Job vacancy: Consultant in Public Health, UK Health Security Agency, Homeworking

Job summary

Main area

Public Health

Grade

NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant or AfC band 8d

Contract

Permanent

Hours

Part time
Job share
Flexible working
Home or remote working

8 sessions per week (30 hours per week)

Job ref

919-HM-301067-EXT

Employer: UK Health Security Agency
Employer type: Public (Non NHS)
Site: Homeworking
Town: Homeworking
Salary: £91,342 - £145,478 per annum, pro rata
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 02/10/2025 23:59

Consultant in Public Health

NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant or AfC band 8d

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.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The main duties and responsibilities include:

To provide public health advice on programmes, projects, interventions, policies, communication and training materials relating to climate and environment, including adaptation domestically and globally
To provide support to strengthen evaluation of interventions and policies in the Centre
To ensure a focus on equity in the work of the Centre
To maintain technical expertise and research commitments and support report writing and relevant peer review publications
To provide input to policymakers in DHSC and other government departments as required
To seek collaborations both nationally and internationally, including with health organisations, academia, industry and the public
To engage with the NHS and wider public health system to ensure that the Division activities meet UKHSA public health requirements.
To deliver reports and advice, utilising and interpreting highly complex data to support the delivery of UKHSA and Science group priorities
To support the development of the workforce across the whole system, in line with UKHSA’s remit, to support capability and capacity, including technical and professional skills to meet the challenges involved in protecting and improving the public’s health
To support programmes of research and evaluation that are aligned with the research priorities of UKHSA
To support development and implementation of workforce strategies, including retention, recruitment and career development of staff
Work with the Deputy Director to continually develop and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Centre
Support the work of colleagues to identify and ensure the maintenance of business-critical activities, e.g., ensure that there are effective business continuity plans in place, and they are tested regularly
Accountable for managing a dedicated budget
To deputise for the Deputy Director when required
To provide management of a small team of specialists

KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

The post holder will develop working relationships and communicate regularly with a wide range of individuals, clinical and non-clinical, internal and external to UKHSA. This will include:

Internal

Directors of the Science Group Directorates
Other members of the Science Directorate Senior Management Team
UKHSA Colleagues in other Groups, e.g., Data, Analytics and Surveillance, Clinical and Public Health, Health Protection Operations
UKHSA corporate colleagues, including Finance, Communications, HR and Health and Safety

External

Department of Health and Social Care.
Cabinet Office.
Cabinet Office Civil Contingencies Secretariat.
Home Office.
GO-Science.
Academics in the respective fields represented within your Directorate.
Stakeholders working in your field.
Suppliers of research and evaluation services.
Research funding bodies.
National and international organisations and committees relating to your field.
World Health Organisation.

Please see attached Job Description for further details.

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

Stage 1: Application & Sift

This vacancy is using the Civil Service Competency Framework.

At sift stage you will be assessed against the essential criteria listed in the job description & person specification attached to this job advert.

You will be required to complete an:

• Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• up to 1500 word Statement of Suitability

The Application Form and Statement of Suitability will be scored together.

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)

Your statement of suitability must be no more than 1500 words.

Please note feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview stage (competency based):

You will be invited to a virtual interview over Teams, currently expected to take place 28th or 29th October 2025 (please note, these dates are subject to change).

This vacancy is being assessed using Civil Service Competency framework. During the interview we will assess against the below:

Knowledge
Experience
Skills and Abilities

You will be asked to prepare and present an 10 minute presentation at the start of your interview. The subject of this will be sent to you prior to interview. Use of slides will be permitted.

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

Location

This role is being offered as home-based / remote.

Security clearance level requirementSuccessful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. Successful candidates must pass a Basic DBS

Successful candidates must also meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard (BPSS).

Eligibility to work in the Civil Service

To take up a role in UKHSA you must fall within the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Please see below for a link to more information on this:
Civil Service recruitment: nationality rules - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Inclusion in the GMC full and specialist register with a license to practice (or be eligible for registration within six months of interview) or UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) for Public Health Specialists or be eligible within 6 months of interview
If included in the GMC Specialist Register in a specialty other than public health, candidates must have equivalent training and/or appropriate experience of public health practice
Public health specialty registrar applicants who are not yet on the GMC Specialist Register/UKPHR must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they are within 6 months of gaining entry at the date of interview; all other applicants must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they have applied for inclusion in the GMC/UKPHR
If an applicant is UK trained in Public Health, they must ALSO be a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) or be within six months of award of CCT by date of interview. If an applicant is non-UK trained, they will be required to show evidence of equivalence to the UK CCT [see shortlisting notes below for additional guidance]
MFPH by examination, by exemption or by assessment, or equivalent. Applicants must meet minimum CPD requirements (i.e. be up to date) in accordance with Faculty of Public Health requirements or other recognised body
Master’s degree in public health or equivalent experience

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

Strong leadership capability to drive work across a broad portfolio
Experience in the management of multidisciplinary teams
Experience in providing advice for government policy
Experience of evaluation of interventions and policies
Experience of managing financial resources

Desirable criteria

Experience of research
Experience of health protection work
• Evidence of commitment to research and development, e.g. peer reviewed scientific publications

