Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen to work on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) team of the Blood Safety, Hepatitis, STI & HIV Division at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The Division has national responsibility for STI surveillance in England.
Main duties of the job
The postholder will be responsible for co-ordinating data collection and analysis for the Mycoplasma genitalium Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Programme (MARS). MARS is the national surveillance system which monitors the trends and distribution of resistance to antimicrobials used to treat mycoplasma genitalium and is used to inform national management guidelines. Additionally, the postholder will work on the Gonococcal Resistance to Antimicrobials Surveillance Programme (GRASP), surveillance for ceftriaxone resistant gonorrhoea and surveillance of disseminated gonorrhoea. The postholder will also play a key role in the incident team managing extremely drug resistant (XDR) gonorrhoea. The work will require carrying out epidemiological analyses to monitor trends, geographic distribution and risk factors for AMR. The postholder may also be required to respond to real-time changes in outbreaks and provide support to the wider STIs Team where needed.
About us
Our mission is challenging, innovative and in the spotlight. We will work to ensure our people have the diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds we need to thrive, that our employees are representative of the communities we serve and feel valued and enabled to play their part in delivering our work.
Creating our working culture is an ongoing process which we are developing by listening and learning together, hearing and acting upon diverse voices and opinions to develop a common sense of identity and effective ways of working.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:
Surveillance and Prevention Monitoring
- Undertake data collection and data management of surveillance systems for monitoring AMR trends in STIs (primary focus on gonorrhoea and Mycoplasma genitalium).
- Carry out epidemiological analyses to monitor trends, geographic distribution and risk factors for AMR using various national surveillance datasets (e.g. GRASP, SGSS, GUMCAD, MARS).
- Contribute to development and analysis of new programmes for AMR surveillance of Mycoplasma genitalium and surveillance of disseminated gonococcal infection.
- Lead together with senior scientist on production of the annual GRASP and MARS reports, carrying out the appropriate analyses and generating scientific graphs and tables.
- Play a key role in the incident team managing cases and potential outbreaks of XDR gonorrhoea in England.
- Conduct weekly follow-up of ceftriaxone-resistant N. gonorrhoeae isolates for confirmatory susceptibility testing and generate complementary monthly snapshot reports
Specialist Advice and Evaluation
- Effectively communicate areas of research at MARS collaborators meetings as well as local, national, international meetings and conferences in the form of abstracts or oral presentations.
- Write and/or contribute to national and local policy setting reports, as well as peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, on the health of the population
Research and Development
- Undertake literature reviews, evaluative research surveys, audits and other research as required
Teaching and Training
- Assist in teaching and training courses run UKHSA, Colindale and outside, by producing presentation materials and assist in HIV/STI lectures.
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.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:
Surveillance and Prevention Monitoring
- Undertake data collection and data management of surveillance systems for monitoring AMR trends in STIs (primary focus on gonorrhoea and Mycoplasma genitalium).
- Carry out epidemiological analyses to monitor trends, geographic distribution and risk factors for AMR using various national surveillance datasets (e.g. GRASP, SGSS, GUMCAD, MARS).
- Contribute to development and analysis of new programmes for AMR surveillance of Mycoplasma genitalium and surveillance of disseminated gonococcal infection.
- Lead together with senior scientist on production of the annual GRASP and MARS reports, carrying out the appropriate analyses and generating scientific graphs and tables.
- Play a key role in the incident team managing cases and potential outbreaks of XDR gonorrhoea in England.
- Conduct weekly follow-up of ceftriaxone-resistant N. gonorrhoeae isolates for confirmatory susceptibility testing and generate complementary monthly snapshot reports
Specialist Advice and Evaluation
- Effectively communicate areas of research at MARS collaborators meetings as well as local, national, international meetings and conferences in the form of abstracts or oral presentations.
- Write and/or contribute to national and local policy setting reports, as well as peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, on the health of the population
Research and Development
- Undertake literature reviews, evaluative research surveys, audits and other research as required
Teaching and Training
- Assist in teaching and training courses run UKHSA, Colindale and outside, by producing presentation materials and assist in HIV/STI lectures.
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.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to degree level, or equivalent experience
Desirable
- MSc in Public Health, Epidemiology or allied discipline, or equivalent
Knowledge and experience
Essential
- Scientific research work experience, particularly in public health
- Data management, cleaning, handling, analysis and reporting
- Interpreting and evaluating epidemiological data
- Preparing scientific reports and presentations
- Good working knowledge of Microsoft packages, including Access, Word, PowerPoint and Excel
- Use of statistical software (e.g. STATA, SPSS, SAS, or R) and graphics software
Desirable
- Experience of communicable disease epidemiology, surveillance and prevention
- Qualitative research experience
Skills / capabilities/ behaviours
Essential
- Communicate and negotiate accurately, succinctly and in a friendly manner with a wide range of health, IT and academic professionals, as well as the general public
- Prioritise and co-ordinate own workload in order to meet tight deadlines
- Work well on own initiative as well as in a team
- Identify and deal with problems in a calm, efficient and timely manner
- Communicate and document methods clearly and succinctly
- Have a clear and organised approach to work, and produce accurate and consistent work
- Maintain required levels of confidentiality
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to degree level, or equivalent experience
Desirable
- MSc in Public Health, Epidemiology or allied discipline, or equivalent
Knowledge and experience
Essential
- Scientific research work experience, particularly in public health
- Data management, cleaning, handling, analysis and reporting
- Interpreting and evaluating epidemiological data
- Preparing scientific reports and presentations
- Good working knowledge of Microsoft packages, including Access, Word, PowerPoint and Excel
- Use of statistical software (e.g. STATA, SPSS, SAS, or R) and graphics software
Desirable
- Experience of communicable disease epidemiology, surveillance and prevention
- Qualitative research experience
Skills / capabilities/ behaviours
Essential
- Communicate and negotiate accurately, succinctly and in a friendly manner with a wide range of health, IT and academic professionals, as well as the general public
- Prioritise and co-ordinate own workload in order to meet tight deadlines
- Work well on own initiative as well as in a team
- Identify and deal with problems in a calm, efficient and timely manner
- Communicate and document methods clearly and succinctly
- Have a clear and organised approach to work, and produce accurate and consistent work
- Maintain required levels of confidentiality
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.
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).
Additional information
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.
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).
