Epidemiological support scientist (ID1870)

APHA is an Executive Agency of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). We are responsible for identifying, managing, and controlling incidents and outbreaks of endemic and exotic diseases and pests in animals, plants and bees, as well as carrying out scientific research. We provide unique capabilities and an evidence base for the UK government, together with international reference centre responsibilities.
To contribute to and support the profile of epidemiological research and surveillance projects in the fields of national and international veterinary public health within the Epidemiological Sciences department at Weybridge., To contribute to the profile of epidemiological research and surveillance projects in the fields of national and international veterinary public health. The post holder will be responsible for delegated epidemiological tasks within research and surveillance projects of the Department of Epidemiological Sciences (DES) and APHA Science departments.
Main duties include:
+ Development and application of expertise in the epidemiology and control of infectious disease, GB livestock systems and endemic and exotic disease threats (particularly salmonella, bovine tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance, and avian influenza)
+ Supporting research project design and delivery through project documents design and production (protocols, questionnaires, data collection forms and schedules) and assisting with the day-to-day running of projects
+ Conducting appropriate descriptive analysis on animal health surveillance and research datasets and presenting the data in effective summaries
+ Contributing to the production of research project reports, disease surveillance reports and scientific publications.
+ Ensuring work meets relevant quality standards
+ Providing flexible support to DES as required in response to changing work requirements and priorities
+ Supporting sampling visits at farms and abattoirs as required., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Delivering at Pace
+ Working Together
+ Making Effective Decisions, Please be aware that this role(s) will be contractually based in a Defra group workplace/office. The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time. Location preference is subject to availability.
As part of the pre-employment process, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).
Where the location is 'National' the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.
Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.
The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.
Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.
Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.
Reserve List
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Merit Lists
Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.
Near miss
Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in APHA which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match., The Weybridge site is a strategically important national asset due to its role as a reference laboratory supporting the Government’s response to national emergencies including disease outbreaks. For this reason all postholders based at the APHA Weybridge site must hold a valid Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) security clearance or above. It is up to each person applying for a post at APHA Weybridge to ensure they meet the CTC residency criteria. Applicants must be currently resident in the UK & have a minimum of 3 years continuous UK residency. If you cannot meet this criteria CTC clearance will not be possible as this is part of pre-employment checks before taking up the post.
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting
Childcare Vouchers
Any move to Defra from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks., + 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.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
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This post provides the holder with a broad experience in epidemiological project work in animal disease surveillance and disease control research.
+ A relevant science degree and interest in epidemiology and veterinary public health is essential.
+ Excellent oral and written communication skills. The post holder will need to liaise with farmers and other stakeholders and partners and will need the ability to adapt style to communicate scientific objectives and results with audiences with different backgrounds.
+ Skills in handling quantitative data (e.g., data cleaning, validation, and results reporting).
+ Ability to conduct descriptive analysis and basic statistics in appropriate software packages is essential.
+ Excellent organisational skills to manage the work requirements and be responsive to changing work requirements and priorities.
+ IT skills must include competency with MS Office software packages., A relevant science degree

Alongside your salary of £27,470, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes £7,416 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 average employer contribution of 27%, New entrants are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.
Visa Sponsorship Statement
Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.
Reasonable Adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.