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UK Health Security Agency

Health Protection Practitioner

Information:

This job is now closed

Job summary

Any candidates new to civil service will join on our HEO salary banding: (Inner London) £34,463 - £41,478.

If you are currently employed on Agenda for Change (AfC) terms you may be offered Band 6 (Inner London) £42,471 - £50,364.

Location

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) operates 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 either UKHSA Colindale (61 Colindale Ave, London NW9 5EQ) or UKHSA Canary Wharf (10 S Colonnade, London E14 4PU).

*Please be aware that this role can only be worked from within the UK and not overseas. Relocation expenses are not available.*

Working Pattern Full Time, Part Time, Job Share, Flexible Working, Hybrid Working

Main duties of the job

  • Under supervision, contribute to the day to day running of the acute response function to ensure high quality, safe and effective delivery of the health protection service.
  • Provide first point of contact for specialist knowledge, support and advice to health professionals on health protection matters.
  • Undertake initial assessment and management of routine acute response work and non-complex incidents.
  • Escalate and refer challenging or complex incidents and outbreaks of infectious diseases and non-infectious environmental hazards to senior manager as appropriate.
  • Manage and carry out continuing responsibility for a caseload ensuring accurate, up to date records of contacts/action by completion of relevant records and compliance with team handover procedures, in line with UKHSAs standards for record keeping.
  • To utilise an evidence based approach to manage clinical/professional advice and discussions within the team, seeking senior advice as/when appropriate.
  • Support and participate in the teams formal case review process.
  • Contribute to and where required lead under supervision the ongoing longer term management of issues relevant to a defined geographical area.
  • Contribute to the UKHSA response during incidents in line with UKHSAs Emergency Planning and Resilience Response (EPRR) arrangements as part of the regions responsibilities under the Civil Contingencies Act.
  • May be required to participate in a local on call rota at regional level as required.

About us

An exciting opportunity has arisen for three Health Protection Practitioners to join the London Health Protection Team. One of the posts is substantive, and two of the posts are for fixed term periods of 12 months. All posts will be based within one of our two London Health Protection Teams.

Post holders will be part of the multi-disciplinary team contributing to the day-to-day provision of the health protection function, including management of communicable diseases and environmental, chemical and radiological threats, and contributing to major incidents, including enhanced incident response.

Post holders will undergo a programme of on-going development and education to build on existing knowledge and to develop skills to provide specialist health protection advice, and meet competencies required to undertake the role. Once a period of training and induction has been completed, they will be expected to actively contribute to the development, training, and supervision of others within the team, and participate in the on-call rota, both in- and out-of-hours.

An important part of our mission at UKHSA is to help reduce health inequalities across the UK. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted how certain groups are impacted negatively by health inequality, and we want to ensure we learn from these challenges. To do that effectively we need to continue building a talented workforce that represents the diversity of our population. Our ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. This in turn produces more accountable and trusted public services and better decisions; better because they are more attuned to the needs and interests of all our communities, helping to address inequality. We are committed to ensuring our culture and ways of working allow all of our people to thrive at work.

Details

Date posted

09 April 2024

Pay scheme

Other

Salary

£34,463 to £50,364 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

UKHSA01455

Job locations

Colindale Avenue 61

London

NW9 5EQ


UKHSA Canary Wharf

10 S Colonnade

London

E14 4PU


Job description

Job responsibilities

Criteria

It is important through your application and Statement of Suitability of 1500 words that you give evidence and examples of proven experience of each of the essential criteria (for full details of all essential criteria please refer to the attached job description):

Essential

  • First degree (Health Related) or demonstrable equivalent experience
  • Working towards registration with an appropriate health or science related professional body
  • Post registration experience as a practitioner in a related field
  • An understanding of and ability to work under the current Health and Social Care Act (e.g. safe guarding vulnerable adults; data protection, information governance)
  • Proven experience in the establishment and maintenance of good relationships with managers, staff and external contracts
  • Effective verbal and written communication skills including report writing and presentations
  • Ability to work independently, manage and prioritise own workload and cope with competing demands
  • Ability to problem solve whilst working in an unpredictable environment, often under pressure and to tight timescales

Desirable

  • Professional Public Health qualification and registration e.g. Specialist Community Public Health (SCPHN) part of the NMC Register or UK PH Register for practitioners
  • Recognised teaching qualification, e.g. ENB 998/PGCE or NVQ Level 4 Certificate in education or equivalent experience
  • Recognised qualification in Infection Prevention and Control or demonstrable equivalent experience
Working for the UKHSA

For more information on the UKHSA please visit: UK Health Security Agency - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Benefits

  • 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 average employer contribution of 27%
  • Range of health and wellbeing support

Any move to UKHSA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at Childcare Choices | 30 Hours Free Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More | Help with Costs | GOV.UK

Selection process details

STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT:

You will be required to complete an application form and statement of suitability. This will be assessed in line with the full list of essential criteria as detailed in the attached job description please do provide evidence of how you meet this.

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to an interview.

