Job responsibilities
National £65,302 - £75,129
Inner £69,275 - £78,805
Locations
This role can be based at any of UKHSA's 4 core HQs located in: Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London (Canary Wharf) or at our Scientific Campus Site in Porton Down, Salisbury.
Some business travel may be required to other UKHSA offices and other locations nationally and internationally.
This role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas.
Further details on the UKHSAs strategic remit and priorities are available online at .gov.uk;
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukhsa-priorities-in-2023-to-2024/letter-from-maria-caulfield-mp-to-professor-dame-jenny-harries-ukhsa-chief-executive
The Directorate of Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) works collaboratively with national and international partners to ensure the effective preparedness, response and recovery to a broad spectrum of health security incidents and emergencies, including infectious diseases, the deliberate or accidental release of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear substances and environmental hazards. The Directorate consists of two operational divisions (Response and Preparedness) that provide specific EPRR capabilities and capacities within the Agency and in support of UKHSAs responsibilities to work collaboratively across the UKs health and social care system and with international partners. The Directorate therefore plays a key role in enabling UKHSA to deliver on its Strategic Objective to be ready to respond to all hazards to health; we [UKHSA] are ensuring we have the right plans, expertise, infrastructure, capabilities and countermeasures in place to prevent and mount scalable and agile responses to health security threats, including pandemics. We are supporting the whole health system to enhance its readiness and to develop robust response plans.
The Preparedness Division has three G6 lead teams that provide EPRR Training, EPRR Exercises and EPRR Quality, Standards and Improvement.
JOB SUMMARY
The EPRR Head of Training post is part of the Preparedness divisions senior management team, working on a wide range of EPRR preparedness and response activities with particular emphasis on education and training. Involves a high degree of autonomy and requires regular high-level decision making on a wide range of complex training managerial topics, which have the potential to have a significant impact on UKHSAs ability to deliver on its ready to respond strategic objective.
The appointment requires a post graduate degree and a teaching/training qualification at Level 5 or above preferably with Qualified Teacher Status and significant recent experience in training adults.
You should have excellent communication skills, diplomacy and influence based on an extensive knowledge and experience of the planning, development, delivery, assessment and evaluation of training and education. We are looking for someone with knowledge and experience of emergency preparedness, resilience, and response (EPRR) and a good working knowledge of multi-agency preparedness and response activities.
The appointment is responsible for the leadership and management of a complex and demanding training programme that will incorporate multiple and complex concurrent projects. The role demands supervision and support for the delivery of online and face to face training courses as well as travel throughout the UK to attend meetings and occasionally abroad to various venues for emergency preparedness training and events, which will require a flexible approach to working hours. Head of Training will be required to represent UKHSA EPRR at a broad range of specialist professional events including training workshops, advising to a broad range of courses up to strategic and professional Diploma level involving national and international delegates from expert multi-agency groups.
The role requires the leadership and management of a training team involved in a range of highly specialised training interventions to support national and international health security operations. The successful candidate must have demonstrable experience of education and training in the adult learning sector as the post holder will be the de facto head of centre for accredited and endorsed courses and programmes; including the pastoral care and welfare of learners. Accordingly, the post holder will be responsible for planning the UKHSAs annual EPRR training programme, oversight and accountability to allocate budget and resources appropriately across a diverse scheme of work.
The appointment may require you to submit for security clearance, as the role may also require you to be part of the EPRR G6 On-Call roster that is part of the UKHSAs EPRR 24/7/365 out of hours response capability.
Selection process details
STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT:
You will be required to complete an application form and a statement of suitability. Your Statement of Suitability should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, against the essential criteria (outlined in the person specification section). Your Statement of Suitability must not exceed 1,500 words.
You will also be asked to provide information within the Employer/ Activity history section of the application form. This is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV, setting out your career history. The sift selection panel will only consider relevant career history information from the last 5 years.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to an interview.
STAGE 2 INTERVIEW:
This competition will involve an interview via Teams.
As part of the process, candidates will be invited to interview which will involve an in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification.
Candidates will also be required to prepare and deliver a 10-minute presentation to the panel. This will be followed by a question-and-answer segment. The presentation will be designed to assess each candidates experience in line with the requirements of the role. Full details will be provided prior to the interview.
Expected Timeline:
Advert close: 23:55hrs 13/11/2023 unfortunately, late applications will not be considered. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Interviews: TBC
Please note these dates could be subject to change.
Eligibility Criteria
Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants)
Nationality requirements
Appointments to roles within UKHSA will be made in accordance with the Civil Service nationality rules. These can be found athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rulesThis job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of theEuropean Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.
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.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.
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 Basic Personnel Security Standard. People working with government assets must complete Basic Personnel Security Standard checks.
For posts on UKHSA Civil Service terms and conditions, new entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. For existing Civil Servants and roles advertised across government, the rules of transfer apply, i.e., level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive a 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.
Please Note
This role is to be appointed under Civil Service Terms & Conditions. Full details on the T&Cs are found https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/
Are you already a civil servant, or employed by a Civil Service Commission accredited public body? Please state home department on your application form.
Do you meet the nationality requirements for this post? https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/
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:Complaints1@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.
