Senior Programme Officer

Job Description
Job summary
This role will support a key division within the PHM (Public Health Microbiology) Directorate delivering core components of the UKHSA Science Strategy implementation.
Executive Support
- Provide high-level support to senior leadership, ensuring schedules and priorities align with organisational goals.
- Coordinate meetings and handle correspondence, including complex inquiries, parliamentary questions, and FOI requests.
Documentation and Briefing
- Prepare briefings, reports, and presentations to inform strategic planning and decision-making.
- Ensure all documentation is accurate, complete, and submitted on time.
Strategic Coordination and Stakeholder Engagement
- Act as a point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, maintaining professional communication channels.
- Build collaborative relationships with partner organisations and government departments.
Policy and Strategy Support
- Support the development and implementation of health security policies and initiatives.
- Monitor progress against objectives, flag risks, and propose solutions.
Main duties of the job
The post-holder will and manage activities related to the varied functions and workstreams across the Clinical Network Laboratories. The post holder will also support wider delivery of UKHSA's Science Strategy across the PHM Directorate as required. Technical leadership, guidance and supervision will be provided by the technical experts leading on each specific workstream or function.
The role is fast paced and the postholder will work collaboratively and effectively to support technical, policy, strategic and management colleagues internal and external to UKHSA across a wide-ranging portfolio of activities.
This role requires someone with proven and demonstrable advanced communication, organisational, IT, event planning and time management skills.
Occasional travel may be required for this post.
About us
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
Job responsibilities
Your key responsibilities will include:
- Being responsible for coordinating delivery specific PHM CNL (Clinical Network Laboratories) workstreams through supporting leads across the organisation, facilitating cross-government engagement where needed and ensuring reporting to the CNL Senior Leadership team.
- Being responsible for supporting project management to PHM CNL team, working closely with colleagues across UKHSA to agree and update key milestones for delivery.
- Provide secretariat support to senior meetings, including the CNL SLT (Senior Leadership Team) Oversight Board. This will require preparing agendas; commissioning and collating papers; taking and distributing accurate minutes; and following up on minutes.
- The production of strategic reports on key deliverables and activities for UKHSA internal engagement.
- Liaising with colleagues to provide accurate and timely responses to commission Requests Extensive event planning for Seminars, Workshops and high-profile visits to the CNL sites relating to the delivery PHM CNL initiatives and strategy.
- Support the delivery of business functions of the CNL teams.
The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The Job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary.
Essential Criteria:
- Experience of building and managing relationships with a variety of stakeholders across the system with different reporting relationships to achieve positive outcomes and results.
- Knowledge and experience of using monitoring and evaluation principles in project delivery.
- Experience of undertaking evidence-based research and analysis and producing reports
- Experience of project and policy development and delivery including project management tools and techniques
- Experience of preparing briefing papers and correspondence for a range of audiences including at senior level
- Experience of working in a fast paced and changing environment
- Experience of organising and managing meetings, including writing minutes, taking actions and following up where required
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours, Experience, Technical skills and Strengths.
Stage 1 - Application & Sift:
You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the 7 essential criteria listed, and this will be in the form of a:
- Application form (Employer/ Activity history section on the application
-
1200-word Statement of Suitability
This should outline how you consider your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.
The Application form and Statement of Suitability will be marked together.
Longlisting : In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of:
- Meets all essentialcriteria
-
Meets some essential criteria
-
Meets no essential criteria
Piles Meets all and Meets some essential criteriawill be moved through to the shortlisting stage.
Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on:
- Experience of building and managing relationships with a variety of stakeholders across the system with different reporting relationships to achieve positive outcomes and results.
Please do not exceed 1200 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number. If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to an interview. Unfortunately, late applications will not be considered.
Please note you will not be able to upload your CV. You must complete the application form in as much detail as possible. Please do not email us your CV.
Feedback will not be provided at this stage.
Stage 2: Interview (success profiles)
You will be invited to a (single) remote interview.
Behaviours, Technical, Experience and Strengths will be tested at interview.
The Behaviour's tested during the interview stage will be:
- Making Effective Decisions (lead)
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Managing a Quality Service
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Location
This role is being offered as hybrid working based at one of our Scientific Campuses or labs. We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's scientific campus sites or labs (Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Chilton, Colindale, Porton or Manchester)
Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centretransport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
If based at one of our scientific campuses or labs, you will be required to have a minimum of a Counter Terrorism Check security vetting check as a minimum. For meaningful National Security Vetting checks to be carried out individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years as the role requires Counter Terrorism Check (CTC) clearance. In exceptional circumstances UK residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting and applicants should contact the ...