STAGE 2 INTERVIEW

This competition will involve an interview held at our Canary Wharf site (10 S Colonnade, London E14 4PU).

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.

Your Statement of Suitability should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria (outlined in the person specification section).

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.

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on the 22nd of April 2024 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.

Shortlist: from the 23rd of April 2024

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/

OR if you are already om Agenda for change terms:

This role is to be appointed under NHS 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/

Job description

Job responsibilities

Criteria

It is important through your application and Statement of Suitability of 1500 words that you give evidence and examples of proven experience of each of the essential criteria (for full details of all essential criteria please refer to the attached job description):

Essential

  • First degree (Health Related) or demonstrable equivalent experience
  • Working towards registration with an appropriate health or science related professional body
  • Post registration experience as a practitioner in a related field
  • An understanding of and ability to work under the current Health and Social Care Act (e.g. safe guarding vulnerable adults; data protection, information governance)
  • Proven experience in the establishment and maintenance of good relationships with managers, staff and external contracts
  • Effective verbal and written communication skills including report writing and presentations
  • Ability to work independently, manage and prioritise own workload and cope with competing demands
  • Ability to problem solve whilst working in an unpredictable environment, often under pressure and to tight timescales

Desirable

  • Professional Public Health qualification and registration e.g. Specialist Community Public Health (SCPHN) part of the NMC Register or UK PH Register for practitioners
  • Recognised teaching qualification, e.g. ENB 998/PGCE or NVQ Level 4 Certificate in education or equivalent experience
  • Recognised qualification in Infection Prevention and Control or demonstrable equivalent experience
Working for the UKHSA

For more information on the UKHSA please visit: UK Health Security Agency - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Benefits

  • 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 average employer contribution of 27%
  • Range of health and wellbeing support

Any move to UKHSA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at Childcare Choices | 30 Hours Free Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More | Help with Costs | GOV.UK

Selection process details

STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT:

You will be required to complete an application form and statement of suitability. This will be assessed in line with the full list of essential criteria as detailed in the attached job description please do provide evidence of how you meet this.

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to an interview.

STAGE 2 INTERVIEW

This competition will involve an interview held at our Canary Wharf site (10 S Colonnade, London E14 4PU).

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.

Your Statement of Suitability should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria (outlined in the person specification section).

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.

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on the 22nd of April 2024 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.

Shortlist: from the 23rd of April 2024

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/

OR if you are already om Agenda for change terms:

This role is to be appointed under NHS 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/

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

  • First degree (Health Related) or demonstrable equivalent experience
  • Working towards registration with an appropriate health or science related professional body
  • Post registration experience as a practitioner in a related field
  • An understanding of and ability to work under the current Health and Social Care Act (e.g. safe guarding vulnerable adults; data protection, information governance)
  • Proven experience in the establishment and maintenance of good relationships with managers, staff and external contracts
  • Effective verbal and written communication skills including report writing and presentations
  • Ability to work independently, manage and prioritise own workload and cope with competing demands
  • Ability to problem solve whilst working in an unpredictable environment, often under pressure and to tight timescales

Desirable

  • Professional Public Health qualification and registration e.g. Specialist Community Public Health (SCPHN) part of the NMC Register or UK PH Register for practitioners
  • Recognised teaching qualification, e.g. ENB 998/PGCE or NVQ Level 4 Certificate in education or equivalent experience
  • Recognised qualification in Infection Prevention and Control or demonstrable equivalent experience
Person Specification

Experience

Essential

  • First degree (Health Related) or demonstrable equivalent experience
  • Working towards registration with an appropriate health or science related professional body
  • Post registration experience as a practitioner in a related field
  • An understanding of and ability to work under the current Health and Social Care Act (e.g. safe guarding vulnerable adults; data protection, information governance)
  • Proven experience in the establishment and maintenance of good relationships with managers, staff and external contracts
  • Effective verbal and written communication skills including report writing and presentations
  • Ability to work independently, manage and prioritise own workload and cope with competing demands
  • Ability to problem solve whilst working in an unpredictable environment, often under pressure and to tight timescales

Desirable

  • Professional Public Health qualification and registration e.g. Specialist Community Public Health (SCPHN) part of the NMC Register or UK PH Register for practitioners
  • Recognised teaching qualification, e.g. ENB 998/PGCE or NVQ Level 4 Certificate in education or equivalent experience
  • Recognised qualification in Infection Prevention and Control or demonstrable equivalent experience

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

UK Health Security Agency

Address

Colindale Avenue 61

London

NW9 5EQ


Employer's website

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-health-security-agency (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

UK Health Security Agency

Address

Colindale Avenue 61

London

NW9 5EQ


Employer's website

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-health-security-agency (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Recruitment

UKHSA Recruitment

ukhsa.recruitment@reed.com

Details

Date posted

09 April 2024

Pay scheme

Other

Salary

£34,463 to £50,364 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

UKHSA01455

Job locations

Colindale Avenue 61

London

NW9 5EQ


UKHSA Canary Wharf

10 S Colonnade

London

E14 4PU


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

UK Health Security Agency's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)