Biomedical/Clinical or Senior Healthcare Scientist

Job summary

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.

The UKHSA Immunisation and Diagnosis Unit (IDU) is a WHO Global Specialised Laboratory for Measles & Rubella, providing additional reference & surveillance services for Mumps, Parvovirus B19, Polyomavirus JC, Varicella Zoster Virus, Human Herpes Virus 6&7 and Intrathecal antibody investigations.

Based at Colindale this post provides technical & scientific expertise for development &implementation of a new whole genome sequencing (WGS) service inthe IDU. The post holder will support WGS implementation for the delivery of IDU’s reference & surveillance activities. They will lead on development &implementation of sequencing workflows for IDU pathogens using Illumina and ONT platforms as well as other relevant projects.

We seek a dynamic, applied research genomics scientist with R&D & implementation expertise, proactive & keen to translate genomic R&D to new services. The role will develop & evaluate new genomic methods, optimise current workflows, support service development & horizon scanning. Excellent pathogen genomics knowledge & hands on experience in the diversity of pathogen genome sequencing approaches & ideally some bioinformatics experience.

Great communication skills are needed to train & engage with users & share knowledge. The post holder will support the validation of new genomic services & collaborate with scientists across these areas. A strong understanding of the relevant technologies & their application to pathogen genomics is important.

Job description

• Bridge research, development, & innovation with practicable implemented solutions for end use pathogen genomic applications for vaccine preventable virus surveillance.
• Aiming to make workflows, cheaper, faster, more accurate & accessible.
• Support development & optimisation of scalable automated laboratory workflows. Provide high quality analyses to meet clinical & scientific requirements which comply with best practice. Are safe, economical & effective.
• Provide scientific advice, support & oversight of projects. Collaborate with IDU & genomic users to facilitate knowledge exchange & foster strong communications.
• Ensure & where appropriate undertake data analyses for QC/QA verification, validation, present complex information & support analyses for KPI business management purposes.
• Use of developed pipelines & tools for sequence QC, assembly or mapping, variant calling & phylogenetic analysis to interpret measles sequencing result.
• Participate in national UKHSA activities as required, policy development, health & safety, training, procurement & audit.
• Maintain & further develop the national & international reputation of the UKHSA IDU service through development of strategic, academic, public sector & commercial relationships. Including supporting funding applications, participation, design, implementation, and management of R&D projects.
• Provide support in any UKHSA co-ordinated response of a National/International Nature, Bio terrorism incident or major disease outbreak.

We are seeking an HCPC registered Senior Biomedical/Clinical Scientist (AfC Band 7) or a Senior Healthcare Scientist (SEO). Candidates holding HCPC registration will be appointed on NHS Terms & Conditions at NHS AfC Band 7. Candidates without HCPC registration will be appointed on Civil Service Terms and Conditions at SEO grade.

Safety

• To ensure health, safety and welfare are afforded priority.
• To be responsible for all aspects of health and safety and attend UKHSA Committees and Working Groups
• To extend the role outside of the Laboratory, by participation in local, regional and national committees or working groups as appropriate.

Quality / Clinical Governance

• Ensure the maintenance of a high standard of work in accordance with departmental quality policy.
• Ensure compliance with UKAS and other accreditation and certification standards.
• Contribute to developing and implementing quality programmes.
• To work closely with the clinical governance lead to ensure compliance with UKHSA and national guidelines including advisory and review group.

UKHSA Committees and Working Groups

• To extend the role outside of the Laboratory, by participation in local, regional and national committees or working groups as appropriate.

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.
• The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the organization.
• It should be noted that the work of the division is of a confidential nature and must not be communicated to other persons except where required for authorised purposes.

Professional Development

• You should pursue a programme of continuous professional development in accordance with any relevant statutory requirements, while maintaining appropriate awareness of service provider requirements.
• Identify, discuss and action own professional performance and training / development needs with your line manager through appraisal / individual development plan. Attending internal / external training events.
• To participate in all mandatory training as required, i.e., fire safety, information governance and all other mandatory training.

Person specification

Essential criteria:

• Post-graduate degree in an appropriate medical/microbiology/biological science discipline (or equivalent experience in this field).
• Relevant professional qualification i.e. registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Biomedical or Clinical Scientist (for AfC Ts and Cs)
• Significant practical and theoretical experience of molecular biology and pathogen genomics.
• Experience of working in multidisciplinary teams e.g. across wet lab, bioinformatics, quality etc.
• Experience of proactively networking internal and external to the organisation, across all sectors, academia, government and industry.
• Experience providing technical advice, scientific problem solving, R&D and applied sciences.
• Experience of interviewing and recruiting staff.
• Strong data analysis skills and experience. As well as the presentation/communicating complex data to a wide range of stakeholders both technical and non-technical.
• Understands the application of genomics for public health across virology and bacteriology.
• Experience of critically assessing current ways of working and introducing efficient and cost-effective practices.
• Communication skills - able to convey instructions, ideas and opinions clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Training and teaching skills - aptitude for developing staff skills and capabilities.
• Ability to analyse and evaluate evidence, e.g. in planning, problem-solving, decision making, negotiation and influencing skills.
• Able to effectively communicate complex concepts and information to staff and wider stakeholders.
• Good organisation skills with particular attention to detail.
• Able to deal with problems in a calm and efficient manner.
• Able to design and introduce improvements and manage change.
• Adept at problem solving though analysis of complex facts and situations to deliver solutions for strategic planning as well as practical problems in laboratory workflows and workloads.
• Financial management skills for short-, medium- and long-term planning and assessment
• Able to deputise as needed for the scientific lead, working with others and leading on task deliverables.

Desirable role criteria:

• Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD).
• Applied experience in bioinformatics methods for pathogen genomics, including hands-on use of pipelines and tools for sequence quality control, assembly or mapping, variant calling, phylogenetic analysis, and interpretation of results in real-world public health or clinical contexts.
• Experience of Quality Systems, laboratory accreditation and compliance for clinical diagnostic laboratories.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £46,310, UK Health Security Agency contributes £13,416 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

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

Competency Based

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 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 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.

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 pile ‘Meets all essential criteria’ will proceed to shortlisting.

Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we may conduct an initial sift, on the lead criteria of (one or more essential criteria)

• Post-graduate degree in an appropriate medical/microbiology/biological science discipline (or equivalent experience)
• Significant practical and theoretical experience of molecular biology and pathogen genomics.
• Experience providing technical advice, scientific problem solving, R&D and applied sciences.

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

Competency Based

You will be invited to a single face to face interview.

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

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 based at Colindale, London. Please note hybrid working is not available for this role.

Security Clearance Level Requirement

Successful candidates must pass standard 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.

This role is being offered as office/lab based at our Scientific Campus in Colindale, London. Based at our scientific campus, you will be required to have 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.

Eligibility Criteria

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

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: Reasonable Adjustments , Civil Service Careers

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.

Careers website

Please visit our careers site for more information UKHSA Hub , Civil Service Careers

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.

Salary Bands:

SEO: £46,310 - £52,113 per annum, pro rata

AfC Band 7: £49,387 - £56,515 (plus Outer HCAS) per annum, pro rata

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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)

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 equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

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

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Nigel Poole
• Email : Nigel.Poole@ukhsa.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ukhsa.gov.uk

Further information

he 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 the UKHSA Complaints team via email at: Complaints@ukhsa.gov.uk