Medical Consultant in Clinical Countermeasures

Job description

Job responsibilities

Surveillance and assessment of the populations health and well-being1) Develop and integrate therapeutics and vaccines horizon scanning with wider divisional infections horizon scanning, to inform the work with advisory committees and advice given to policy and procurement leads.2) Develop and lead surveillance programmes (including sleeper research projects) to monitor appropriate use of therapies and vaccines to minimise the development of resistance and variants of concern.3) Lead on the production of therapeutics statistics and intelligence.4) Collaborate and contribute to the development of national policy on therapeutics and vaccines.

Assessing the evidence of effectiveness of health and healthcare interventions, programmes and services5) Provide expert public health advice and leadership to support and inform an evidence-based approach to therapeutics and vaccinations, particularly in emergency situations.6) Develop and lead research investigating novel and existing interventions and assess their effectiveness.7) Develop and implement surveillance systems to detect therapeutics resistance and vaccines escape mutants.

Policy and strategy development and implementation8) Provide expert public health advice and leadership and support and inform the development of therapeutics and vaccination policy, including approaches to deployment for disease containment in emergency situations.9) Provide membership and input to national and international expert advisory committees and programme teams convened by UKHSA, the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement, and others.

Leadership and collaborative working for health10) Develop leadership and management within the units and division.11) Assist and provide specialist advice during outbreaks and incidents.

Health improvement and health protection12) Reduce inequalities and work with representatives of groups at high risk of illnesses targeted by the therapeutics and vaccines in remit.Service Improvement13) Lead on the development of guidance related to the therapeutics agents and vaccinations in remit.14) Work with the NHS to plan and advise on the delivery of therapeutics and vaccines to target populations in emergency situations and test with modellers the efficacy of the chosen approaches.

Public Health Intelligence15) Analyse and evaluate relevant data and research evidence to make recommendations and inform decisions.16) Provide expert advice on needs, inequalities and intervention impact assessments and identify areas for action.

Research, development and training17) Lead the development of the research evidence base for the novel and existing therapeutics and vaccinations within remit including evaluating outcomes, and for emerging antiviral resistance and variants or mutations of concern.18) Collaborate with the research programme of the NIHR HPRU.19) Assist with education, training and competency development and assessment in the workforce.20) Supervise research activities.21) Communicate with a wide audience including the public to change practice and influence behaviours, often in challenging circumstances.

Please refer to the attached Job Description & Person Specification for full details.

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

Stage 1: Application & Sift

This vacancy is using Competency

At sift stage you will be assessed against the Essential Criteria listed in the attached Job Description & Person Specification.

You will be required to complete an:

Application form (Employer/ Activity history section on the application) a 1500 word Statement of SuitabilityThis should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role.

You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V please be advised you will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible)

Your statement of suitability must be no more than 1500 words.

If we receive a large number of applications an initial sift will be conducted against the criteria of:

1. Inclusion in the GMC Full and Specialist Register with a license to practice/GDC Specialist List (or be eligible for registration within six months of interview)2. If included in the GMC Specialist Register/GDC Specialist List in a specialty other than public health medicine/dental public health, microbiology, virology or infectious diseases, candidates must have equivalent training and/or appropriate experience of public health practice3. If an applicant is UK trained in Public Health, Microbiology, Virology or Infectious Diseases, they must ALSO be a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), or be within six months of award of CCT by date of interview4. If an applicant is non-UK trained, they will be required to show evidence of equivalence to the UK CCT5. Professional examinations as appropriate: MFPH, FRCPath or MRCP or if non-UK trained, they will be required to show evidence of equivalent examinations

Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we may longlist into 3 piles of:Meets all essential criteria Meets some essential criteria Meets no essential criteria

Please note feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Interview stage (competency based):

You will be invited to a remote interview.

Interviews will be held week commencing 12th January 2026, please note these dates are subject to change.

This vacancy is being assessed using Civil Service Competency framework. During the interview we will assess against your knowledge, experience, and skills.

You will be asked to prepare and present a 5-10 minute presentation at the start of your interview. The subject of this will be sent to you prior to interview. Slides are permitted.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQs. We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's core HQs (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London) or at one of our scientific campus sites (Colindale).Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

If based at one of our scientific campuses, you will be required to have a minimum of a Counter Terrorism Check security vetting check as a minimum. For meaningful National Security Vetting checks to be carried out individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years as the role requires Counter Terrorism Check (CTC) clearance. In exceptional circumstances UK residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder/Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

• Inclusion in the GMC Full and Specialist Register with a license to practice/GDC Specialist List (or be eligible for registration within six months of interview)
• If included in the GMC Specialist Register/GDC Specialist List in a specialty other than public health medicine/dental public health, microbiology, virology or infectious diseases, candidates must have equivalent training and/or appropriate experience of public health practice
• If an applicant is UK trained in Public Health, Microbiology, Virology or Infectious Diseases, they must ALSO be a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), or be within six months of award of CCT by date of interview 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 (i.e. be up to date) in accordance with Faculty of Public Health, Royal College of Physicians or Royal College of Pathologists requirements or other recognised body
• Professional examinations as appropriate: MFPH, FRCPath or MRCP If an applicant is non-UK trained, they will be required to show evidence of equivalent examinations

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).

Employer details

Employer name

UK Health Security Agency

Address

UKHSA Core Locations / Colindale

London

E14 4PU

Employer's website

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