticulture and Plant Health because the post is not permanent. It is time limited due to a fixed funding period or as part of a specific project. The fixed-term will end when the funding or the project expires.

Your responsibilities will include those shown on the Responsibilities section of the advert. This post will therefore begin from the agreed start date and end in 18 months.

Salary

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

Location

The post holder must work from one of the locations listed in the Location section of the advert.

For most candidates your hours of work will be a blend of working from an APHA workplace (specific to the team location) with working at home.

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, 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.

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 organisation allocations 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. 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.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

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 maybe 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.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to DEFRA 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

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.

Feedback

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