Job responsibilities
Responsibilities section:
- Work with the team to provide wrap around animal care of the highest standard:
- Ensure animals have five freedoms of animal welfare
- Maintain an awareness of current best-practice in animal care and welfare, with a view to improve utilised methods and equipment.
- Communicate effectively with team members, NACWO, NVS regarding animals in your care.
- Competently work in high containment facilities, housing animals infected with human pathogens.
- Hold a Home Office Personal Licence, to the required species, and maintain competency to:
- Conduct licenced animal procedures at high containment. under Home Office Licence authority.
- Assist in surgical procedures such as implantation of telemetric devices.
- Manage and maintain anaesthetic systems for delivery of gaseous anaesthesia to animals.
- Perform post-mortem examination and removal of specified tissue from a wide range of species. Be available to carry out emergency post-mortem (out of hours) procedures on animals that have met the specified humane endpoints.
- Operate and maintain specialist equipment (e.g. X-ray apparatus).
Perform all duties within guidelines laid down by the Home Office, Health and Safety Executive, DEFRA and MHRA
- Take part in rota system for weekend and public holiday working and essential out of hours scoring of animals in study.
The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The Job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary.
Please see job description attached for the full list of duties and responsibilities.
It is important through your application and Statement of Suitability of 1000 words that you give evidence and examples of proven experience of each of the following criteria:
Essential Criteria:
Essential
- Good general education including a scientific subject (GCSE level).
- Educated to NVQ 2 level in a relevant subject, or equivalent level of qualification, or significant equivalent previous proven experience.
- Awareness of the regulatory requirements that the facility operates to, e.g. Home Office, Health and Safety Executive, and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
- An awareness and understanding of the concept of high containment systems whilst maintaining both animal welfare and staff safety.
- To be able to communicate effectively with peers, managers, and scientists.
- Can demonstrate reliability & the ability to work as part of a team
Desirable
- National Certificate in Animal Technology
- Experience of working in a high containment facility with animals.
- Experience of working in a regulated environment
- Experience of working in a safety critical environment
Selection process details
STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT:
You will be required to complete an application form. This will be assessed in line with the advertised essential criteria please do provide evidence of how you meet this.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to an interview.
STAGE 2 INTERVIEW
This competition will involve a Teams interview.
As part of the process, candidates will be invited to interview which will involve an in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification.
Your Statement of Suitability should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria (outlined in the person specification section).
You will also be asked to provide information within the Employer/ Activity history section of the application form. This is equivalent to the information you would provide on a CV, setting out your career history.
Expected Timeline:
Advert close: 23:55hrs on 4th October 2023 unfortunately, late applications will not be considered. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Shortlist: 12th October 2023
Interviews: w/c 23rd October 2023
Please note these dates could be subject to change.
Eligibility Criteria
Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants)
Nationality requirements
Appointments to roles within UKHSA will be made in accordance with the Civil Service nationality rules. These can be found athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rulesThis job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of theEuropean Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.
Security clearance level requirement
Successful 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 an ENHANCED Personnel Security Standard. People working with government assets must complete ENHANCED Personnel Security Standard checks.
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.
Please Note
This role is to be appointed under Civil Service Terms & Conditions. Full details on the T&Cs are found https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/
Are you already a civil servant, or employed by a Civil Service Commission accredited public body? Please state home department on your application form.
Do you meet the nationality requirements for this post? https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/
Complaint process:
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:Complaints1@ukhsa.gov.uk. 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.
