• Details

Reference number

399194

Salary

£68,568 - £82,746

Per Annum/Pro Rata

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Grade 6

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

Chief Operating Officer Group (COO) People and Workplaces Property & Security

Type of role

Health and Safety

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Birmingham, Chilton, Leeds, Liverpool, London (Canary Wharf or Colindale), Porton (Core HQs and Scientific Campus’)

About the job

Job summary

The Division of Workplace, and Health and Safety is responsible for leading and transforming the delivery of UKHSA’s workplace services, including asset, estate and office management, protective security, occupational health and health and safety. The Protective Security Team provides professional expert support, training, guidance and advice on all matters relating to protective security, to facilitate and ensure compliance with relevant legislation, and to prevent incidents and protect UKHSA employees.

UKHSA operates nationally and internationally, including at its scientific campuses at Chilton, Colindale and Porton Down. Within the working remit of UKHSA key aspects of our activities include research and operational health protection work with the most dangerous pathogens and associated security requirements and health protection operations teams across the country. More generally, our expert staff work with and advise a range of government partners on health security matters; physical and personnel security is therefore of paramount importance to the organisation.

The role will be the head of the security profession within UKHSA and the focal point into the Government Security Group for UKHSA. The Head of Protective Security has direct line management responsibilities for 4 grade 7 posts, (Personnel Security, Physical Security, Security Education & Awareness and Threat Analyst).

Specific, key duties and responsibilities will include :
• Corporate lead for the physical and personnel security strategy, with a corporate link to the Audit & Risk Committee of the UKHSA Advisory Board and, when required, the CEO and UKHSA’s Executive Committee, the senior executive decision-making body.
• Evaluating and managing risk, including trend analysis and data interpretation Overseeing UKHSA alignment to security standards and policies.
• Development and implementation of measures in relation to counter-terrorism to protect UKHSA staff and assets as appropriate to their workplace circumstances.
• Provision of advice on physical and personnel security to UKHSA management and staff.
• Meeting security monitoring and assurance requirements such as the Department Security Health Check, and utilising intelligence and information from those processes to identify areas for improvement and achievement of government security standards.
• Acting as an intelligent customer, establishing the need for and requesting and monitoring services from the Cluster Security Unit and Government Security Centres, and supporting the Government Chief Security Officer through governance structures to ensure security requirements are being met.
• Responsible for security incident management design and implementation, working with other relevant stakeholders across UKHSA.
This is not an exhaustive list please see Job description document for full list of duties

Reporting to the Deputy Director of Workplace and Health and Safety, you will be responsible for leadership and direction of the Protective Security team, maintaining requirements for our highly regulated Science Estate, and across our wider GB portfolio of sites and activities.

Working closely with colleagues across UKHSA, you will:

• Support us in delivering effective security for UKHSA. You will be leading on the management and mitigation of security risks and incidents physical and personnel issues holistically.
• Be responsible for mitigating security threats and for ensuring continuous improvement of statutory security compliance applicable to UKHSA.
• Support business delivery leads and colleagues with their responsibilities, helping to build and embed a strong security culture within UKHSA and associated partners.
• Working collaboratively with Cabinet Office Government Security Group, the Department of Health and Social Care’s Senior Security Adviser external partners including local stakeholder manager for interactions with the Police, especially CTSAs (and oversight of CTSA interactions in other regions for example, via local site security managers at UKHSA’s scientific campuses).
• To work with and provide expert guidance and advice on physical and personnel security issues for any future proposals for the development of the Science Hub Programme.
• Acting as a security professional, championing and sharing best practice through the community and embedding government security culture within UKHS, across technology, operations and suppliers which includes the oversight and management of ROSA.

This is an exciting opportunity to join us and play a significant part in ensuring that we meet our wide-ranging obligations for UK biosecurity. The role is also part of the wider Government Security Profession; a community with a mandate to establish transformation, and responsibility for an entirely new security model to protect the UK.

The post holder should be willing to pursue a program of continuous professional development and actively maintain a high level of awareness of best practice and relevant legislation. You must also be comfortable to work flexibly and operate in a highly evolving environment while UKHSA continues its transformation journey and defines its organisational culture.

Person specification

Essential criteria - you will be assessed on the below 10 essential criteria, which have been selected from the Job Description Document.

• Membership of the Security Institute or other nationally recognised security body or institute
• A senior security qualification in one of the main disciplines or ability to demonstrate equivalent experience.
• Sound and demonstrable understanding of security and risk, as well as a willingness to develop knowledge in these areas as appropriate whilst recognising future risks and strategically planning to mitigate them
• Extensive background in physical and personnel security, with experience/knowledge of technology, risk management or data profession advantageous.
• Significant experience of leading personnel and physical security within government or similar environment
• Extensive experience of engaging, advising and influencing at all levels of an organisation including senior managers, whilst projecting credibility and self-assurance.
• Ability to take a strategic approach, considering the impact of your decisions in the broadest of settings, articulating a clear vision for progress and high performance.
• Ability to form excellent relationships within your department and the wider cross-government security community, with the ability to draw on experts/the expertise of others when required.
• Ability to analyse, translate and simplify complex information to provide appropriate advice and guidance.
• Successful track record of proactively forging working relationships with staff at all levels within a complex multi-site organisation.

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £68,568, UK Health Security Agency contributes £19,864 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 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 employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Ability and Experience

Stage 1: Application & Sift
Success profiles

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 10 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:

• Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• 1500- word Statement of Suitability.

This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.

The Application form and Statement of Suitability will be marked together.

Longlisting : In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of:

• Meets all essential criteria
• Meets some essential criteria
• Meets no essential criteria

Please note Piles 1 & 2 will be carried though to shortlisting.

Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on;-

• Membership of the Security Institute or other nationally recognised security body or institute
• Sound and demonstrable understanding of security and risk, as well as a willingness to develop knowledge in these areas as appropriate whilst recognising future risks and strategically planning to mitigate them
• Extensive experience of engaging, advising and influencing at all levels of an organisation including senior managers, whilst projecting credibility and self-assurance

Unfortunately, late applications will not be considered.

Please do not exceed 1500- words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.

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

Reasonable Adjustments

You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

Stage 2: Interview

Success profiles

You will be invited to a (single) remote interview

Behaviours, experience, ability and strengths will be tested at interview.

There will be a Presentation, with the title supplied with Invite to interview.

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the bigger picture
• Making effective decisions

Please note you will not be able to upload your CV. You must complete the application form in as much detail as possible. Please do not email us your CV.

Eligibility Criteria

External

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

Location
Hybrid any Core HQ
This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQ’s or Scientific Campuses. 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 HQ’s (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London) or at one of our scientific campus sites (Colindale, Porton and Chilton).

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).

Security Clearance Level Requirement

Successful candidates for this role must pass an enhanced disclosure and barring security check before they can be appointed.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Developed Vetting.

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 10 years as the role requires Developed Vetting (DV) clearance.

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.

International Police check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and it could be time accrued over that period.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Your application may be rejected and/or you may be subject to disciplinary action if evidence of plagiarism is detected. Examples of plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence (AI), as your own.

Internal Fraud check

If successful for this role as one aspect of pre-employment screening, applicant’s personal details – name, national insurance number and date of birth - will be checked against the Cabinet Office Internal Fraud Hub and anyone included on the database will be refused employment unless they can show exceptional circumstances. Currently this is only for External candidates to the Civil Service.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting .

See our vetting charter .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles .

Apply and further information

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Chris Williams
• Email : chris.williams2@ukhsa.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : chris.williams2@ukhsa.gov.uk

Further information

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: Complaints@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: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk