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About the job
Job summary
Do you want to be part of a team protecting Great Britain from exotic notifiable diseases? If so, why not join us and make a difference!
This is a new job in APHA combining VIO work with notifiable disease outbreak work. The VIO role focusses on surveillance for notifiable diseases, new and re-emerging threats, food safety incidents and zoonotic disease. To do this you will carry out postmortem examinations, collecting appropriate samples and assigning relevant laboratory tests. These findings will permit interpreting and reporting findings and give relevant advice to private veterinarians and other bodies. Visits to farms and to investigate wildlife mortality incidents may also be required.
You will carry out the VIO role other than when required for the outbreak role.
In the outbreak role, you will be involved in investigating notifiable disease outbreaks, this will include ‘field work’ visiting infected premises, monitoring livestock on ‘at risk farms’ and potentially periods on detached duty with overnight stays away from home. You will be eligible for emergency response payments, other allowances and overtime for outbreak work.
Being able to communicate effectively with farmers, private veterinarians, stakeholders, and policy makers is essential in these roles. You will be expected to work to quality standards and observe stringent health and safety requirements. Full training will be given, and you will be encouraged to develop your expertise.
Job description
To carry out any duties commensurate with the grade and purpose of the post including, but not limited to, the following:
Disease Investigation, Welfare and Diagnostics
To investigate animal diseases and welfare cases in primarily farmed livestock, wildlife and other species in order to detect notifiable disease, new and re-emerging threats, food safety incidents and zoonotic disease, and to provide a diagnostic and investigative service. This will be achieved within the quality system by:
- Conducting post-mortem examinations.
- Humanely euthanasing animals where necessary.
- Commissioning appropriate laboratory tests.
- Interpreting results.
- Reporting conclusions.
- Carrying out on-farm and field investigations.
Surveillance
Gathering of information, data and intelligence to enable understanding of the patterns and trends of endemic diseases and the timely detection and characterisation of new and re-emerging animal-related threats, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Collecting relevant information and data.
- Identifying (and where relevant, report and escalate) incidents which may represent statutory, new, re-emerging or changing disease patterns.
- Collating, interpreting and reporting surveillance information and data.
- Work collaboratively to deliver leading edge veterinary research, surveillance, consultancy and laboratory testing services through a series of integrated science programmes.
Stakeholder Engagement
- Actively engaging with private veterinary surgeons, farmers and others to ensure the gathering and sharing of data, information and intelligence to enable understanding of the patterns and trends of endemic diseases and the timely detection of new and re-emerging animal-related threats.
- To develop effective and sustainable working relationships with end-users of APHA services, representing and promoting the interests of GB Governments to deliver agreed policy outcomes.
- To engage with animal keepers, wider industry, the veterinary profession and other operational partners to gather data, information and intelligence, educate, influence and provide feedback to improve the standards of animal health and welfare.
- Arrange and/or attend relevant veterinary and other meetings to participate, present and contribute to knowledge exchange.
Incident and Disease Outbreak Response
- To contribute to and participate in Delivery Area and National Contingency Planning and exercises as required.
- To ensure that professional skills are developed and maintained to undertake any allocated role(s) during incidents and emergency activities with an expectation that the roles in which individuals are specifically trained will be called upon first during outbreaks and provision of veterinary leadership and direction in the field during an emergency situation.
- Expected availability for field activities such as visiting infected premises during notifiable disease outbreaks such as avian influenza outbreaks of poultry. This work may require detached duty staying away from home and away from your usual work location.
- Leadership of avian influenza work (currently predominately wildlife sampling) within base Veterinary Investigation Centre and contribute to avian influenza work across the APHA network.
Learning and Development
- To maintain appropriate veterinary expertise by undertaking and recording Continuing Professional Development.
- To undertake personal learning and development and contribute to organisational learning, supporting continuous improvement. This will include all relevant mandatory training and participation in training/teaching of colleagues and other staff as appropriate.
- A specific requirement for this role will be to have or develop expertise in avian influenza. Candidates with an interest in wildlife or poultry and the diseases of these species may be able to develop these interests further.
Safety, Health and Wellbeing (SHaW)
- To implement APHA SHaW policy and procedures as relevant to the role including compliance with Occupational Health policies essential for delivery of the role such as screening and prophylactic/preventive programmes.
