Surge Testing Product Manager

Job summary

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) plays a critical role in protecting the nation from current and future health threats. The Surge Testing Product Manager will sit within the Emergency Preparedness, Resilience & Response (EPRR) and Response Operations directorate, supporting the delivery and management of diagnostic devices, including but not limited to respiratory pathogen tests, which would be used during surge and pandemic responses.

This role is central to ensuring the UK remains prepared for the rapid scale up of testing during outbreaks by overseeing product readiness, supplier management, and operational deployment considerations. Working at the interface of science, operations, and commercial procurement, the post holder will support with the identification, introduction and optimisation of high quality testing products that meet UKHSA’s strategic requirements.

Working for your organisation

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

Job description

The main duties will include:

• Act as primary point of contact for suppliers, managing day‑to‑day communication and ensuring high‑quality, timely responses to operational queries.
• Oversee stock management for surge testing products, including rotation of rolling stockpiles and coordination of disposals when required.
• Provide support on the development and introduction of testing products, ensuring they meet laboratory, operational and regulatory requirements.
• Compile and manage post‑market surveillance reporting, complaints data and product‑related incident responses.
• Maintain accurate audit trails, meeting minutes, decision records and action logs across all product activities.
• Prepare and deliver progress reports, risk updates and product performance summaries for senior leaders and governance groups.

• Product Leadership & Development
  
  • Support and co-ordinate the delivery of short- and medium‑term priorities for the surge testing product portfolio, ensuring alignment with UKHSA strategic objectives.
  • Provide support on the development and introduction of testing products, ensuring they meet laboratory, operational and regulatory requirements.
  • Track product development progress and proactively identify and resolve issues that could impact delivery.
  • Compile and manage post‑market surveillance reporting, complaints data and product‑related incident responses.

• Supplier & Stakeholder Management
  
  • Act as primary point of contact for suppliers, managing day‑to‑day communication and ensuring high‑quality, timely responses to operational queries.
  • Build strong and effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including scientists, procurement teams, regulatory experts and operational delivery colleagues.
  • Ensure suppliers complete and return all procurement and regulatory documentation within required timeframes and secure relevant UKHSA approvals.
  • Support onboarding of new products and suppliers, ensuring smooth integration into UKHSA’s testing portfolio.

• Operational Delivery & Surge Preparedness
  
  • Support pandemic preparedness activities, ensuring products remain fit‑for‑purpose during rapid escalations.
  • Oversee stock management for surge testing products, including rotation of rolling stockpiles and coordination of disposals when required.
  • Provide co-ordination during surge activation, enabling rapid scaling of testing and product supply chains.

• Governance, Reporting & Assurance
  
  • Maintain accurate audit trails, meeting minutes, decision records and action logs across all product activities.
  • Work with UKHSA quality and regulatory colleagues to ensure products comply with relevant regulatory, safety and quality standards and support internal assurance activities.
  • Prepare and deliver progress reports, risk updates and product performance summaries for senior leaders and governance groups.

This is not an exhaustive list.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Strong project management capability with a track record of delivering complex, scaled products or services.
• Ability to work flexibly on changing priorities and actively prioritise multiple issues.
• Experience introducing new services or products, including change management skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build relationships across diverse technical, operational and commercial groups.
• Operational delivery experience, ideally in a surge, public health or emergency response context.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in product development, ideally within a scientific, technical or regulated environment.
• Experience managing respiratory testing products, including LFDs or PCR‑based systems.
• Understanding of relevant regulatory and compliance processes for diagnostic devices.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £41,983, UK Health Security Agency contributes £12,162 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 is using Success Profiles and will assess your behaviours.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 5 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of:

• an application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• a 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 will longlist into 3 piles of:

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

Only those meeting all essential criteria will be taken through to shortlisting.

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

• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build relationships across diverse technical, operational and commercial groups.
• Ability to work flexibly on changing priorities and actively prioritise multiple issues.

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 and assessment.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

You will be invited to a remote interview.

Behaviours will be tested at interview.

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

• Managing a Quality Service (Lead behaviour)
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Interviews will be held week commencing 6th July 2026. Please note, these dates are subject to change.

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 HQ’s in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool or London (Canary Wharf).

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) on-site.

Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Eligibility criteria

Option 1 - External

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

Security clearance level requirement

Part 1

Successful candidates must pass a basic Disclosure and Barring Security (DBS) check before they can be appointed.

Part 2

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard checks.

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.

Please be aware that the salary is based on the office location:

Senior Executive Officer (SEO)

• £41,983- £48,128 (National)
• £44,148- £50,121 (Outer London)
• £46,310- £52,113 (Inner London)

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

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

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 : Jon Payne
• Email : jonathan.payne@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: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk