Senior Scientist

Job overview

This role sits within the Rapid Investigation Team, part of Field Services, which translates evidence into practice and strengthens disease surveillance and outbreak response through links with the NHS and other partners.

Main duties of the job

• The Senior Scientist works closely with senior epidemiologist colleagues to provide epidemiological and data management support across a number of topic areas; and to the epidemiological investigation of incidents and outbreaks of infectious diseases and routine, supporting local Health Protection Teams and in collaboration with other partners.
• This will include supporting and managing the technical and analytical aspects of epidemiological outbreak investigations and supporting a team in carrying out these tasks. The interface with local, regional and national colleagues, as well as with external stakeholders, will be an important feature of this role.
• The role includes research and development activities, including operational research and the collection of qualitative and quantitative data, which will involve deployments nationally. This will also include contributing to academic research collaborations, publications and conference presentations to help generate the evidence base for best practice in outbreak and incident investigation and response.
• The postholder will be expected to develop and maintain reproducible analytical pipelines to support routine reporting, research, and incident response. This will require proficiency in the R programming language and the application of strong analytical and coding practices.

Please note this list is not exhaustive.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Specific duties of the role may vary depending on the site and teams/functions.

Surveillance and Data Analysis

• Identify surveillance needs within given lead areas, create surveillance system specifications, conduct complex statistical analyses and interpret surveillance data, making appropriate recommendations, develop automated routines and solutions and supervise / assure on the preparation, quality and delivery of routine and ad hoc surveillance reports.
• Respond to complex or sensitive data requests.

Outbreak Support and Epidemiological Investigations

• Where appropriate, lead and manage the technical and analytical (including data management) aspects of epidemiological outbreak investigations, including the supervision of the investigation of exceedances, e.g. write protocol of analytical studies, contribute to the production of outbreak control team reports and train interviewers.

Statistical and Software Skills

• Apply a range of common statistical tests and algorithms including time trend analysis and translate statistical processes into automated solutions where appropriate
• Use common statistical/database/mapping/web tools such as Stata, R, ArcGIS, network analysis, SQL and SharePoint in routine reports, surveillance activities and the development of solutions and undertake complex analytical and programming tasks using common and specialist software packages to support data extractions, analysis and validation

Audit, Quality and Governance

• Advise on quality and governance issues including information security for all aspects of Field Service work, evaluating existing systems and acute response to incidents and outbreak, and use to improve standards and consistency across the team.
• Contribute to the Field Service quality programme such as through audit and be responsible for the quality of data collected, stored and extracted and transferred

Research and project management

• Support/lead and facilitate the delivery of projects using a framework to ensure they are well planned, efficiently implemented, predetermined benefits are realised and associated risks mitigated
• Project manage research studies, analysing datasets with appropriate methodology to answer research questions, supported by the systematic review of literature and with knowledge of how to develop a grant proposal, and apply for ethical approval.
• Present at scientific conferences, programme area meetings and other for a and publish and present scientific papers on public health surveillance, outbreaks and infectious disease control in collaboration with health, public health, academic and other partner

Management and Leadership

• Contribute to specified quality improvement and governance initiatives as agreed.
• Actively engage in meetings with internal and external colleagues, identify potential problems and seek to resolve and undertake a lead role for a specific topic or function area, on behalf of the service as a whole
• Support defined areas of work as agreed with line manager as well as the development of policies and protocols for use within the team/departments
• Contribute to teaching/training programmes and activities (including to the development of teaching material and courses) on surveillance, epidemiology information science, data management, information governance and quality and support ongoing training activities within the team and Service.
• Deal with at times, challenging and/or conflicting subject matter problems in day to day workload referring/escalating to line management as appropriate.

Essential Criteria:

• Educated to a minimum of bachelor’s degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level of experience of working at a similar level in specialist area (public health, epidemiology, or a related field).
• MSc in Epidemiology, public health or allied discipline or equivalent level of education or demonstrable experience in epidemiology analysis
• Knowledge of principles and practice of surveillance, including data(base) management, data transmission, data security, data quality, data analysis including descriptive statistics and graphics and data reporting
• Experience of interpreting and evaluating epidemiological data, sensitive health data analyses and performing analytical epidemiology
• Demonstrable experience of public health, health protection or epidemiology
• Knowledge and experience of common statistical tests, modelling and analyses and interpret results appropriately, including for research purposes
• Proficient in common statistical/database/mapping tools such as STATA, R, GIS, network analysis, SQL, etc

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 abilities outlined in the essential criteria.

Stage 1: Application & Sift You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 7 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:

• Application form (Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• 750 word supporting statement.

This should outline how you consider your skills, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria. 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). Please do not email us your CV.

Healthjobs UK has a word limit of 1500, but your supporting statement must be no more than 750 words. We will not consider any words over 750 words.

Longlisting:

In the event of a large number of applications, we will longlist into 3 piles of:

• Meets all essential criteria
• Meets some essential criteria
• Meets no essential criteria

If used, the pile(s) ‘Meets all essential criteria’ will proceed to shortlisting.

Shortlisting:

In the event of a large number of applications we will conduct an initial sift, on the lead criteria of:

• Educated to a minimum of bachelor’s degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level of experience of working at a similar level in specialist area (public health, epidemiology, or a related field).
• MSc in Epidemiology, public health or allied discipline or equivalent level of education or demonstrable experience in epidemiology analysis.
• Proficient in common statistical/database/mapping tools such as STATA, R, GIS, network analysis, SQL, etc

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

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

You will be invited to a single remote interview

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

There will be a Technical Assessment and Presentation

You will be provided with a dataset prior to your interview. You will be expected to analyse the data using R and prepare a 5-10 minute presentation which will need to be presented during the interview. You will also be expected to show your code after the presentation.

Interview dates to be confirmed.

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 hybrid working based at any of our Core HQs. 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).

Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport links and benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Security Clearance Level Requirement

Successful candidates must pass a enhanced disclosure and barring security check before they can be appointed. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard.

Eligibility Criteria

This vacancy is open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service as well as internal applicants.

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.

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Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.