Skills and Capabilities

Essential criteria

Experience and professional motivation for leading in the area of epidemiological science and evaluation and translation
Epidemiological and evaluation skills
Proven skill in people management in mobilising and motivating multi-disciplinary teams to learn, develop and deliver to high standards
Able to coach teams and individuals to deliver improvement
Demonstrated ability to operate at pace in a fast-changing complex environment to manage competing priorities effectively
Proven skills in development of creative and innovative interventions to support the organisation and development of a high performing workforce
Excellent written and oral communication skills proven when communicating to national and local audiences
Enthusiastic team player with a can-do attitude
Comfortable with Information Technology and experienced at introducing and managing Information Systems projects
Able to relate to all grades of staff

Equality and Diversity

Essential criteria

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 system
Knowledge and understanding of the public sector equality duty (the Equality Act 2010). Understanding of the protected characteristics in terms of both epidemiology and barriers to access are critically important in delivering this role

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Link below:

Artificial intelligence and recruitment | Civil Service Careers

This is a Non-Reserved post under the Civil Service Nationality Rules. To be eligible for employment in the UK Civil Service applicants must meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules (CSNRs) which operate independently of and additionally to the Immigration Rules. Applicants must also meet necessary security and vetting requirements, along with any other relevant pre-employment checks.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

For more information on job nationality requirements and the right to work in the UK, see the Civil Service Nationality rules (opens in a new window) and the UK Visas and Immigration rules (opens in a new window)

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.

The Civil Service pay structure and progression is different from NHS Agenda for Change (AfC), most local authority pay grades and other systems that have annual pay increments. For further details, please refer to the Information Sheet- Starting Salaries & Benefits attachment.

For AfC or Medical/Dental posts, you must have the correct professional registration to be appointed. The pay will follow the AfC or Medical & Dental terms & conditions. You may be asked to provide evidence of previous service whilst we are conducting pre-employment checks to determine your starting salary.

For Temporary Appointments, if you are not currently a civil servant, you will take up the post on a Fixed Term appointment.  You may be able to take this role up as a Secondment. If you are an existing Civil Servant, based outside of the UKHSA, you will take up the post as a loan which you will need your department to agree. You cannot take the post up as a fixed term. If you are an existing UKHSA member of staff, you will take up the post as either a level transfer or a temporary promotion as per the UKHSA’s Pay policy. 

Given the nature of the work of the UKHSA, as a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, you may be required in an emergency, if deemed a necessity, to redeploy to another role at short notice. You may also be required to work at any other location, within reasonable travelling distance of your permanent home address, in line with the provisions set out in your contract of employment.

Late Applications will unfortunately not be considered.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. 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:  [email protected] 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 here.

Reserve List - If more than the required number of suitable candidates pass the interview criteria, you may be kept on a reserve list for 12 months subject to your agreement. You may be contacted, in merit-order, if similar roles with closely matching essential criteria become available and the department choose to appoint from a reserve list.

The panel will assess if candidates meet the requirement of the role first, using a specific benchmark system. If you are interviewed for the post and do not meet the required threshold for the specified grade, your application may be assessed against a similar, lower grade role and you may be offered the post should one be available.

Interview expenses will not be reimbursed.

UKHSA is required to check employment and/or education history covering three consecutive years. Please ensure you give details of at least two different referees, even if you were employed in one company for three years or more.

If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.

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 https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

 Benefits of working at UKHSA include:

Generous annual leave:
-26 days for the first 5 years of continuous service
-28 days after 5 years of continuous service
-32 days after 10 years of continuous service
-Plus public holidays and one privilege day for the King’s birthday
Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions.
Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving.
Access to a retail discounts and cashback site.
We also promote flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours). UKHSA views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they are able to enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including working from home, compressed hours and job sharing.
We also offer a generous maternity/ paternity and adoption leave package.

Hybrid Working

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 usually spend a minimum of 60% of your contracted hours (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's locations (approximately 3 days a week pro rata) and the rest of your time working from home.

Disability Confident Scheme

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria at sift to ensure these candidates are invited to interview.   If you wish to be included in this scheme please tick the box on your application form.

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone.

To help you during the recruitment process, we will take into account any reasonable adjustments that could help you.

An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work.

This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme.

If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should:

Contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

International Police Check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and could be time accrued over that period.

Internal Fraud check

If successful for this role as one aspect of pre-employment screening, applicant’s personal details – name, national insurance number and date of birth - will be checked against the Cabinet Office Internal Fraud Hub and anyone included on the database will be refused employment unless they can show exceptional circumstances. Currently this is only for External candidates to the Civil Service.

Security Vetting

Please check the Security Clearance needed for the role and follow the link for more information:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels

Future location

UKHSA is investing in a new state-of-the-art National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow, Essex, which will eventually bring together teams currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale and Porton Down. For more details, please see: Huge biosecurity centre investment to boost pandemic protection - GOV.UK.

The new facilities will start becoming operational in the mid-2030s, with full completion by 2038. Staff will move in phases as facilities become available. If you're appointed to a role currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale or Porton Down, please note that we'll continue investing in these sites for the next decade. As we get closer to the transition, we'll provide full information about relocation support available to staff.