Commercial Biosafety Scientist

Job description

Job responsibilities

It is important through your application and Statement of Suitability of 750 words (maximum) that you give evidence and examples of proven experience of each of the following criteria.

**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.**

Essential Criteria:

• Relevant degree (or equivalent qualification and/or experience) in a microbiology topic/environment
• Experience in relevant methods (bacteriology, air sampling, containment equipment) acquired through previous employment, placements or taught course relevant for project
• Good understanding and experience of safe working practices in microbiology
• Good understanding and experience of safe working practices
• Good communication skills
• Self-motivating, organized & meticulous
• Able to work flexibly to meet varying needs
• Willing to undertake further training
• Demonstrated ability to work in teams and independently
• 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 management system

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of working in a quality environment and implementing quality systems
• Good knowledge of report writing and delivering results to customer

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

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 and a statement of suitability. Your Statement of Suitability should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, against the essential criteria (outlined in the person specification section). Your Statement of Suitability must not exceed 750 words.

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. The sift selection panel will only consider relevant career history information from the last 5 years.

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

STAGE 2 INTERVIEW:

This competition will involve an interview via In-person.

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.

Alongside essential and desirable criteria outlined in the person specification, the Success Profiles framework will be considered at to assess and recruit the most suitable candidate.

The following behaviours will be used at the interview:

• Working Together
• Developing Self and Others
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs 29/10/2023 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: TBC

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 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

Education and qualifications

Essential

• Relevant degree (or equivalent qualification and/or experience) in a microbiology topic/environment
• Experience in relevant methods (bacteriology, air sampling, containment equipment) acquired through previous employment, placements or taught course relevant for project
• Good understanding and experience of safe working practices in microbiology.
• Good understanding and experience of safe working practices
• Good communication skills
• Self-motivating, organized & meticulous
• Able to work flexibly to meet varying needs
• Willing to undertake further training
• Demonstrated ability to work in teams and independently
• 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 management systems

Desirable

• Experience of working in a quality environment and implementing quality systems
• Good knowledge of report writing and delivering results to customers

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

Porton Down

Salisbury

SP4 0JG

Employer's website

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