JOB SUMMARY

The Countermeasures and Preparedness Team (CPT) sits within Commercial, Vaccines and Countermeasures Delivery in UKHSA, reporting to its Chief Operating Officer. The CPT is responsible for ensuring the UK can respond effectively to new and emerging disease threats, pandemics, and emergency response situations. This includes risks to national and wider health security, such as the accidental or malicious release of a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear agent, and in incidents involving certain venoms and toxins.
The CPT is at the heart of the UKHSA’s mission to keep all our communities safe, save lives and protect livelihoods through effective prevention, preparedness and response to infectious diseases and environmental hazards. We achieve this through the effective oversight, procurement, supply and operationalisation of a range of medical countermeasures. We also manage key pandemic preparedness capability, including an advance purchase agreement with CSL Seqirus, the National Pandemic Flu Service and the Moderna-UK Strategic Partnership. The CPT has a serious remit, but we deliver this with a positive, supportive and fun working culture.
This role will have support activities reacting to the National Pandemic Flu Service (NPFS) reporting to the G7 NPFS Lead in the Vaccines and Countermeasures Team. This is a critical role to ensure that medicines for pandemics which are stockpiled can be deployed effectively at scale. The role will require the post holder to understand the current and future policy requirements of DHSC and that of the DAs and ensure the service remains aligned with the medicines (including those beyond influenza antivirals) and can provide automated process to that provided by primary care in a pandemic

JOB DESCRIPTION

• Maintain a working knowledge of current and future DHSC policy requirements regarding medicines for responses to UK pandemics, ensuring a complimentary NPFS strategic roadmap is developed and maintained.
• Work closely with colleagues in UKHSA National Operations, commission internal and external business, and technical services to ensure the NPFS is ready to be fully mobilised in 21 days or less and that it can be operated in line with the mobilisation requirement and demand signal provided.
• Work closely with colleagues in UKHSA National Operations, commission internal and external business, and technical services to ensure the NPFS can be developed in line with future DDHSC Policy requirements and operational improvements.
• Support the reporting all aspects of readiness and development progress to the Clinical Countermeasures Management Board, fielding stakeholder questions as required.
• Manage and deliver end-to-end operational/preparedness project(s), supporting with the definition of project scope, and utilising good communication and problem-solving skills, to organise teams, set priorities, multi task, and ensure that projects are completed on time and within budget
• Build project plans and apply appropriate project principles to deliver stated objectives. Identify and set appropriate project controls, track and report delivery against milestones. Lead in the drafting of project related sections in associated business cases, utilising subject matter experts to produce robust cases.
• Engage with a wide array of stakeholders including clinical, policy, operational and technical experts. Ensure effective communication with project stakeholders and senior sponsors/SRO’s
• Support the creation of NPFS roadmap and operational requirements.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential criteria - you will be assessed on the below 5 essential criteria, which have been selected from the Job Description Document.

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

Operational Delivery