Consultant in Health Protection

Job responsibilities

Key working areas include:

Response - management of incidents, clusters and outbreaks of infectious diseases or environmental hazards; contribute, and/or lead the UKHSA response during incidents in line with Emergency Planning Resilience and Response (EPRR), both in and out of hours.

Surveillance - Contribute strategically to the development and maintenance of effective systems for the surveillance of communicable disease and environmental hazards

Partnership Working - proactive development and contribution to key relationships with a wide range of individuals and stakeholders both internal and external

Research, Teaching & Training - contributing to research activity and training programmes and providing clinical supervision where appropriate

Management & Leadership - To be a visible, positive leader and role model.

Personal & Professional Development - Continuing own Professional Development and that of others

You must demonstrate how you meet the full list of duties and responsibilities which can be found in the job description.

Selection Process Details;

STAGE 1 Application & Sift:

This vacancy will be assessed using a competency-based framework which will assess your Qualifications, knowledge and experience and / or skills and capabilities outlined in the person specification. You will be required to complete an application form. You will also be asked to provide information within the Employer/ Activity history section of the application form. This will be assessed in line with the advertised criteria.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a detailed personal statement / statement of suitability(max 1500 words)based on the essential criteria advertised. This should outline how you consider your skills, knowledge and experience meet the selection requirements. It should provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the person specification criteria outlined.

Applicants are strongly advised to use the person specification section as sub-headings in the application to make it clear how you meet each of the selection criteria.

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

STAGE 2 Interview

All candidates who are successful at the sift stage will progress to an interview and will be assessed on the essential criteria as advertised.A presentation will form part of this assessment.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed.

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

Open to external

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants)

Applicants are strongly advised to use the criteria in the Person Specification of the Job Description as sub-headings in their application to make it clear how they meet each of the selection criteria.

The successful candidate will be appointed to the point of the Consultant salary scale appropriate to their years of seniority or if from a background other than medicine to NHS Agenda for Change Band 8d.

Inclusion in the GMC Full and Specialist Register with a license to practice (or be eligible for registration within six months of interview).

If included in the GMC Specialist Register/ in a specialty other than public health medicine, candidates must have equivalent training and/or appropriate experience of public health practice.

Public Health Specialty Registrar applicants who are not yet on the GMC Specialist Register must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they are within 6 months of gaining entry at the date of interview; all other applicants must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they have applied for inclusion in the GMC.

Qualifications

Essential

• Inclusion in the GMC Specialist Register or UK Public Health (Special Inclusion in the GMC full and specialist register with a license to practice (or be eligible for registration within six months of interview) UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) for Public Health Specialists or be eligible within 6 months
• If included in the GMC Specialist Register/GDC Specialist List in a specialty other than public health medicine/dental public health, candidates must have equivalent training and/or appropriate experience of public health practice
• Public health specialist registrar and specialist trainee applicants who are not yet on the GMC Register/UKPHR must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they are within 6 months of gaining entry at the date of interview; all other applicants must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they have applied for inclusion in the GMC/UKPHR If an applicant is non-UK trained, they will be required to show evidence of equivalence to the UK CCT
• Applicants must meet minimum CPD requirements in accordance with the requirements of the Faculty of Public Health/Royal College of Pathologists/Royal College of Physicians or other recognised body
• MFPH by examination, by exemption or by assessment, or equivalent

Knowledge and experience

Essential

• Minimum 6 months experience in Health Protection practice
• Practical experience in leading and facilitating change
• Experience of communicable disease control in a wide variety of settings including out of hours on call
• Experience of working with other agencies
• Experience of emergency planning
• Understanding of key agencies involved in health protection
• Knowledge of methods of developing clinical quality assurance, audit, quality improvement and evidence based clinical and/or public health practice
• Understanding of social and political environment
• Understanding of laboratory microbiology services
• Understanding of clinical infectious diseases services
• Understanding of clinical toxicology services
• Understanding of the principles of radiological protection

Desirable

• Experience of budget management and financial processes
• Experience and demonstrable competency in dealing with environmental hazards / chemical incidents
• Ability to undertake prophylaxis, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases of public health importance
• Peer reviewed scientific publications, presentation of papers at conferences, seminars
• Understanding of the public sector duty and the inequality duty and their application to public health practice

Skills and capabilities

Essential

• Strategic thinker with proven leadership skills, including management of change
• Able to prioritise work, and work well against a background of change and uncertainty
• Adaptable to situations, can communicate with people of all capabilities and attitudes
• Project management
• Understanding of epidemiology and statistics, public health practice, health promotion, health economics and health care evaluation
• Excellent oral and written communication skills (including dealing with the public and the media)
• Effective interpersonal, motivational and influencing skills
• Ability to respond appropriately in unplanned and unforeseen circumstances
• Sensible negotiator with practical expectation of what can be achieved
• Substantially numerate, with highly developed analytical skills using qualitative and quantitative data
• Computer literate
• Ability to design, develop, interpret and implement policies
• Ability to concentrate for long periods (e.g. analyses, media presentations)
• Resource management skills

Desirable

• People management and training
• Training and mentoring
• Have an awareness of and be working towards the key core competencies set out in Civil Service Competency Framework 2010-2017 and KSF for those on AfC terms and conditions

Behaviours and Attitudes

Essential

• Strong commitment to public health principles
• Commitment to team-working and respect and consideration for the skills of others
• Self-motivated, pro-active, and innovative
• High standards of professional probity

Equality and diversity

Essential

• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships, both in terms of day-to-day working practices, and in relation to management systems

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).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).