Principal Health Economist & Infectious Diseases Modeller

Job description

Job responsibilities

This is a key post to contribute to UKHSAs role in capacity and capability in modelling and health economic evaluations of prevention and control programmes for Hepatitis, HIV and STIs in the UK, to further understanding and inform decision-making. As well as requiring specific modelling and economics expertise, this post requires significant levels of collaborative working (e.g. with medical, clinical, scientific, allied professional staff etc) across various national and international organisations.

• To review the published and unpublished literature on health economics, and specifically the economics and epidemiology of STI/HIV/BBV prevention and control programmes, and maintain an up-to-date database on this literature, including other relevant papers on subjects such as decision-analytical modelling techniques, outcome measurements and methods to fit models to data.
• To undertake model-based economics evaluations of STI/HIV/BBV prevention and control programmes.
• To design and undertake studies to obtain results to inform economic evaluations of STI/HIV/BBV prevention and control programmes .

Essential Criteria

• EITHER: a PhD with substantial health economics content; OR a postgraduate qualification with substantial health economics content along with a strong research track record; OR equivalent work experience in health economics and its application to providing insight into complex health problems.
• Evidence of continuous professional development in a field: economic evaluations, epidemiology or health protection, transmission dynamic modelling, with a nationally and internationally recognized track record of research
• Experience of health economic evaluations in informing national policy.
• Initiating and leading research grants and scientific projects (with a proven record of collaborative and multi-disciplinary research), project management experience, experience of managing budget and physical resources and line management and appraisal of staff.
• Demonstrable excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the proven ability to:
  • communicate complex ideas and methods (both orally and written) clearly and succinctly to a wide range of audiences, and importantly communicate inherent limitations and uncertainties of cost-effectiveness evaluations
  • publish scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, review scientific papers/grant applications/policy documents
  • write successful research grant applications
• Ability to liaise effectively with a wide range of health professionals, demonstrate good interpersonal and leadership skills when working with team members and to work collaboratively across disciplines and levels of seniority and coordination skills for collaborative working
• Ability to identify, formulate and solve problems, make judgements based on analysis and interpretation of complex data or situations, and assess and devise appropriate responses.
• Work with initiative, independence and autonomously without supervision and be highly self-motivated, with proven ability to initiate, sustain and complete project work.
• Organisation, planning and time-management skills and ability to develop long-term plans, taking into account uncertainties across a range of organisations.

Desirable criteria:

• Experience of transmission dynamics modelling of infectious diseases
• Experience of working in the field of prevention and control of sexually transmitted Infections / blood-borne viruses / HIV.

Working for the UKHSA

For more information on the UKHSA please visit: UK Health Security Agency - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%.
• Range of health and wellbeing support.
• 26 days annual leave allowance increasing to 32 days after a 10-year service.

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 Childcare Choices | 30 Hours Free Childcare, Tax-Free Childcare and More | Help with Costs | GOV.UK

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.

Your Statement of Suitability (max 750 words) should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria (outlined above and in the person specification section).

**Please do not submit your CV, we require you to complete the full application process including a Personal Statement/Statement of Suitability, as outlined below. Please ensure that your Statement of Suitability contains no personal identifiers e.g. name in either the file name or content of the document.**

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.

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

STAGE 2 INTERVIEW

The interview will be conducted remotely via Microsoft Teams

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. Candidates will also be asked to prepare and deliver a 5-minute presentation to the panel. This will be followed by a question-and-answer segment. The presentation will be designed to assess each candidates experience in line with the requirements of the role. Full details will be provided prior to the interview.

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on 3rd 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.

Interviews: 16th and 17th October 2023

Please note these dates may 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 Basic Personnel Security Standard. People working with government assets must complete Basic 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/

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.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• oEITHER: a PhD with substantial health economics content; OR a postgraduate qualification with substantial health economics content along with a strong research track record; OR equivalent work experience in health economics and its application to providing insight into complex health problems.

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

London

NW9 5EQ

Employer's website

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