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Assurance Lead

  • Public sector
  • Birmingham
  • 21/03/2025
  • £54,416.00 - £68,344.00 /yearly
  • Full Time & Permanent
Job expired!

Job Overview

Location

Birmingham

Job Type

Full Time & Permanent

Salary

£54,416 - £68,344 yearly

Date Posted:

21/03/2025

Expiration date:

02/04/2025

Additional Detail

Job ID

23146

Work Location

Remote and/or Onsite

Job Description

Birmingham, Chilton (Didcot), Leeds, Liverpool, London (Canary Wharf or Colindale), Porton

Job summary

We are seeking a dedicated and innovative policy professional to join us as the Assurance Lead. You will play a pivotal role in fulfilling UKHSA's first strategic priority; be ready for, and prevent, future health security hazards.

The postholder will be a dedicated and innovative policy professional working to support the development of preparedness strategies across UKHSA. The Assurance Lead will play a pivotal role in enhancing the preparedness and response capabilities of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) against a wide range of health threats. The postholders primary focus will be to lead the further development and embedding of UKHSAs comprehensive assuredness plan. to support the Agencys readiness for health security challenges including pandemics, infectious disease outbreaks, chemical and biological hazards, radiological and nuclear incidents, and natural disasters.

Working across the organisation and under the direction of the Head of Readiness and Assurance, this role will contribute to safeguarding public health and strengthening the resilience of the health system.

Working for your organisation

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.   

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.  

Job description

  • Manage the further development assuredness across the organisation
  • Lead on reviewing, in line with best practice, the assuredness of teams across UKHSA
  • Raise awareness and understanding of the purpose and responsibilities relating to, assurance and the wider governance, risk and control framework
  • Strengthen the relationship between risk management and assurance though assurance mapping exercises
  • Establish and maintain effective working relationships and communicate regularly with a wide range of stakeholders
  • Work across UKHSA to ensure that teams are integrating assurance into business planning processes and are consistent with our requirements as a Category 1 responder
  • Translating emerging visions, priorities, and objectives into specific actions to support the ongoing development of assuredness for the organisation
  • Developing evidence-based recommendations
  • Ensuring stakeholder buy-in, supporting teams through delivery of the change process
  • Ensuring effective processes are in place. Agree and document changes to deliverables identified through engagement with stakeholders and in support of the development of assuredness
  • Ensuring that any changes to assurance are agreed with stakeholders and perform as expected in real-world scenarios
  • Establish clear links to all operational assurance functions within UKHSA
  • Act as a credible leader within the Directorate

For a full list of the main duties and responsibilities of the role, please refer to the attached Job Description. 

Person specification

Essential criteria - you will be assessed on the below 7 essential criteria:

  • Post graduate level qualification in an appropriate managerial discipline of relevance to the role, such as a MBA or NVQ7 or equivalent work experience
  • The ability to think rapidly and creatively when dealing with issues and problems, identifying, and proposing solutions. Able to work with and through ambiguity.
  • Experience of working with key professional colleagues, in the context of assurance, governance and risk, developing and delivering assurance within a large organisational setting, ensuring that processes are effective and efficient in an environment of continuous improvement. 
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to work collaboratively and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders across all levels, presenting information clearly using the appropriate tools
  • Highly developed negotiating and influencing skills, overcoming barriers to understanding and acceptance with the ability to gain confidence and credibility of a range of professionals, motivating and inspiring commitment and buy-in.
  • A clear and proven ability to be proactive and work at pace, managing competing demands (self and others) in an outcomes and quality focused way.
  • Demonstrate appreciation and acknowledgment of the range and complexities of diversity; self-awareness in terms of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers; cultural competence cultural sensitivity and awareness.
Alongside your salary of £54,416, UK Health Security Agency contributes £15,764 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%

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours and Strengths.

Stage 1: Application & Sift:

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed (7) essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:  

  • Application form (Employer/ Activity history section on the application)
  • 1000 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.

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.  

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  

The following will be taken through to the next stage: 

  • Meets all essential criteria 
  • Meets some essential criteria

Shortlisting: 

In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on the following:

  • The ability to think rapidly and creatively when dealing with issues and problems, identifying and proposing solutions. Able to work with and through ambiguity.
  • Experience of working with key professional colleagues, in the context of assurance, governance and risk, developing and delivering assurance within a large organisational setting, ensuring that processes are effective and efficient in an environment of continuous improvement. 
  • Highly developed negotiating and influencing skills, overcoming barriers to understanding and acceptance with the ability to gain confidence and credibility of a range of professionals, motivating and inspiring commitment and buy-in.

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

Please do not exceed 1000 words.  We will not consider any words over and above this number. 

Feedback will not be provided at this stage. 

Stage 2: Interview 

You will be invited to a (single) remote interview. 

Behaviours and strengths will be tested at interview.  

 The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be 

  • Seeing the big picture Lead behaviour
  • Communicating and influencing
  • Changing and Improving
  • Making Effective Decision 
  • Leadership 

Eligibility Criteria - External  

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

Location 

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, 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 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 or Counter-terrorist Check depending on which site you are based at. 

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. 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.  

Reasonable Adjustments 

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone. To help you during the recruitment process, we will consider any reasonable adjustments that could help you. An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work. This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme. If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.  

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

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, applicants 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. 

Careers website 

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



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 counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) 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) (opens in a new window)
  • 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 (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Recruitment team

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: [email protected] 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

 
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