Senior Toxicologist

Job description

Job responsibilities

As the Senior Toxicologist your main responsibilities will include:

The job holder will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:

Contribute to the long-term planning and development of the Experimental Toxicology research programme.

Contribute to and take responsibility for specific aspects of the design, development and operation of Toxicology Department laboratories, including the Inhalation Facility. In particular, in relation to the requirements for undertaking in vivo and in vitro biological/toxicological studies of the effects of exposure to chemicals and other environmental pollutants (e.g. nanomaterials and bioaerosols).

Design, execute and undertake in vivo and in vitro experimental studies to investigate the biological/toxicological effects of exposure to chemicals and other environmental pollutants (e.g. nanomaterials and bioaerosols).

Design, execute and undertake in vivo and in vitro experimental studies to support the development and validation of appropriate methods for chemical testing to support regulatory objectives for chemicals.

Address the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) framework for performing more humane animal research in experimental activities.

Contribute to the management of research projects/programmes including: planning, experimental design, procedures and data analysis.

Collaborate with internal and external scientists in the development of proposals for funding and the development of programmes for experimental work.

Produce sound scientific papers for external peer reviewed publication and give presentations at levels including international conferences.

Assist in the supervision of junior staff, internal and from collaborating organisations (eg MSc, PhD students).

Undertake specific development tasks for the Group Leader (eg Health and Safety responsibilities).

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.

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 an interview by video or face-to-face.

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.

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 participate in a session where they will be required to prepare and deliver a 10-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.

For further information on the selection process, please refer to the attached Candidate Pack.

Expected Timeline:

Advert close: 23:55hrs on Tuesday 21st March 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: 22nd/23rd March 2023

Interviews: w/c 3rd April 2023

Please note these dates could be subject to change.

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/

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Good honours degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate science subject (e.g. Toxicology, Biology, Molecular Biology) or equivalent experience of working at a similar level in a toxicologically relevant area.
• Relevant practical MSc (or equivalent experience) in the biological/toxicological effects of exposures to chemicals and other environmental pollutants (e.g. nanomaterials and bioaerosols).
• Practical experience of in vitro and/or in vivo studies of biological/toxicological effects of contaminants, including relevant models (e.g. respiratory, GI tract)
• Experience of complex laboratory work in a research facility/environment (such that general laboratory skills including H&S related and experimental design skills have been acquired)
• General laboratory skills and experimental design skills (e.g. capable of working accurately and consistently in setting up equipment and in making complex measurements, technical competence in taking measurements coupled with good numeracy and experience with statistical analysis of experimental results)
• Understanding of the 3Rs principles for humane animal experimentation and their application

Desirable

• Experience of writing scientific papers for peer reviewed journals
• Experience of presenting research findings at national/international conferences
• Experience of molecular analysis techniques such as real-time PCR, ELISAs
• and/or high content imaging systems
• Experience of RNA sequencing and associated bioinformatic analysis

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.

Employer details

Employer name

UK Health Security Agency

Address

UKHSA Chilton

Chilton

Didcot

Oxfordshire

OX11 0RQ

Employer's website

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