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Job summary

Main area
Biological Sciences
Grade
Civil Service: Executive Officer (EO)
Contract
Fixed term: 6 months (until March 2025)
Hours
  • Full time
  • Part time
  • Job share
  • Flexible working
37.5 hours per week
Job ref
919-LT-50002652-EXT
Employer
UK Health Security Agency
Employer type
Public (Non NHS)
Site
Colindale
Town
London
Salary
£29,737 - £34,453 per annum, pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
06/10/2024 23:59

Employer heading

UK Health Security Agency logo

Healthcare Scientist

Civil Service: Executive Officer (EO)

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.

Job overview

We are looking for a Healthcare Scientist to work within the Respiratory Virus Unit (RVU Team), which is part of the Virus Reference Department based in Colindale, London.
The Respiratory Virus Unit is the World Health Organisation (WHO) National Influenza Centre (NIC) for the UK and is the National Reference Laboratory for a range of respiratory virus pathogens. The unit is one of four WHO global respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) Reference Laboratories, and as such collaborates with WHO, providing technical support and advice to national laboratories, and a WHO Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS CoV) Reference Laboratory, providing confirmatory and reference services for MERS CoV.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will take delegated responsibility from the Unit Head / Scientific Leads and Technical Manager to:

• Provide laboratory support for the detection and genetic characterisation of influenza viruses (human, avian and mammalian), respiratory syncytial viruses and coronaviruses.
• Provide laboratory support for the identification, growth and characterisation of clinical influenza and other respiratory virus isolates.
• Provide laboratory support for antiviral susceptibility surveillance by genotypic and phenotypic methods.

Working for our 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

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To take delegated responsibility from the Unit Head and Technical Manager through the unit scientific lead in accordance with UKHSA and RSDC policies for the following:
•    Technical/ Scientific/ Reference services/ Research and Development
•    Growth and maintenance of mammalian cell culture lines.
•    Growth, amplification, and characterization of clinical virus isolates.
•    Extraction of viral nucleic acid from clinical samples by manual and automated methods.
•    Performance of RT-PCR for surveillance and diagnosis of influenza and other respiratory viruses.
•    Propagation of respiratory viruses and quantitation by methods such as determination of titre by plaque assay.
•    Support for serological analysis using neutralization, ELISA and haemagglutination inhibition.
•    Genetic characterisation of respiratory viruses.
•    To be responsible for the reading and analysis of test results generated and entry of results onto the LIMS system.
•    Collate and present data for discussion.
•    Adhering to external and internal quality control practices.
•    Attend meetings, plan and implement project plans.
•    Monitor safety cabinets and carry out routine quality control procedures in order to maintain set standards.
•    Supporting the scoping and prioritisation of new requirements as they emerge in your area – where applicable representing transformation in operational and governance forums.
•    Undertaking concise packages of delivery work which may consist of undertaking analysis, facilitating or leading solution design, co-ordinating operational delivery or creating handover materials.
•    Supporting your manager in planning across the workstream.
•    Building collaborative relationships with operational stakeholders, conducting handover to operational run teams at an agreed, appropriate point of delivery.
•    Input into regular reporting relating to initiatives you are leading in line with the agile methodology used across the TDU Team, as well as feeding into general governance processes.
•    Building up expert knowledge of operations, stakeholders, digital solutions and data

For a full list of the main duties and responsibilities of the role, as well as all Essential and Desirable Criteria, please refer to the attached Job Description.

Selection Process:

This vacancy will be assessed using a competency-based framework which will assess your qualifications, knowledge and experience and 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 8 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:

• Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• 1000 word Statement of Suitability. 

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 Statement of Suitability will be marked separately, and you must pass both to move forward to interview. 

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

Post-qualification laboratory experience in microbiology or virology, cell culture and virus isolation and characterisation.

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview and assessment 

Please do not exceed 1000 words.  We will not consider any words over and above this number.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

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

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

Interview 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.

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

Eligibility Criteria

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

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). 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

Essential Criteria

Essential criteria
  • BSc or equivalent in a biological science.
  • Post-qualification laboratory experience in microbiology or virology, cell culture and virus isolation and characterisation.
  • Knowledge of emerging and zoonotic respiratory virus threats, influenza virology, therapeutics and vaccines.
  • Experience in use of LIMS, and a range of common software (Microsoft Office, Access).
  • Good communicator and team worker with leadership skills. Able to organise own workload and delegated priorities to junior staff.
  • Confident in presentation of ideas and information with excellent analytical skills. Good organisation skills with particular attention to detail.
  • Self-motivated, organised and meticulous, and able to problem solve in a calm and efficient manner.
  • An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships, both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Purple SpaceApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyAge positiveImproving working livesMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerThe Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei) is the UK's leading employer network covering all aspects of equality and inclusion issues in the workplace.Carer Confident -AccomplishedHappy to Talk Flexible Working

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Lisa Tweedie
Job title
Resourcing Support Officer
Email address
[email protected]
Additional information

For information regarding the role please contact Janice Baldevarona, Biomedical Scientist, [email protected]

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