Job vacancy: Senior Epidemiology Scientist, UK Health Security Agency, Birmingham

Job summary

Main area

Science

Grade

Civil Service: Grade 7

Contract

Fixed term: 12 months (FTC till 31st March 2027 (with the possibility of an extension))

Hours

Full time
Part time
Job share
Flexible working

37.5 hours per week

Job ref

919-GB-62508252-EXT

Employer: UK Health Security Agency
Employer type: Public (Non NHS)
Site: Birmingham
Town: Birmingham
Salary: £56,185 - £66,581 Per annum, Pro Rata
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 07/04/2026 23:59

Senior Epidemiology Scientist

Civil Service: Grade 7

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.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main duties continued:

Strategic Thinking and Partnership Working

Build and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders and partners across the National Infection Service, wider PHE and NHS colleagues at regional/local level as appropriate to role
Identify and/or provide subject matter expertise and utilise effectively the various forms of engagement available to develop comprehensive stakeholder relationships
Manage delivery of agreed work programme including timely reporting to stakeholders and work in partnership to ensure needs of stakeholders are met. Forge close working relationships across team/department/directorate boundaries to facilitate an effective matrix style approach to delivery of workstreams identifying areas of interdependency and forging links as appropriate

Audit, Quality and Governance

Evaluate existing surveillance systems (acting on results) and the acute response to incidents and outbreak, ensuring that it is used to improve standards and consistency across the team, evaluate teaching sessions and undertake and supervise audits as part of the team audit programme

Research and project management

Identify research questions, project manage a research study, analyse datasets with appropriate methodology to answer research questions, and translate results into public health action
Perform systematic reviews of literature, co-author grant proposals/applications (including applying for ethical approval), present at scientific conferences, programme area meetings and other fora, and publish and present scientific papers on public health surveillance, outbreaks and infectious disease control in collaboration with health, public health, academic and other partners

Management and Leadership

To be a visible, positive and competent role model and motivator, monitoring team professional standards. Adopt a senior leadership role for scientists within Field Epidemiology and represent Field Service at PHE and external scientific fora
Be member of Field Service national and team senior management teams, with involvement in business planning and development of surveillance, research and training strategies. Support senior managers to ensure day-to-day operational delivery of the epidemiology service, its responsibilities and resources are fully equipped and fit for purpose. Deputise where appropriate, using leadership approaches and skills
Provide consultant level representation for Field Service for a named Region and for a Field Service defined programme area
Effective line management of staff

Essential criteria

Educated to degree level in a biological, microbiological or health science related subject or equivalent experience
MSc in Epidemiology, or allied discipline or equivalent experience/education
Completion of the Field Epidemiology Training Programme or equivalent training and experience
Knowledge of principles and practice of surveillance and syndromic surveillance, including data management, data transmission, data security, data quality, data analysis including descriptive statistics and graphics and data reporting
Experience of interpreting and evaluating complex epidemiological data, sensitive health data analyses and performing analytical epidemiology and concepts in outbreak situations
Demonstrable experience of public health, health protection or epidemiology including epidemiology for outbreak investigations
Knowledge and experience of common statistical tests, modelling and analyses and interpret results appropriately, including for research purposes.
Experience of teaching epidemiology and/or surveillance and able to facilitate a learning culture
Experience of effective line management
Able to build and maintain effective relationships with co-workers and key stakeholders, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
Understanding of information governance including data protection and confidentiality requirements
Excellent oral and written communication skills with proven presentation and scientific report writing skills
Proficient and/or expert in common statistical/ database/mapping tools such as Stata, R, GIS, network analysis, SQL, etc.
Proven capability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly
People supervisory and leadership skills that empower, support, and develop teams to encourage high performance and enable team members to reach their full potential.
Ability to make decisions autonomously, engender trust and confidence and demonstrate integrity in the provision of advice and support whilst working to tight and often changing timescales
An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships

Desirable criteria

Experience of research activities with a suitable publication record (3+ papers including 1+ first author) and grant writing experience
Experience of using advanced epidemiological and statistical software packages

Selection Process Details (Competency based)

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

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed (17) 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 may longlist into 3 piles of:

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

If used, the following will proceed to shortlisting:

Meets all essential criteria

Shortlisting:

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

Educated to degree level in a biological, microbiological or health science related subject or equivalent experience
MSc in Epidemiology, or allied discipline or equivalent experience/education
Knowledge of principles and practice of surveillance and syndromic surveillance, including data management, data transmission, data security, data quality, data analysis including descriptive statistics and graphics and data reporting

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 & assessment.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

You will be invited to a single face to face interview. (In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to offer a remote interview).

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

There will be a Presentation the full details will be provided at interview stage. The presentation will be assessing the following:

Knowledge of principles and practice of surveillance and syndromic surveillance, including data management, data transmission, data security, data quality, data analysis including descriptive statistics and graphics and data reporting
Excellent oral and written communication skills with proven presentation and scientific report writing skills
Proven capability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly

Interviews 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.

Location

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at our core HQ in Birmingham.

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 office. 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).

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 Basic Personnel Security Standard.

Eligibility Criteria – External

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

Person specification

Application form and supporting statement

Essential criteria

Application form and supporting statement

Interview

Essential criteria

Questions on knowledge, experience, skills & abilities

Presentation

Essential criteria

Presentation

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Link below:

Artificial intelligence and recruitment | Civil Service Careers

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.  You may be able to take this role up as a Secondment. If you are an existing Civil Servant, based outside of the 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 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.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets 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's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

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.

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.

The panel will assess if candidates meet the requirement of the role first, using a specific benchmark system. 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.

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:

Generous annual leave:
-26 days for the first 5 years of continuous service
-28 days after 5 years of continuous service
-32 days after 10 years of continuous service
-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/

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 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.

Security Vetting

Please check the Security Clearance needed for the role and follow the link for more information:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels

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.