Job vacancy: Principle Scientist, UK Health Security Agency, Colindale

Job summary

Main area

Science

Grade

Civil Service: Grade 7

Contract

1 Permanent & 1 FTC till 01/09/2027

Hours

Full time
Flexible working

37.5 hours per week

Job ref

919-305584-EXT

Employer: UK Health Security Agency
Employer type: Public (Non NHS)
Site: Colindale
Town: Colindale
Salary: £60,494 - £70,566 per annum, pro rata
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 04/11/2025 23:59

Principle 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

Surveillance of vaccine preventable disease

To develop processes for streamlining the analysis of surveillance data and production of outputs and lead on the transfer of existing vaccine preventable disease surveillance systems into a SQL and R-based environment. To lead on ensuring continued provision of data from different central datasets used alongside laboratory testing data for surveillance of vaccine programmes.
To lead the development of surveillance systems and manage scientific staff responsible for data collection to improve and enhance the quality of data collected and disseminated.
To lead collaborative surveillance within UKHSA between the Immunisation Department and the appropriate UKHSA specialist and reference laboratories, providing epidemiological expertise to regular meetings with virology staff from the UKHSA Specialist Microbiology and Laboratories Directorate.
To provide specialist advice on the epidemiology and interpretation of available statistics on vaccine preventable / respiratory virus diseases in response to requests for information from the NHS, DHSC, WHO and other organisations.
To provide specialist scientific analysis and advice to DHSC and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) for the planning and development, implementation and monitoring of new UK immunisation programmes
To communicate areas of expertise to the media through preparation of briefing materials, interviews with the medical and lay press, as well as radio and television interviews, with the support of UKHSA Press Office.
To lead the interpretation of routine surveillance reports and act on surveillance signals by liaising with key stakeholders.
To supervise scientists in the preparation of regular surveillance reports
To prepare ad hoc reviews of various viral infections and other vaccine preventable diseases for policy development and publication in journals, including peer-reviewed journals and the medical/nursing press.
To produce and review scientific papers on the subject areas of surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases for national and international journals.

Operational support including incident and outbreak investigations

To provide specialist information during incidents and outbreaks to NHSE clinicians, consultants in health protection, microbiologists, virologists, consultant epidemiologist colleagues within the wider organisation, and to other UKHSA and NHSE staff involved in the investigation and management of incidents and outbreaks of vaccine preventable disease.
To participate in the investigation of incidents and outbreaks of respiratory viral infections and vaccine preventable diseases in England as requested by the lead consultant or deputy director of the Division.

Teaching and training

To contribute to teaching and training programmes for medical, scientific, nursing, pharmacy and other professional groups, in training and qualified, in UKHSA, the NHSE, and other organisations including:
Postgraduate courses in public health, communicable disease, epidemiology, child health/community paediatrics, medical microbiology
Immunisation updates/seminars for health professionals
National and international visitors involved/interested in vaccine preventable disease surveillance and research
Train and supervise scientific and clerical staff within the Division working in the same areas of surveillance and research

Management and divisional Responsibilities

Line manage scientists in the division
To deputise for the consultant epidemiologists / Lead Scientific staff when appropriate.
To represent the Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Division on other national or international Committees by invitation, as agreed with the Deputy Director
To represent the Division at internal surveillance meetings and other meetings
To contribute to the work of the Division or wider Directorate, as requested by the Deputy Direc

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 the directorate. All members of the Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Disease Division (of EO grade and above) will undertake task manager training in order to support the division with any public health response activities
The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the organization

Essential role criteria:

First degree in a relevant biological, physical or social science subject
Higher degree in epidemiology or an allied subject (MSc or PhD) or significant experience of working at a similar level in the immunisation or respiratory infections field
Extensive experience in infectious disease epidemiology and surveillance
Ability to analyse, summarise and interpret complex epidemiological and situational awareness data.
Effective communication of epidemiological assessments to colleagues and external agencies, including high level stakeholders.
High level abilities in statistical and graphics packages/environments, and use of databases and spreadsheets (e.g. R and SQL)
Experience in presenting scientific papers at national and international meetings and conferences.
Experience in team leadership and supervision
Experience in managing public health surveillance systems.
Ability to work independently, to tight deadlines and in response to unexpected demands
Ability to plan and conduct multidisciplinary scientific projects.
Writing clear and concise scientific papers and/or project reports
To be well organised, to work in a professional and calm manner, and produce methodical accurate work
Ability to maintain required levels of confidentiality
An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships.

Desirable Criteria

Extensive experience of collating, understanding and reporting situational analysis outputs
Managing collaborative, multidisciplinary projects.

Selection Process Details:

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 (15) essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:

Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
1500 word supporting statement.

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

The Application form and supporting statement will be marked together.

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

The following will be taken through to the next stage:

Meets all essential criteria

Shortlisting:

In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on the following:

• Ability to analyse, summarise and interpret complex epidemiological and situational awareness data.

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.

Please do not exceed 1500 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Please note you will not be able to upload your CV. You must complete the application form in as much detail as possible. Please do not email us your CV.

Stage 2: Interview (Competency based)

You will be invited to a (single) remote interview.

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

At interview stage you will be expected to give a 5 - 10 minute presentation based on the following essential criteria:

• Extensive experience in infectious disease epidemiology and surveillance
• Effective communication of epidemiological assessments to colleagues and external agencies, including high level stakeholders.
• Experience in managing public health surveillance systems.

The question/subject of the presentation will be sent to successful candidates at interview stage.

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

Eligibility Criteria - External 

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

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).

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 Counter-terrorist Check.

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.  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. 

Person specification

application form and supporting statement

Essential criteria

application form and supporting statement

Essential criteria

Questions on knowledge, experience and skills

Essential Criteria

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.