Senior Emergency Preparedness Manager
UK Health Security Agency
Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London or Salisbury, E14 4PUView on map(opens Google Maps in a new tab)
Salary
£56,185 to £70,566
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Not specified
Closing date
11 October 2026
11 days leftJob description
The post holder will manage the delivery of a comprehensive Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) portfolio within the National Respo...
The post holder will manage NRC incident coordination activity for national incidents, including day-to-day operations, resources, processes, governance, escalation and 24/7 response arrangements within their remit. They will provide senior tactical Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response advice, support coordination and decision-making, manage staff and functions, and contribute to workforce planning, recruitment, training, wellbeing and development.
They will lead or contribute to governance, compliance, risk, assurance, business planning, finance, strategic workstreams and projects; produce business cases and option appraisals; embed learning, innovation and health equity; manage workload and cover; maintain professional development; and undertake reasonable duties in response to changing organisational needs.
- Leading the NRCs incident coordination function for UKHSA national incidents, managing day-to-day operations, resources, processes and governance, and escalating issues as required.
- Providing senior tactical EPRR advice across UKHSA and government, supporting coordination, escalation and decision-making during incidents and emergencies.
- Participating in out-of-hours on-call or seven-day working where required to support the NRCs 24/7 response function and protect public health.
- Acting as a visible, positive leader, role-modelling professional standards, managing staff and functions, and supporting flexibility, wellbeing and development.
- Supporting the management of NRC resources, workforce planning and operational capacity with HR, Business Operations and corporate colleagues on recruitment, training, development, updates and change programmes.
- Leading or contributing to NRC governance, compliance, risk reporting, assurance, statutory and mandatory training, and appraisal returns.
- Supporting business planning and monitoring with the NRC Senior Management Team, identifying delivery risks and contributing to assurance processes.
- Leading or contributing to agreed strategic workstreams, projects and topic areas, working with regional and national teams and representing the Directorate as required.
- Producing business cases and option appraisals with information, costings, analysis and risks to support decision-making.
- Supporting change and continuous improvement by identifying lessons, embedding learning, promoting innovation and strengthening ways of working.
- Organising own workload, meeting deadlines, providing cover as directed and supporting team resilience.
- Demonstrating commitment to understanding and improving health equity.
- Maintaining professional development by agreeing performance and development needs with the line manager, completing mandatory training and undertaking relevant development pathways.
- Where required, holding financial authority within limits, monitoring and reporting on finance, and supporting NRC budgeting, resourcing, planning and business management.
- Undertaking other reasonable duties as directed and responding to changing team, Directorate and organisational needs, recognising that the job description and person specification may be reviewed over time.
Essential criteria
- Substantial experience in Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR), including complex preparedness, response and incident management environments.
- Ability to work effectively in fast-paced and uncertain environments, using sound judgement to assess issues, solve problems, prioritise competing demands, delegate appropriately and identify practical solutions.
- Highly developed written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to analyse data, produce reports and presentations, engage confidently with internal and external forums, represent the organisation with senior stakeholders, and build trusted relationships to support collaboration and delivery.
- Proven leadership experience across incident management and coordination, operational delivery, projects, organisational change, improvement activity or business development, with evidence of strengthening services, capability or organisational resilience
- Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office and the ability to use digital tools to improve efficiency and ways of working.
- An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships.
Desirable criteria
- Experience working in the public sector or other large organisations.
- A deep understanding of the wider health, government or civil contingencies context in the UK
This vacancy will be assessed using a competency-based framework which will assess your qualifications, knowledge and experience and / or skills and abilities outlined in the essential criteria.
Stage 1: Application & Sift
You willbe requiredto complete an application form. You will be assessed onthe listed7essentialcriteria,and this will be in the form of:
- an application form(Employer/ Activity history section on the application)
- a 1000 wordsupporting statement.
This should outline how you consider your skills,experienceandknowledgeprovide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V please beadvisedyou will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible). Please do not email us your CV.
HealthjobsUK has a word limit of 1500, but your supporting statement must be no more than1000words. We will not consider any words over1000words.
Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of:
- Meets all essential criteria
- Meets some essential criteria
- Meets no essential criteria
Only those meeting all essential criteria will be taken through to shortlisting.Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on:
- Substantial experience in Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR), including complex preparedness, response and incident management environments.
Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a large number of applications / large amount of successful candidates.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview and assessment.
Feedback will not be provided at this stage.
Stage 2: Interview
You will be invited to a remote interview via MS Teams.
Knowledge, experience, skills and abilities will be tested at interview.
You will be asked to prepare a 5 minute presentation that uses an example of an incident you have been involved in to demonstrate your approach to leadership and building effective working relationships.
Interview dates are to be confirmed.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQs in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool or London (Canary Wharf) or Scientific Campus in Porton Down, Salisbury.
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) on-site.
Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
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
Application form and supporting statement
Essential: - Application form and supporting statement
Essential Criteria
Essential: - Questions on knowledge, experience, skills & abilities
How to apply
Applications are handled entirely by the employer on the original advert. We do not collect CVs, supporting statements or application data.
Provenance
Source
NHS Jobs
First seen
25 September 2026
Last checked
29 September 2026
Salary, closing date and description are taken from the employer's advert. The original advert always takes precedence.
About the employer
NHS organisation
This listing was structured from NHS Jobs. Vacancy details and the application process remain the responsibility of the original source.
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