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Job summary

Main area
Epidemiology
Grade
Civil Service: Senior Executive Officer (SEO)
Contract
Fixed term: 3 years (Until 31/03/2028)
Hours
  • Full time
  • Part time
  • Job share
  • Flexible working
  • Home or remote working
37.5 hours per week
Job ref
919-CP-307753-EXT
Employer
UK Health Security Agency
Employer type
Public (Non NHS)
Site
UKHSA Core Locations
Town
Birmingham, London, Leeds, Liverpool.
Salary
£40,661 - £50,472 per annum, pro rata
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
10/09/2025 23:59

Employer heading

UK Health Security Agency logo

Senior Mathematical Modeller / Research Software Engineer

Civil Service: Senior Executive Officer (SEO)

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.

Job overview

The Epidemiological Insight Team in UKHSA is recruiting an SEO Mathematical Modeller/Research Software Engineer to support a National Institute for Health and Care Research-funded Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU). The Health Analytics and Modelling HPRU brings together world-leading health analytics and modelling groups to better prepare the UK for future health protection threats and addresses research priorities across a wide range of disease areas, including improving preparedness and response to novel outbreaks and other public health emergencies. The research unit’s key goals are to use state-of-the-art techniques from computer science, statistics, epidemiology, and economics to analyse data collected by the UKHSA, NHS, and other health partners to forecast disease, produce computer simulations of different policies (like vaccination or testing), and consider the costs and effects on the economy.

 

Main duties of the job

Your role will be to develop our internal software applications - Disease Wiki and Disease Parameters Database. Working with HPRU project partners at Imperial College London and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine you will help leverage synergies between our independent initiatives to produce easily accessible and centralised databases of epidemiological and modelling parameter estimates for multiple infectious pathogens with epidemic potential. As the project develops we expect the focus to shift from model parameters to high performance model frameworks (examples would be PyGOM, ODIN or JUNE) and how they may 1. be made more accessible 2. could take advantage of modern GPU technologies 3. what is required to be able to pass model specification between systems and institutions.

Working as part of an integrated multidisciplinary team (epidemiologists, mathematical modellers, data scientists, and public health experts) and with external collaborators, you will be a team player with excellent mathematical background, have a good understanding of modern programming techniques including API development and software packaging. You should also have excellent report writing skills and an awareness of modelling infectious disease processes. Your role will be to explore and define best practice knowledge transfer between institutions including parameter synthesis, data interchange, and development of guidelines and/or a DSL for epidemiological model reporting.

Working for our organisation

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.   

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.  

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

 

The main duties and responsibilities of the role include:      

  1. Assess, develop and apply appropriate methods to facilitate the interchange of data and code across a range of emerging infectious disease threats.
  2. Abstract and analyse relevant qualitative and quantitative data from various sources for use.
  3. Communicate with experts in other disciplines to ensure that they understand required input data and the output from your work (including limitations and uncertainty on analyses performed).
  4. Enhance the science base in this field and promote the epidemic modelling capabilities developed within the team through peer-reviewed publication of findings and presentations at conferences and workshops. 
  5. Work closely with other members of UKHSA in the integration and dissemination of the above tools and data to provide core UKHSA capabilities.
  6. Communicate with other team members on scientific and operational issues and liaise with other experts both internally and externally.
  7. Assist in the funding applications, where appropriate.
  8. Provide specialist technical reports based on the work above, as required. 

Essential Criteria.

  • First degree in a discipline involving high mathematical or statistical content or significant experience of working at a similar level in specialist area.
  • Higher degree (preferably PhD) or substantially equivalent experience in: the application of research focused computer code or mathematical modelling or statistics to problems in health (human, animal, or plant), microbiology or biological sciences.
  • Demonstrable practical postgraduate experience in applying one or more of the techniques in the core skills ( Software, Mathematics, Statistical modelling, Spatial analysis, Spatial analysis,  Data analysis) below. Particular weight will be given to software skills.
  • Experience with software development process (version control, unit testing, continuous integration, etc.)
  • Excellent communication skills written, verbal, tele/videoconferencing.
  • Able to work together with others to achieve goals (team player).
  • 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 team management.