- To carry out appropriate risk assessments when carrying out veterinary duties escalating risks as required.
Compliance and Enforcement
- To represent the Agency, engaging with animal keepers, wider industry and operational partners to gather intelligence, and educate and influence to improve the level of understanding, compliance and safe behaviour.
- To demonstrate an understanding and application of legislation in line with policy and best regulatory practice in order to positively influence behaviours while minimising burdens on industry.
- To use veterinary expertise to support interventions as necessary, including the gathering, interpretation and presentation of evidence, appearing as a witness of fact or as a professional witness when required, and on occasions providing expert witness testimony if appropriately qualified.
Duty and Out-of-Hours Rotas
The VIO Duty Rota, covers the delivery of veterinary diagnostic and surveillance tasks during normal working hours.
During an outbreak scenario, or an emergency notifiable disease situation, you will be asked to support, out-of-hours rotas/ detached duty as required. An allowance is payable for this work.
Quality
- To assist the Head of Department and Quality Managers in maintaining an efficient and effective quality management system meeting the requirements of third-party accreditation and certification (e.g. ISO 17025, ISO 9001).
- Work to agreed quality standards and comply with instructions in the Veterinary Surveillance Instructions (VISIs) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Person specification
- A good understanding of the UK farming industry, including a sound knowledge of significant diseases and diagnostic processes across the species
- Good written and oral communication skills. The post holder will have to be comfortable with communicating across people and groups with a range of scientific knowledge.
- Well-developed interpersonal, decision-making skills.
- Evidence of collaborative working with different teams of people.
- Able to maintain and assure appropriate levels of quality assurance for scientific evidence and advice.
- Highly motivated, corporate, self-aware with high inner resilience and calm under pressure.
- Able to maintain a customer delivery focus at all times.
- Knowledge of Government scanning surveillance and threat detection, and an understanding of how data are gathered to provide surveillance intelligence, including sources of threat data and information.
- A strategic thinker with diagnostic, analytical and creative problem-solving abilities.
Licences
Qualifications
Memberships
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
- Seeing the Big Picture
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Applicable UK farm animal knowledge and farm animal veterinary experience.
- Veterinary Knowledge
- Presentation
- Case Studies
Benefits
In return for your dedication, we will support your ongoing personal development through appropriate training. Inclusion, support and the development of our people matter to us. We aim to support the career and personal wellbeing of everyone in APHA. Our benefits include generous annual leave (25 days rising a day per year up to 30 days after 5 years), flexible working, a contributory pension, staff bonuses and recognition, salary sacrifice benefit options, and an employee discount scheme.
Should you be successful in your application, you can join the active community of scientists and engineers in government as part of the GSE Profession (GSEP). Becoming a member enables you to grow your understanding of profession activities within your own organisation and across the profession. GSEP encourages all members to develop professionally and personally with a variety of free opportunities to learn, develop and network across government. Visit the GSEP GOV.UK page and GSE blog for more details.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Application Process
As part of the application process you will be asked give details in a Personal Statement of how you match the skills and experience detailed and an anonymised CV during the application process.
We are holding "drop in" sessions (via MS Teams) from 1830 on Monday 18th March 2024. Please email steve.jacklin@apha.gov.uk for further details
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Sift
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview. Sift is expected held late March 2024.
Interview
If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Behaviours, Technical ability, Experience and Strengths based questions. A presentation or additional exercise may also be assessed, further details of this will be given at the time.
Interviews are expected to be held between 8th and 9th April 2024 (dates may vary) at County Hall, Spetchley Road, Worcester WR5 2NP .
Location
As part of the pre-employment process for this post, 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.
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.
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.
Salary
New entrants are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.
This post offers the successful candidate the opportunity to receive an additional pay supplement of £3,000 upon appointment. There is a further pay supplement up to £3,000 which may be offered based on candidate’s annual competency assessment. These allowances do not form part of the Terms of Employment.
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.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
- Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
- Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Accessibility
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Criminal Record Check
If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check may be carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Internal Fraud Database Check
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
Full Time Only
This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying. We may consider two part-time staff on a job share basis if continuity can be arranged. Part-time hours will only be considered as part of a job share.
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
Medical
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
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
Further information
Government Recruitment Services via email: defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission.
