Principal Healthcare Scientist

Main area Healthcare Science Grade Civil Service:
Grade 7 Contract 36 months (fixed term appointment until 31/12/2029) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job
-NP--EXT

Employer UK Health Security Agency Employer type Public (Non NHS) Site Scientific Campus Town Colindale Salary £60,494 - £70,566 per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 13/03/2026 23:59

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is a system leader for health security; taking action internationally to strengthen global health security, providing trusted advice to government and the public and reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by infectious disease, environmental hazards, and other threats to health.

UKHSA’s remit, as an agency with a global-to-local reach, is to protect the health of the nation from infectious diseases and other external threats to health. As the nation’s expert national health security agency UKHSA will:

• Prevent: anticipate threats to health and help build the nation’s readiness, defences and health security
• Detect: use cutting edge environmental and biological surveillance to proactively detect and monitor infectious diseases and threats to health
• Analyse: use world-class science and data analytics to assess and continually monitor threats to health, identifying how best to control and mitigate the risks
• Respond: take rapid, collaborative and effective actions nationally and locally to mitigate threats to health when they materialise
• Lead: lead strong and sustainable global, national, regional and local partnerships designed to save lives, protect the nation from public health threats and reduce inequalities.

The Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Healthcare-Associated Infections (HCAI) & Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is a partnership between the UKHSA and the University of Oxford, that seeks to find ways to combat the major threats posed by HCAI and AMR. This is a mixed office/laboratory-based role, which sits within the AMR & HCAI Division of UKHSA whose mission is to protect people from healthcare-associated and antimicrobial resistant infections, through world-leading public health microbiology, outbreak response, surveillance, antimicrobial stewardship, modelling, research and evidence-based interventions.

The post holder will also be working within UKHSA’s Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (AMRHAI) Reference Unit, which is the national reference laboratory for investigation of AMR in, and characterization of, healthcare-associated bacterial pathogens. We are seeking a talented and experienced microbiologist with expertise in both wet and dry lab aspects of the subject area who will deliver AMR- and genomic-related projects mainly within the 'Mitigating Gram-negative infections' Research Theme of the HPRU.

The successful candidate will work closely with the HPRU Leads in both UKHSA and Oxford University to ensure the objectives and milestones of the HPRU are met. They will also be required to work with other collaborators and stakeholders to develop other research projects.

• Lead the management and development of relevant projects to ensure milestones and objectives are met.
• Lead and develop capacity building collaborations to ensure project targets are met, working with the relevant HPRU Leads to maintain the engagement of stakeholders.
• Lead on other externally funded projects as assigned, meeting targets in line with sponsor requirements, engaging with collaborators as required.
• Identify, bid and lead on internal and external funding with an AMR or genomics focus, or other complementary group activities to maintain capability and develop the group in line with HPRU core objectives.
• Provide reports and data as required by the HPRU Leads and NIHR, and external stakeholders.
• Build external links with collaborators and similar groups to the benefit of the HPRU and UKHSA.
• Give internal/external presentations, develop, draft and submit manuscripts on work for peer‑reviewed publications.
• Lead the project team/area to identify, evaluate and adapt new approaches…