Core skills

Mathematical modelling and Research Software Engineering is both a broad and deep field. It is expected that the post holder will bring some, but far from all, of the skills below to the team.  It is expected that they will be more expert in some sections than others.

Software

  • Set and analyse software requirements.
  • Design scalable software can sustainably grow.
  • Formulate and implement various types of tests so that software may be maintained.
  • Automate operations of the integration and release process.
  • Create source code building blocks that are documented and reusable.
  • Able to produce code that is suitable for distribution on domain/language specific platforms (e.g., CRAN / PyPI). 

Mathematics

  • Constructing, using and solving ODE and/or PDE systems.
  • Predictive modelling.
  • Numerical methods.
  • Linear programming / optimisation.
  • Operational research.
  • Functional analysis.
  • Dimensional analysis.

Statistical modelling

  • Standard frequentist analysis (e.g. ANOVA, GLM, LMEM, etc.).
  • Bayesian statistics and analysis.
  • Probability distribution theory.
  • Stochastic simulation.
  • Monte Carlo simulation.

Spatial analysis

  • Mechanistic modelling.
  • Compartmental disease modelling.
  • Meta-population (patch) modelling.
  • Individual based modelling.
  • Network or next generation modelling.
  • Spatio-temporal modelling.
  • Sensitivity analysis.
  • Host-vector modelling.
  • Demographic modelling.
  • Parameter estimation.
  • Uncertainty analysis

Data analysis

  • Data cleaning.
  • Processing and use of remotely sensed data

Stage 1: Application & Sift 

This vacancy is using Success Profiles.

At sift stage you will be assessed against the essential and desirable criteria listed in the job advert.You will be required to complete an:

  • Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
  • Supporting Statement (up to 750 words) - 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 750 words.

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

  • Demonstrable practical postgraduate experience in applying one or more of the techniques in the core skills above. Particular weight will be given to software skills.

Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we may longlist into 3 piles of:

1. Meets all essential criteria
2. Meets most essential criteria
3. Meets no essential criteria 

(We will take through pile 1)

Please note feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Candidates who  pass the sift stage will progress to a Technical assessment stage.

Stage 2: Technical assessment. 

There will be a technical assessment prior to interview. This assessment will be based on converting a problem into code and discussing that solution with a panel. 

Candidates who pass the technical assessment stage will progress to interview. 

Stage 3: Interview (success profiles) 

You will be invited to a remote interview.

Interviews will be held week commencing 29 September 2025, please note these dates are subject to change.

This vacancy is being assessed using Success Profiles. During the interview we will assess you against the below:

 Behaviours:  

o   Working together

o   Communicating and influencing

o   Changing and improving

Previous Skills and Experience: technical skills and ability

You will be asked to prepare and present a 10-minute presentation. The subject of this will be sent to you prior to interview. 

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

External 

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 based at any of our Core HQ’s. 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 HQ’s (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London) or at one of our scientific campus sites (Colindale, Porton and Chilton).

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).

Security Clearance.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Security Clearance

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.  

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

 

 

Person specification

Essential and Desirable criteria

Essential criteria
  • Supporting Statement & CV

Behaviours

Essential criteria
  • Working together
  • Communicating and influencing
  • Changing and improving

Previous Skills and Experience

Essential criteria
  • Technical skills
  • Ability

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Purple SpaceApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyAge positiveImproving working livesMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerThe Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei) is the UK's leading employer network covering all aspects of equality and inclusion issues in the workplace.Carer Confident -AccomplishedHappy to Talk Flexible Working

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Emma Bennett
Job title
Epidemiological Insight Team Lead
Email address
[email protected]
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