Senior Scientist (Epidemiologist)

The post is based in the Public Health Programmes Directorate, working in the Immunisation & Vaccine Preventable Diseases (IVPD) Division.

Vaccines have been identified as a key strategic priority for UKHSA. The IVPD Division is responsible for the national surveillance of most vaccine preventable infections and in providing technical support and clinical expertise to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and to the NHS in planning and delivering the national immunisation programmes. These programmes provide millions of vaccines per year, across the whole life course, and are delivered in a range of NHS settings. The directorate also provides secretariat to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation who recommend any changes to the national immunisation programme and publish “Immunisation Against Infectious Disease”.

The division evaluates the national programme by generating high quality data on disease incidence, vaccine coverage, age-specific immunity, vaccine efficacy and safety and analysis of vaccine policy options (with the statistics and modelling divisions). Surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases and vaccine coverage data are vital components of the evaluation of vaccination programmes in the UK. This data informs the understanding of the epidemiology of different infections and the public health impact of vaccination programmes and help develop and improve control strategies.

Working for your 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.

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Surveillance

• Develop, manage and maintain the surveillance databases.
• Manage existing national surveillance systems and co-ordinate the development of new surveillance systems for acute vaccine preventable diseases and to supervise and advise junior scientific and administrative staff in the maintenance and development of surveillance datasets.
• Conduct complex statistical analyses of data on vaccine preventable disease pathogens drawn from a variety of surveillance sources in response to ad hoc enquiries from Government agencies, international agencies, public health practitioners, academics and members of the public.
• Advise scientific and administrative staff conducting routine analyses of surveillance datasets for standardised outputs and ad hoc enquiries.
• Supervise junior scientific colleagues and the administrative team in the production of surveillance reports and publications.
• Assist in the design and development of new surveillance and data management systems in response to developments in the application of microbiological typing methods including contributing to the drafting of Standard Operating Procedures.
• Write scientific papers for publication in peer reviewed journals and detailed reports for UKHSA or Government departments.

Outbreak Investigation

• Manage the technical and analytical aspects of outbreak investigations, under the supervision of the Consultant lead, by:
• designing outbreak databases;
• liaising with relevant specialists to collect epidemiological data;
• coordinating and advising incident teams;
• interviewing clinicians and patients to collect clinical and risk factor data during incidents
• overseeing data entry and ensuring quality control of databases;
• collating and interpreting epidemiological and microbiological data drawn from a variety of sources;
• conducting complex statistical analyses of datasets;
• providing statistical analyses for government agencies;
• writing briefing notes and situation reports;
• presenting epidemiological data to Incident Management Teams;
• contributing to the production of outbreak reports and subsequent publications.

Research

• Contribute to the development of research proposals.
• Coordinate the collection and collation of data from collaborators.
• Conduct statistical analyses of epidemiological and microbiological data for grant funded research projects and UKHSA programmes.
• Provide complex statistical analyses of surveillance/research datasets to academic units and other agencies involved in collaborative research studies under the guidance of the project leader.
• Contribute to the process of writing scientific papers for publication in peer reviewed journals and project reports to funding bodies.

Publications and presentations

• Supervise staff in the production of departmental web outputs and editorial material.
• Present epidemiological findings at national and international meetings and conferences.

Teaching and Training

• Develop and present lectures and teaching materials on the epidemiology and surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases for UKHSA, university postgraduate and professional development training programmes.
• Contribute to the training for new members of staff on the epidemiology and surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases.

Professional Development

• Identify, discuss and action own professional performance and training / development needs with your line manager through appraisal / individual development plan.
• Attend internal and external training events.
• Participate in all mandatory training as required, i.e. fire safety, information governance and all other mandatory training.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will:

• Contribute to enhanced surveillance systems and research studies of respiratory diseases
• Lead and support on data collection and validation, and production of routine surveillance intelligence in these areas.
• Analyse and interpret surveillance data and develop automated routines and solutions as well as overseeing and responding to more complex or sensitive data requests. This will be through their application of, and expertise in, analytical, statistical, database, mapping and web tools, underpinned by knowledge of information and data science approaches.

This post will also carry out the epidemiological investigation of incidents and outbreaks of infectious diseases, supporting others across the directorate, local Health Protection Teams and in collaboration with other partners. This will include the design, implementation, analysis and interpretation of analytical studies in a variety of settings and supporting team members in carrying out these tasks.

The post holder will contribute to public health scientific analyses and writing reports on specific projects, regular and ad hoc publications and peer reviewed publications.

Please note, the above is not exhaustive.

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 will be assessed using a competency-based framework which will assess your qualifications, knowledge and experience and / or skills and abilities outlined in the essential criteria.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

Competency Based

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 7 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:

• Application form (Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• 1000 word supporting statement.

This should outline how you consider your skills, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.

You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V –please be advised you will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible). Please do not email us your CV.

Healthjobs UK has a word limit of 1500, but your supporting statement must be no more than 1000 words. We will not consider any words over 1000 words.

Longlisting:

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

• Meets all essential criteria
• Meets some essential criteria
• Meets no essential criteria

If used, the pile(s) ‘Meets all essential criteria’ will proceed to shortlisting.

Shortlisting:

In the event of a large number of applications we will conduct an initial sift, on the lead criteria of:

• Interpreting and evaluating epidemiological data, using SQL databases, spreadsheets, statistical packages (R) to an advanced level.
• Postgraduate work/study in public health, epidemiology or an allied subject.

Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a large number of applications/large amount of successful candidates.

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

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

Competency Based

You will be invited to a face to face interview at our site in Colindale.

If face to face interviews are planned, in exceptional circumstances, we may be able to offer a remote interview.

Knowledge, experience, skills & abilities will be tested at interview .

You will be expected to prepare and present a 5-10 minute presentation. This will be on a topic related to managing epidemiological studies and analysing epidemiological data. More details will be shared if you are asked to interview.

You will also be asked a series of questions relating to assessing R and SQL knowledge.

Interview dates to be confirmed.

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

Additional Information

Location

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at our Scientific Campus in Colindale.

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 our campus.

Based at our scientific campus, you will be required to have a minimum of a Counter Terrorism Check security vetting check as a minimum. For meaningful National Security Vetting checks to be carried out individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years as the role requires Counter Terrorism Check (CTC) clearance. In exceptional circumstances UK residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder/Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.

Security Clearance Level Requirement

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

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Counter-Terrorist Check.

Eligibility Criteria

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

Salary Information

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.

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.

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.