Director of Health Security Scientific Research

Job title: Director of Health Security Scientific Research

Salary: Senior Civil Servant (SCS) 2 - £100,000 - £162,500 Per annum, pro rata

Location: Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool or London HQ on a hybrid basis

About the Role

This is a high-profile and influential leadership opportunity within the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), offering the chance to shape the future of health security research and make a lasting contribution to public health outcomes across the UK.

As Director of Health Security Scientific Research, you will provide strategic leadership for UKHSA’s research portfolio, ensuring that scientific activity across the organisation is innovative, impactful, ethically governed and aligned to organisational priorities. You will lead a diverse portfolio spanning specialist laboratory science, behavioural science, evaluation and epidemiology, driving scientific excellence that supports UKHSA’s mission to protect and improve the nation’s health.

What You'll Do

Reporting within the Chief Scientific Officer Group, you will be responsible for leading critical research and scientific functions across UKHSA. This includes oversight of high-hazard infectious disease research, vaccine-related programmes, specialist laboratory capabilities and the safe operation of complex high-containment facilities.

You will provide strategic direction for research governance and scientific standards, ensuring all research activity is conducted safely, ethically and to the highest international standards. Working closely with internal and external stakeholders, you will strengthen partnerships across government, academia, the NHS, industry and the global health community, enhancing UKHSA’s reputation as a world-leading scientific organisation.

You will also lead research infrastructure and enabling services, including research governance, information management, scientific communications, knowledge and library services, ensuring colleagues across UKHSA have rapid access to high-quality evidence to support decision-making.

As a member of the senior leadership team, you will contribute to the broader strategic direction of UKHSA, helping to build organisational capability, develop research capacity and deliver scientific innovation that supports public health preparedness and response.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Provide inspiring leadership and clear strategic direction for the Directorate.
• Develop and deliver ambitious priorities aligned to UKHSA’s objectives and public health mission.
• Lead organisational change, workforce planning, succession management and resilience across the Directorate.

Scientific and Research Excellence

• Ensure UKHSA’s research and scientific activities are internationally recognised, impactful and delivered to the highest standards.
• Maintain robust systems of research governance, ethics, quality assurance, clinical governance and statutory compliance.
• Oversee specialist laboratory services and high-containment facilities, ensuring safe and effective operation.

Workforce and Culture

• Build, develop and retain a highly skilled, inclusive and motivated workforce.
• Foster a culture of scientific excellence, collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Champion health, safety and wellbeing across all areas of responsibility.

Partnerships and External Engagement

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with research funders, academic institutions, NHS partners, industry and international organisations.
• Lead engagement with the wider research community, including Health Protection Research Units and other strategic partners.
• Represent UKHSA across government, nationally and internationally.

Governance, Performance and Delivery

• Ensure effective performance management, quality assurance and reporting across the Directorate.
• Lead business continuity planning and ensure delivery of objectives within agreed timescales and resources.
• Drive efficiency, innovation and continuous improvement across services and operations.

Financial and Operational Management

• Hold accountability for Directorate budgets and resource allocation.
• Ensure effective stewardship of public funds and maximise value for money.
• Oversee operational delivery to ensure services remain effective, efficient and sustainable.

Corporate Leadership

• Contribute actively to the leadership of the Chief Scientific Officer Group and UKHSA’s Directors' Group.
• Support organisation-wide priorities and contribute to strategic decision-making across UKHSA.
• Act as a visible and credible ambassador for UKHSA across government and partner organisations.

Security clearance:

This role requires Developed Vetting (DV) clearance. If not already held, the successful candidate can start the role once Security Check (SC) clearance has been obtained, but continued employment is dependent on obtaining and maintaining DV level clearance which must be initiated within the first 3 months of an agreed start date.

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 10 years as the role requires Developed Vetting (DV) clearance.) UK residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder/Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.

About UKHSA

At UKHSA, everyone matters. We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where diversity is valued, barriers are removed, and everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly those currently underrepresented within our workforce. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation and help us deliver better outcomes for the communities we serve.

To learn more about working at UKHSA, visit: https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers.

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