Business Support Officer

Job summary

At the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), we have EO Business Support roles available. These roles play a vital part in our mission to protect the nation from health threats.

Successful candidates will join one of our diverse projects, programmes, or portfolio offices, with opportunities to contribute to initiatives such as:

• Supporting the delivery of major change programmes within UKHSA’s portfolio, aligned with the organisation’s strategic objectives
• Health protection projects or other public health initiatives
• Technology programmes or projects
• Infrastructure programmes or projects
• Organisational change and transformation programmes or projects
• Supporting the setup and delivery of new projects and programmes

Job description

The Business Support Officer will undertake a range of duties to support the CMA Programmes & Transformation Division as well as the Directorate as a whole by providing:

• Administrative Support
• Project Support
• Financial and Resource Management support
• Communication and Key Working Relationships with our stakeholder

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Administrative Support

• Provide comprehensive administrative support to one of the teams (PMO, Project Delivery or Business Change Management) within the CMA Programmes & Transformation Division.
• Act as a central coordinating point of contact for a range of business administration activities, leading on the delivery of key tasks.
• Communicate and engage effectively with a range of people, including internal and external staff and stakeholders. This will include dealing with stakeholder enquiries promptly and courteously by email, telephone, Microsoft Teams or in person as directed by your task manager.
• Responsible for the organisation of meetings and events, booking rooms and ensuring that attendees have the correct invitations and papers ahead of schedule.
• Support your team in producing accurate minutes and actions following meetings
• Support the development of systems and procedures where necessary to ensure efficiency, quality and cost effectiveness across the business support and administration function.
• Participate in relevant internal working groups/projects, services and initiatives across the organisation representing the Team, Division, Directorate or Group
• Contribute to effective information management (including maintaining administrative and information resources, i.e. filing systems) and assist with the dissemination and/or collation of information/returns, in a timely manner.
• Responsible for organising and controlling own workload ensuring deadlines are observed and duties performed efficiently.
• Use the functions of MS Office including Excel spreadsheets, databases, Word, and PowerPoint.Provide cover as directed by line manager for other members of the team in their absence and assist with their workloads as necessary

Project Support

• Undertake project support responding to information requests and other tasks which will involve meeting tight deadlines and may include using digital tools, for example JIRA. This will include assisting and working closely with members of your Team and supporting PMO, Project or Business Change activities as directed by the relevant lead or task manager;
  Financial and Resource Management

Financial and Resource Management

• Provide support and information to aid effective management of budgets, including, time sheet checks, overseeing the placement and/or orders for goods and/or stationery using the MAPs system, receipt goods and maintain log of expenditure.
• Support the end of year / monthly close-down of accounts.

Leadership

• Be a visible, positive and competent role model and motivator, and provide training, advice and support in own area of responsibility.

Communication and Key Working Relationships

• The post holder will develop effective working relationships and communicate regularly either by phone, email, Microsoft Teams or face to face with a wide range of stakeholders including clinical and non-clinical staff, scientists, support staff, managers and corporate team staff for example, Finance, HR or Payroll. The post holder may make or receive Teams calls, receive emails and decide relevant action, responding directly where appropriate and this may include external stakeholders for example, members of the public or other public health organisations such as NHS and the Dept. of Health and Social care.

Personal and Professional Development

• Undergo the Government On Line Skills (GOST) programme of on-going development and education, including the annual appraisal process, to build on existing knowledge and develop skills to meet the behaviours and competencies required to undertake the role.

Please note: These roles may require regular travel between UKHSA sites.

This list is not exhaustive.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Recent significant administrative/ secretarial experience including developing, implementing and maintaining office systems and handling sensitive information.
• Experience of organising meetings and producing supporting paperwork, including agendas and taking notes and capturing actions using AI where agreed and safe to do action notes.
• Experienced at working under pressure handling multiple tasks and prioritising own workload
• IT skills and advanced Microsoft Office experience, including Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing. Take time to consider the best communication channel to use for the audience, including making the best of digital resources and considering value for money
• Ability to follow relevant policies, procedures and legislation to complete your work.
• Ability to work without supervision working to tight and often changing timescales.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £28,574, UK Health Security Agency contributes £8,277 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• 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%

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.

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

Selection process details

Stage 1: Application & Sift

Success Profiles - GOV.UK

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess behaviours, experience and technical knowledge.

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 in 2 parts – see further instructions below.

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.

Please structure your statement in two parts:

Part 1 – Lead Selection Criterion (maximum 300 words)

Describe how you meet the lead selection criterion:

• Recent significant administrative/ secretarial experience including developing, implementing and maintaining office systems and handling sensitive information.

Use a specific example that clearly explains what you did, how you did it, and the outcome.

Part 2 – Remaining 6 Selection Criteria (maximum 700 words)

Describe how you meet the remaining selection criteria for this role:

• Experience of organising meetings and producing supporting paperwork, including agendas and taking notes and capturing actions using AI where agreed and safe to do action notes.
• Experienced at working under pressure handling multiple tasks and prioritising own workload
• IT skills and advanced Microsoft Office experience, including Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing. Take time to consider the best communication channel to use for the audience, including making the best of digital resources and considering value for money
• Ability to follow relevant policies, procedures and legislation to complete your work.
• Ability to work without supervision working to tight and often changing timescales

Please use clear, evidence based examples to demonstrate your skills and experience.

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:

1. Meets all essential criteria
2. Meets some essential criteria
3. 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 may conduct an initial sift on the following 2 Essential Criteria:

• Recent significant administrative/ secretarial experience including developing, implementing and maintaining office systems and handling sensitive information.
• Experience of organising meetings and producing supporting paperwork, including agendas and taking notes and capturing actions using AI where agreed and safe to do action notes.

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to the Stage 2: Pre-Interview Assessment.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Pre-Interview Assessment

Candidates will be invited to a 20-minute pre-interview assessment which will be undertaken remotely, via MS Teams.

The pre-interview assessment will assess your Technical Skills through instinctual critical thinking and situational judgement, drawing from your administrative/secretarial technical experience.

A scenario will be presented on the screen and read aloud. You will be expected to consider the situation (5 minutes) and share your thinking (10 minutes).

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to Stage 3: Interview.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 3: Interview

Success profiles Success Profiles - GOV.UK

You will be invited to a face to face interview at one of our core locations.

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

Behaviours and Technical Skills will be assessed at interview through questioning.

The Behaviours being assessed during the interview will be as follows:

• Delivering at Pace – Lead Behaviour
• Working Together
• Communication and Influencing

Interview dates are yet 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 any of our Core HQs.

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 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 - This vacancy is open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service as well as internal applicants.

If this role is fixed term and 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 UKHSA, you will take up the post as a loan which you will need your department to agree. Loans are normally agreed for a period of two years. However, this may be extended where required, subject to agreement between UKHSA and your home department. 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.

If this role is permanent, it may also be available as a loan (for existing Civil Servants only) or secondment arrangement, subject to business need and agreement from the hiring manager and, where applicable, the employee's home organisation.

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.

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.

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.

Careers website

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

Executive Officer (EO)

• £28,574 -£33,196 (National)
• £30,441- £35,576 (Outer London)
• £32,624- £37,737 (Inner London)

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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

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: Complaints@ukhsa.gov.uk 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.