Deputy Director Scientific Facilities

Job description

Job responsibilities

The role requires strategic leadership and the ability to inspire others, particularly when navigating complex change whilst supporting the welfare and wellbeing of staff, and ensuring our sites meet the diverse needs of our people. Additionally, our sites must operate with consideration to the environmental impact e.g. waste, access by public transport, utilities, noise, emissions etc.

To effectively discharge their duties the Deputy Director for Scientific Facilities will maintain frequent attendance and visibility at all three main campuses, with regular travel to Leeds and Glasgow.

The role requires a building engineering background of specialist estate management or a scientific technical background with comprehensive experience of the operation of specialist scientific facilities such as high containment microbiology laboratory operation.

The role holder must ensure the following requirements are met:

• Sites are properly maintained and suitable for operational use.
• Each site has a 5-year plan in place to ensure enduring suitability for operational delivery.
• All legal, statutory and contractual requirements are adhered to.
• Sites are managed and maintained by suitably qualified staff.
• Government property standards are met and best practice is always strived for.
• Resources are prioritised to ensure responsibilities are discharged in a timely manner and to an appropriate and / or required standard.
• Contracts for site support, security, estates management and engineering services are in place and always planned for in relation to expiring arrangements.
• Contracts are arranged according to best practice and to deliver high quality services with value for taxpayers, working with Commercial and Corporate teams to achieve this.
• At each scientific campus site a lead person from the Scientific Facilities Division is in place to ensure day-to-day responsibility for the safety and security of staff and visitors and a first point of contact for issues on the site.

The role-holder must ensure good governance and site stewardship is adhered to, including:

• Continuous monitoring of risks present at each location, maintaining local and divisional site risk registers to inform and direct site development and operations, including sufficient controls in place to protect against cyber risk and breaches of industrial control systems.
• Responsibility for the Scientific Facilities Governance Group and all aspects of health, safety, security, and the welfare of all staff on the sites.
• Business continuity and contingency planning for all five sites, protecting essential services provided by UKHSA in times of crisis.
• Maintaining effective communication across sites, leading and supporting UKHSA internal communications and employee engagement activities.
• Promoting and maintaining good working relationships with neighbouring site operators, local authorities and other government agencies, site contractors, and all other stakeholders that support the effective operation of our sites.

Please see candidate pack for full list of requirements

Sound management of Resource and Capital financial budgets including implementation and monitoring of financial controls and oversight to ensure the highest standard of scrutiny and tracking of spend, accurate forecasting and effective management of headcount to ensure this is prioritised and managed within budget capacity.

Selection Process: (Success Profiles)

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

Stage 1: Application & Sift

This vacancy is using Success Profiles .

At sift stage you will be assessed against the essential criterialisted in the Job Description & Person Specification attached to this vacancy advert.

You will be required to complete an:

Application form (Employer/ Activity history section on the application) 750 word Statement of Suitability/ behaviour statements / technical statements

Healthjobs UK has a word limit of 1500, but your statement of suitability must be no more than insert word count.

This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role.

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)

If we receive a large number of applications an initial sift against the lead criteria will be conducted:

Significant experience in providing building management, operations and engineering of a scientific estate, operational public health or health related services at a senior level.

We will only take through applications to full sift that meet the lead essential criteria.

Please note feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview (success profiles)

You will be invited to a face to face interview, in exceptional circumstances, we may be able to offer a remote interview.

Interviews will be held at Canary Wharf or Colindale (location to be confirmed) Week Commencing 04 May 2026. Please note this date is subject to change.

During the interview we will assess you against the below:

Previous Skills and Experience: Technical skills and experience

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

Leadership

Communicating and Influencing

You will be asked to complete a short in tray exercise. This will be completed as part of the interview process on the day and will form part of the discussion with the panel.

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

Hybrid working attached to any Scientific Campus

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at one of our Scientific Campuses. 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 scientific campus sites (Colindale, Porton).

Security Clearance Level Requirement

Successful candidates must pass a standard disclosure and barring security check.

This role requires the successful candidate to obtain or hold Security Check (SC) clearance upon commencement of employment

Security Check (SC)

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 5 years as the role requires Security Check (SC) 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.

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.

SCS1

• £81,000 - £117,800

UK Health Security Agency promoted diversity in the workplace and is an Equal Opportunities employer.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to degree level in an Engineering, Scientific, or comparable discipline, including a relevant professional registration/qualification
• Evidence of relevant continuing professional development qualifications.

Desirable

• Educated to PhD level in an Engineering, Scientific, Medical or equivalent discipline

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Significant experience in providing building management, operations and engineering of a scientific estate, operational public health or health related services at a senior level
• Experience in the leadership and management of a science focused or other relevant specialist campus, including engineering, hard and soft facilities management, health and safety, media production and site security. Expertise which links to this and relates to microbiology, epidemiology, chemicals, radiation, or nuclear science will be beneficial
• Experience of managing significant revenue and capital projects to time, cost, and quality, including negotiation in tender processes and knowledge of complex Government Frameworks
• Experience of overseeing regulatory and compliance, operational quality and safe sites, from development of policy through to implementation and monitoring

Desirable

• Knowledge and experience of working under regulations and standards associated with the operation of scientific campus sites
• Proven working knowledge and experience of site and laboratory health & safety and compliance regulations

Skills and Capabilities

Essential

• Leadership of operational services for a national organisation
• Evidence of managing major change and delivering major works successfully and positively
• Proven skill in people management in mobilising and motivating multi-disciplinary teams to learn, develop and deliver to high standards

Equality and Diversity

Essential

• 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

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 or Porton Down

London, Salisbury

NW9 5EQ

Employer's website

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