Principal Public Health Scientist

Job summary The UKHSA Guidance team is part of the Clinical and Public Health Response (CPHR) consists of three teams led by the Deputy Director of Clinical and Public Health Response: CPHR Advice team (includes Senior Medical Advisors and Consultants in Public Health) CPHR Guidance team CPHR Evidence review team Collectively CPHR provides evidence reviews, quality assured guidance, and clinical and public health advice on all hazards and threats across the agency and to the NHS, Other Government Departments (OGDs) as well as internationally.
We provide clinical and public health leadership 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to mitigate health security threats and support incident response.
Working in a team of public health scientists and operations staff the postholder will support UKHSA through the provision of high quality public health CPHR Guidance team leads on developing standards and quality assurance processes for all hazards guidance production and publication across the organisation and provides expert guidance support to public health incidents via the National Response Centre (NRC) as requested.
Main duties of the job The postholder will: Support the development of all hazards health protection guidance for a range of audiences including the public, the health and adult social care system and high-risk settingsProvide scientific support to develop and summarise the evidence base (working with the CPHR Evidence team) and translate it into guidance contentWork closely with knowledge and evidence specialists to update guidance in line with emerging evidence and policyAudit guidance against the UKHSA Quality Standards for Guidance DevelopmentWork across the organisation to improve the quality and consistency of guidance for both business as usual and incident responseThe postholder will report to the Head of Guidance and will be expected to work closely with the Evidence and Advice teams across CPHR.
About us 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 Job description Job responsibilities Specific duties of the role will vary depending on the type of guidance being produced ( business as usual/incident response) but include: Respond to commissions to develop new guidance for the public and specific settings including the health and social care system Respond to public health incidents by contributing to the stand-up and operation of advice and guidance cells.
This will involve working directly with subject matter experts and other incident response cells to produce and update guidance for the public and high-risk settings in dynamic and fast paced situations Lead on updating published guidance in line with new evidence, regulatory changes and/or new policies Proactively engage with stakeholders to develop relationships and agreed ways of working to support the effective provision of high quality guidance across UKHSA Contribute to the evaluation, quality assurance and governance of assets produced by the Guidance team Secure input from a range of partners including behavioural science, communications, rapid evidence, expert stakeholders and legal/policy Ensure health inequalities, Public Sector Equality Duty and accessibility considerations are given to all guidance products Participate in working groups or committees as required Contribute to the development of systems and process to ensure good governance and a learning culture Deputise for the Head of Guidance as necessary Other The above is only an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role.
You will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by your line manager.
The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the organisation.
Incident response work may involve a change in working patterns including weekend working and overtime.
For a full list of essential and desirable criteria, please refer to the attached job description.
Selection Process Details Stage 1: Application & Sift Competency-based assessment You will be required to complete an application form.
You will be assessed on the essential criteria, and this will be in the form of: an Application Form (Employer/ Activity history section on the application) a 1,500 word Statement of Suitability.
This should outline how your skills, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.
The CV and Statement of Suitability will be marked separately, and you must pass both to move forward to interview.
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 In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on the lead criteria of: Experience of guidance development.
Please note that candidates in the Disability Confident Scheme will be shortlisted if you meet the minimum essential criteria.
Late applications will not be considered.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview & assessment Please do not exceed 1,500 words.
We will not consider any words over and above this number.Feedback will not be provided at this stage.
Stage 2: Interview You will be invited to a remote interview where you will be tested on your knowledge, experience, skills & abilities.
There will be a 10 minute presentation on the day of your interview; further detail will follow in due course.
Date of interviews 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.
Eligibility CriteriaExternalOpen to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).
Location This role is being offered as hybrid working.
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 link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
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.
Person Specification Qualifications Essential Masters in Public Health or equivalent experience Knowledge and Experience Essential Experience of working with other government agencies Experience of working on own initiative and as part of a team Experience of guidance development Skills/Capabilities/Behaviours Essential Clear communicator with excellent oral and written communication skills Resilient and able to cope with multiple competing demands and tight deadlines Commitment to reducing health inequalities Strong planning and organisational skills and ability to work at pace Good public health and scientific knowledge and ability to understand complex technical issues Ability to assimilate and distil information to support consensus development Equality and Diversity Essential An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships.