Emergency Preparedness Manager

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post holder will provide day-to-day Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) support in in the management and co-ordination of the UKHSA national response to incidents and relevant preparedness activity. They will employ specialist knowledge and project management skills in the development and delivery of emergency preparedness and response strategies corporate policies, and contingency plans through liaison with responders and stakeholders.

They will lead and collaborate with team members to manage incidents and oversee preparedness activities. Additionally, they will develop and maintain UKHSA National Response Centre plans and Standard Operating Procedures to ensure a consistent response system. In addition to supporting incidence response, they will also support projects designed to improve processes within the NRC, drive embed change and support team wellbeing.

They will maintain effective working relationships with a variety of stakeholders both internal and external to the organisation. They be expected to work flexibly as part of a multi-disciplinary team providing a wide range of duties. They will work with colleagues who are based across the country at different sites and/or who work remotely.

The post holder will facilitate, support, and design (as necessary) EPRR training for UKHSA staff, ensuring that plans and systems are thoroughly tested and exercised. They will also manage the Lessons Identified process, facilitate debriefs, and embed good practice recommendations.

They will undertake the NRC Duty Officer role on a rota basis. They will also manage and utilize data to enhance situational awareness during incidents, developing and maintaining tools such as databases, spreadsheets, questionnaires, and surveys relevant to public health. They will support assurance processes for EPRR activities, ensuring they meet established standards and protocols.

Their role will involve supporting the planning, development and delivery of EPRR training and exercises across the agency to prepare, validate, and review emergency plans.

Effective line management of staff, if applicable, will be another key responsibility, ensuring team flexibility and capacity to meet NRC needs, professional development, and staff well-being. To maintain 24/7 responsiveness, they may participate in an out-of-hours on-call rota or work over a seven-day period when necessary.

Their role requires sensitivity in handling requests for restricted access information related to major incidents and business continuity documents, in accordance with the Official Secrets Act. They will be responsible for organizing and managing their workload to meet deadlines and cover for team members in their absence as directed by their line manager.

A commitment to continuous professional development is essential. They will identify and address their professional performance and training needs through regular appraisals and individual development plans. This includes attending mandatory and ongoing training to build on their knowledge and skills and participating in relevant conferences and seminars to further their development and increase their expertise in the field.

Essential Criteria

For a full list of essential criteria please see the attached job description document.

Selection Process Details:

This vacancy will be assessed using a competency-based framework which will assess your Qualifications, knowledge and experience and / or skills and capabilities outlined in the essential criteria.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

Please be aware that we will assess on the 8essential criteria stated on the advert rather than the full list on the job description document, and this will be in the form of a:

• Application form (Employer/ Activity history section on the application)
• 750 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 together.

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

Please do not exceed 750 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview (competency based)

You will be invited to a (single) remote interview.

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

There will be a Presentation, details of which will be provided to you nearer the time.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Eligibility Criteria

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

Location

This role is being offered as hybrid working. 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) working at one of UKHSA's core HQs (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London) or at our scientific campus site (Porton).

Security Clearance Level RequirementSuccessful 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.

If based at one of our scientific locations, you will be required to have a Counter Terrorism Check security vetting check as a minimum. 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) clearance. In exceptional circumstances 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. 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).

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Evidence of relevant CPD/qualification in Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response or equivalent experience

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Experience in a management role including supervising staff who are not direct reports and managing projects
• Experience in emergency preparedness, resilience and response
• Experience of drafting briefing papers and correspondence for Senior Management level

Skill / Capabilities / Behaviours

Essential

• Significant experience of successfully operating in a politically sensitive environment
• Demonstrable experience in development and co-ordination of constructive debriefs for major incidents, dissemination of lessons identified and recommendations for future best practice
• Delivering at pace, against an environment of changing priorities and working flexibly to meet the demands of the agency

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

Core HQs or Porton

Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Porton

E14 4PU

Employer's website

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