Location
Colindale, Edgware, London

Hours
Full Time (hours not specified)

Salary
£73,992 per annum

About the Role
The post is based in the Public Health Programmes Directorate of UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), within the Immunisation & Vaccine Preventable Diseases (IVPD) Division. This division is responsible for national surveillance of vaccine preventable infections and provides technical support and clinical expertise to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the NHS in planning and delivering national immunisation programmes. These programmes deliver millions of vaccines annually across the life course in various NHS settings. The division also supports the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which recommends changes to the national immunisation programme and publishes the authoritative guidance “Immunisation Against Infectious Disease.” The division evaluates the national programme through high-quality data on disease incidence, vaccine coverage, immunity, efficacy, safety, and policy analysis in collaboration with statistics and modelling teams.

During the placement, the fellow will gain understanding and experience of:
- The delivery of UKHSA’s national vaccination programmes, including scientific advice and evaluation.
- Commissioning and financing aspects of programme delivery and their impact on performance.
- Roles of health system agencies in delivering, managing, and monitoring the programme.
- Guidance and policy development for vaccine preventable diseases.
- Service and quality improvement related to infectious disease surveillance, prevention, and control.

The fellow will develop skills in:
- Liaising with stakeholders to optimise public health programme delivery.
- Cross-divisional working within UKHSA.
- Providing clinical input into national surveillance programme design and delivery.
- Offering clinical advice for vaccine-related enquiries.
- Decision making and time management.
- Conducting ad hoc analyses as directed by consultants and scientists.
- Identifying, investigating, and responding to communicable disease cases, clusters, and outbreaks.

The role involves close collaboration with individual teams, managing scientific and administrative staff, handling enquiries from the public and health professionals, issuing clinical advice, participating in outbreak investigations, leading surveillance projects, and attending key meetings relevant to the division and wider UKHSA. The fellow will also pursue continuing professional development in line with professional registration and service requirements.

Experience
- Medical degree MBBS or equivalent clinical experience, including Public Health Trainees on accredited training programmes.
- GMC registration with full licence to practice without restrictions or Public Health Trainee on an accredited UK Public Health specialty training programme.
- Specialist trainee with current national training number (NTN) in one of the following specialties at the specified training level:
- Virology, Infectious Diseases or Medical Microbiology (ST4 or higher)
- Public Health (post-Part B)
- Paediatrics (ST5 or higher)
- Genitourinary Medicine (ST4 or higher)
with documented evidence of outcome 1 or 8 in the most recent ARCP.
- Experience in preparation of written reports and published work.
- Understanding of the UK research and NHS system.
- Knowledge of clinical presentation and management of vaccine preventable diseases under national vaccination programmes.

About You
- Ability to assess individual clinical histories to inform advice.
- Ability to prioritise work effectively and manage time.
- Ability to handle personal information confidentially in accordance with information governance requirements.
- Strong communication skills, able to convey ideas clearly and concisely both orally and in writing.
- Commitment to equality of opportunity and fostering good working relationships.
- Willingness to take responsibility for arranging supervision sessions and to engage actively with educational and project supervisors.
- Ability to line manage scientific and administrative staff.
- Preparedness to attend workplace punctually and follow local procedures.

Qualifications
- Medical degree MBBS or equivalent.
- MSc in Public Health or Epidemiology.
- Written approval from Training Programme Director for application as Out of Programme Experience (OOPE).
- Commitment to continuing professional development in line with professional registration and statutory requirements.

Additional Requirements
- Ability to deliver a 5-10 minute presentation on vaccine preventable diseases during interview.
- Successful candidates must pass disclosure and barring security checks.
- Must meet nationality and security requirements as per UKHSA and Civil Service standards.
- Participation in mandatory training including fire safety and information governance.
- Commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equality in the workplace.