Chief Medical Advisor (CMA)

Job summary

The UK Health Security Agency exists to do one thing: protect people from health threats. In an era defined by pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, climate-driven risks and growing system pressures, its work has never been more vital, or more visible. UKHSA is building a science-led, data-driven and operationally excellent organisation that turns evidence into action, insight into policy, and capability into real-world protection for communities across the UK.

Job description

As Chief Medical Advisor, you will play a central role in leading the UK’s health protection response, providing authoritative clinical and public health advice at the highest levels of government and across the system. Sitting on the Executive Committee, you’ll lead an 1,800-strong multidisciplinary workforce, shape national and global health protection strategy, and ensure clinical insight is embedded in everything from emergency response to long-term policy. This is a high-impact leadership role at the intersection of medicine, public health and national resilience.

The successful candidate will be a senior clinical or public health leader with the credibility to influence at the highest level and the judgement to act under pressure. You will bring experience of leading complex systems, building trusted partnerships across government, the NHS and international organisations, and translating evidence into clear, actionable guidance. A compelling communicator and collaborative leader, you will inspire confidence, navigate ambiguity and lead with integrity, driven by the opportunity to protect population health at scale.

Key responsibilities will include:

Clinical and public health advice:

• Issuing authoritative clinical and public health advice to Ministers, the NHS, and the public
• Holding final clinical judgement where evidence is incomplete or contested
• Turning evidence into clinical guidance, protocols, and recommendations
• Ensuring equity, bias mitigation, and unintended consequences are addressed

Clinical governance and assurance:

• Clinical standards, governance, SOPs, safeguarding, training, revalidation, and CPD including performing the role of responsible officer for medical doctors.
• Providing second line assurance for the organisation related to clinical and health protection governance and quality structures

Regional health protection system delivery:

• Clinical and public health leadership of the regional health protection system, ensuring consistency, quality, and equity across regions
• Setting clinical and public health expectations for:
-Health protection teams
-Incident management
-NHS interfaces
-Local authority engagement
• Ensuring regional delivery aligns with national clinical standards while retaining operational flexibility
• Providing clinical oversight and assurance for regional incident response, escalation, and recovery

Emergency Preparedness and Response:

• Leading emergency preparedness and response
• Defining and activating surge models for workforce and capabilities
• Developing and delivering national exercises to test EPRR

NHS, Public Health and system leadership:

• Acting as UKHSA’s senior medical interface with the NHS, CMOs, Directors of Public Health NICE, and professional bodies
• Ensuring guidance is operationally usable in clinical settings
• Workforce strategy and professional leadership for medical and public health staff
• Maintaining professional credibility, trust, and standards

Global health protection and programmes:

• Clinical and public health leadership for global health protection, including international threats with implications for UK health security
• Senior clinical engagement with international partners (e.g. WHO, peer agencies) on health protection policy, standards, and response
• Oversight of global and cross-border health protection programmes, ensuring alignment with UK risk, capability, and equity considerations
• Ensuring lessons from global incidents are translated into UK-relevant preparedness and response

Surveillance and Hazard risk assessment:

• Clinical and public health interpretation of surveillance outputs, including infectious disease trends, emerging threats, and anomalies
• Risk assessment of infectious diseases, integrating epidemiology, clinical severity, health system impact, and population vulnerability
• Advising on risk thresholds, escalation, and de-escalation
• Ensuring surveillance outputs are translated into actionable advice for the NHS, local authorities, and Ministers

Person specification

Essential
• Candidates must be on the GMC Specialist Medical Register with a current licence to practise (including up to date appraisal and continuing professional development) with a valid CCT in a relevant discipline, with substantial medical consultant (or equivalent level) experience working nationally or internationally; they should be able to demonstrable credentials for clinical and/or public health programme and outcome delivery, ideally with specialist expertise in infectious diseases
• The CMA will have a track record of working with and across other organisations and sectors to deliver common goals and objectives, coupled with an ability to manage highly complex relationships and build deep collaborative partnerships and experience of acting strategically and delivering practical and innovative responses to complex issues and responding to unplanned and unforeseen circumstances
• Exceptional communication skills with an ability to engage equally with Ministers, professional peers, civil service colleagues, the media and the public with the ability to convey complex messages to industry and professional audiences with credibility and translating them into simple and straightforward messages for non-technical audiences, including the media and the public
• A proven ability to inspire, enthuse and lead others through change, engage, build and manage high performing teams; well networked with the capacity to deliver through others; evidence of promoting equity in recruitment and management and in the delivery of health protection and health outcomes, nurturing a culturally and socially diverse workforce and experience as a trainer including specialist skills capacity analysis and planning
• Excellent strategic thinking skills, with the ability to understand both complex policy detail and high level, strategic connections across a broad portfolio and an outstanding eye for critical detail
• Personal resilience and ability to prioritise with experience of working effectively and of leading a team successfully during periods of sustained pressure, scrutiny and ambiguity with proven capability and evidence of ability to work in fast paced, ambiguous and constantly adapting environments.

Desirable:
• Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Science or equivalent
• An understanding of the international health research funding structure, interactions and issues
• An understanding of epidemiology, clinical trials and complex intervention evaluations, statistics, economics and qualitative social sciences

As the most senior Scientific leader for UKHSA this individual must exhibit good judgement and strong principles – holding and delivering a pragmatic, professional and evidence-based view under challenge.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £109,725, UK Health Security Agency contributes £31,787 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% (Dependent on terms and conditions)

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 https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

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

Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to the UK Health Security Agency on this appointment. For further information about the role, please visit roles.saxbam.com using reference OYYOD. Alternatively email Belinda.beck@saxbam.com. At sift stage, you will be assessed against the criteria set out in the candidate pack, based on your CV and a supporting statement. Full details of how to apply, including what you need to submit, are provided in the pack. Applications should be received by noon on Friday 27 May.

In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to offer a remote interview

External:

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

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 This does not need to be included on EOI adverts. 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.

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.

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.

Security Clearance Level Requirement

Please note that this role requires a minimum of Security Check vetting. If not already held, the successful candidate can start the role once Security Check (SC) clearance has been obtained. Where suitable, individuals may also be requested to undergo Developed Vetting. Further information on eligibility is available in the Candidate Pack.

Successful candidates must also pass a basic disclosure and barring security check before they can be appointed

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 developed vetting (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

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 : Maria Dodson
• Email : maria.dodson@saxbam.com

Recruitment team

• Email : SCS.MDrecruitment@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 the UKHSA Complaints team via email at: 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 for further information: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk

Attachments

UKHSA Chief Medical Advisor - Candidate Pack Final Opens in new window (docx, 9MB)

Share this page

• Print
• Email
• Gmail
• Facebook
• LinkedIn