At the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) our mission is to provide health security for the nation by protecting from infectious disease and external hazards. We are a trusted source of advice to government and to the public, focusing on reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by infectious disease, environmental hazards, and other threats to health.
Our mission is challenging, innovative and in the spotlight. We will work to ensure our people have the diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds we need to thrive, that our employees are representative of the communities we serve and feel valued and enabled to play their part in delivering our work.
Creating our working culture is an ongoing process which we are developing by listening and learning together, hearing and acting upon diverse voices and opinions to develop a common sense of identity and effective ways of working.
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Private Office of the Commercial, Vaccines & Countermeasures Delivery directorate in UK Health Security Agency as a Private Secretary.

Supporting the Director of CVCD and the Deputy Directors of CVCD through delivery of an effective and efficient Private Office service, including support for meetings, drafting briefings, high quality correspondence responses, communications, and ensuring the Director of CVCD’s priorities are taken forward
Providing a high-quality service for your portfolio area, taking a key role in driving delivery and ensuring coherence across the senior leadership team, business areas, wider agency and across Whitehall
Build and maintain strong relationships with the executive leadership of UKHSA and their Private Offices to collectively drive forward work, understand risks, engage with senior officials and help deliver operationally
Developing a team culture and environment of continuous improvement that supports the wider organisation to deliver
Offering ad hoc support to the wider Private Office team, including deputising for the Chief of Staff when required.
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.
Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers
The Private Secretary is a pivotal and demanding role within the organisation, helping to advise the principal and deliver the Agency’s priorities. They will lead on a portfolio of areas within the Private Office to support the principal, their senior leadership team, and colleagues across the group. This will involve commissioning and reviewing advice and briefing, ensuring that the principal’s priorities are being taken forward, and that these are aligned to the Agency’s and Ministers’ priorities.
This role has line management responsibility for executive support/diary manager, as well as supporting the effective running of the office and the leadership of the business area.
The Vaccine and Countermeasures Delivery teams within CVCD play a critical role in delivering UKHSA’s mission to protect and improve public health. These teams oversee the supply and delivery of a comprehensive portfolio of life-saving vaccines, countermeasures and immunisation products across the UK, spanning children’s, adults’, rapid response and seasonal programmes. Drawing on expertise from diverse disciplines, the teams ensure the seamless operational execution and optimal supply of regulated pharmaceutical products while adhering to GDP best practices and maintaining the resilience of these essential public health initiatives.
By coordinating and supporting the relevant internal and external workstreams across the UK, the team ensures all nations (where appropriate) are effectively represented and operationally prepared. This includes ensuring supply reaches the right place, at the right time, and in the right volumes, while supporting the mobilisation of those supplies into impactful delivery campaigns. Through extensive collaboration with internal and external stakeholders, suppliers, clinical experts, and data analysts, the team drives continual improvement, fosters knowledge-sharing, and ensures better patient outcomes—all while delivering value for taxpayers.