In the Department of Health and Social Care, we are proud of our purpose – to enable everyone to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. To achieve this, and create a great place to work, we have four values: we are inclusive, we constantly improve, we challenge, and we are agile. If this sounds like an environment you would like to work in, we would love to hear from you.
The Emergency Preparedness and Health Protection Directorate, within the Global and Public Health Group, plays a vital role in preparing for and responding to all kinds of national incidents, such as disease outbreaks or terrorist attacks. This busy Directorate leads a great range of policy, covering everything from infectious disease planning and response including Ebola and pandemic flu, to health security, antimicrobial resistance, vaccination and immunisation policy, and counter terrorism preparations and response.
The UK Health Security team is responsible for ensuring that we have effective UK-wide health protection capabilities that can prevent, prepare for, and respond to all types of communicable diseases and threats to health. Our work includes:
- Ensuring that we have the right medicines, vaccines, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to respond to outbreaks and pandemics of known diseases.
- Supporting the 100 Days Mission to build the research, development, and manufacturing capacity to make diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines available within 100 days of a novel pandemic threat being detected.
- Preparing options for non-medical interventions and legislation in case of a disease outbreak or pandemic.
- Strengthening our existing legislation to bolster our health protection capabilities, for example by making certain diseases legally notifiable or improving our ability to detect and manage diseases at the border.
- Working with the chairs and secretariats of expert advisory committees on novel respiratory viruses (NERVTAG), dangerous pathogens (ACDP), antimicrobial resistance (APRHAI) and zoonotic diseases (HAIRS) in our sponsorship role to ensure our policy-making is supported by independent expert advice.
- Developing policy on infection prevention and control and tackling the growing burden of antimicrobial resistance.
- Working internationally to strengthen our pandemic preparedness including by supporting negotiations on an international pandemic accord.
We are recruiting for two senior executive officers (SEOs), who will deliver high-profile, cross-cutting policy on pandemic preparedness, working across several of the key areas mentioned above. The successful post holders will be line managed by a Grade 7 in their primary work area and may be task managed by others on additional work.
There are two roles available: one permanent and one Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) for 12 months. The candidate who scores highest will have first choice between the permanent and FTA roles.
The exact portfolio and deliverables will be agreed with successful candidates. There may be flexing of the role once within post, reflecting the occasionally reactive nature of our work when new disease risks materialise.
Our policy team bring together experts, partners, and delivery teams to develop, agree, and oversee the implementation of policies to protect the UK against infectious diseases.
Role 1: Pandemic Preparedness Policy Manager (Legislation)
This is a 12-month role in the pandemic preparedness policy team, with potential for an extension of up to 6 months. Working closely with the G7 team leader, the postholder will develop policy in relation to our legislative framework for use in health emergencies. They will carry out research to understand the lessons from the pandemic, including from the COVID-19 Inquiry, building expertise on legislative processes, develop a comprehensive understanding of the wider legislative options to improve our preparedness, and commission legal advice as needed. The role will involve working closely with policy colleagues in the pandemic preparedness team and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to identify opportunities to enhance our preparedness where legislative tools may be beneficial.
The postholder will also support the wider work of the team, which could include supporting the sponsorship function to the New and Emerging Respiratory Threats Advisory Group, as required responding to briefing requests and providing high quality responses to parliamentary questions and related business as needed.
Role 2: Pandemic Preparedness Policy Manager (PPE and International)
This is a permanent role in the pandemic preparedness policy team. The post holder will develop policy on personal protective equipment (PPE) and hygiene consumables, which are important countermeasures for reducing the spread of infection in a pandemic or other health emergency. This may involve reviewing target volumes for stockpiles, leading business cases for procurements, and exploring innovative alternatives to stockpiles to increase preparedness and maximise value for money.
The postholder will also have the opportunity to support international aspects of pandemic preparedness policy. For example, the team is currently supporting ongoing World Health Organisation negotiations on a pandemic accord.
Both roles will involve some, or all, of the below:
- Working closely with expert advisory committees and public health advisers (including the Chief Medical Officer and their deputies) to ensure our policies are underpinned by sound scientific evidence.
- Collaborating with colleagues in DHSC, UKHSA, and NHS England (NHSE) to agree and deliver a coordinated approach across the health system; across government with other departments including Cabinet Office and Defra; and across the UK with the Devolved Governments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
- Working with analytical, finance, project specialists commercial, and legal teams to understand the impacts, costs, feasibility, affordability, and routes to delivery for policies in development#.
- Project management of key aspects of policy development, such as consultations, business cases, or analyses.
- Delivering desk based research and becoming trusted advisors on complex policy areas.
- Writing advice for senior officials and ministers, and briefing seniors.
We are looking for people who care about protecting the UK from infectious diseases. You do not need to have a background in health or biomedical sciences, but you should feel excited and comfortable about working with technical concepts and experts.