Working for UKHSA

Learn about the UK Health Security Agency, including who we are, what we do, available opportunities, the benefits of a career with us and how to apply.

Who we are

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is an executive government agency, sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.

We prepare for and respond to infectious diseases and environmental hazards, to keep all our communities safe, save lives and protect livelihoods.

We provide scientific and operational leadership working with local, national and international partners to protect the public’s health and build the nation’s health security capability.

Watch our strategy video to find out more about what we do, our purpose and mission

Our goals

We have 3 overarching goals supported by a commitment to improving health outcomes for groups whose health is disproportionately affected.

Prepare

UKHSA aims to ensure that the country is fully prepared for, and wherever possible can prevent, future health security hazards. We establish which threats are on the horizon, develop the right evidence, insight and tools to best protect against them and have the right tested response plans in place to protect the population.

Respond

UKHSA protects people from health threats every day. We deliver agile, rapid, evidence-based responses at a local, national and international level. We respond to infectious disease outbreaks, health security incidents, and ongoing health security threats.

Build

We continue to build and invest in the scientific, public health and operational capabilities needed to protect the country’s health now and in the future. We are modernising our approaches and technology, ensuring we are a high-performing and efficient agency.

Our values

We don’t focus simply on what we do, we also care about how we do it. Our values and the way we behave are of crucial importance to us. Embedding our values into everything we do enables UKHSA to deliver on our strategy and our ambition.

Impact

We are mission driven, delivering better health outcomes for individuals and society while ensuring value for money.

Insight

We connect the right technology, data, information and people through collaboration and partnership to create insight and make evidence-based decisions.

Inclusion

We empower employees to be themselves and do their best, valuing them as our greatest asset and investing in developing the next generation of world-class skills.

What we offer

At UKHSA, we place great value on our total reward offer. In addition to basic pay we offer a fantastic pension and a comprehensive range of benefits designed to support your professional and personal development, provide a good work-life balance and promote your health and wellbeing.

Find out more about our pay scales and how they are determined

Our rewards and benefits include:

  • important and impactful work on real time health protection issues, something that makes a difference to the nation and the world as a whole

  • being at the forefront of scientific developments and ground-breaking research

  • first-class learning and development opportunities: UKHSA is committed to being a learning organisation, where learning and development enables all staff to meet personal, professional and business needs

  • flexible working: we are a family-friendly employer

Discover our rewards and benefits package

Work-life balance

Our standard holiday entitlement is 26 days (as well as 8 bank holidays and an extra day off for the King’s Birthday) which can increase up to 32 days dependent on length of service. UKHSA recognises previous service from the Civil Service, Local Authorities and the NHS for some service-related benefits, such as annual leave, sick pay and parental leave.

We also offer a wide range of flexible working options and our policies on leave provide a strong offer on maternity, paternity and parental leave, among others.

UKHSA and the NHS

UKHSA is a Civil Service organisation and most roles we offer are on Civil Service terms and conditions and pay structures. To facilitate movement of individuals to and from the NHS, certain specialist roles in UKHSA are offered on NHS terms and conditions and following NHS pay structures, including incremental progression (Agenda for Change or Medical and Dental).

Therefore, when joining UKHSA you may be appointed on either Civil Service terms and conditions or NHS terms and conditions, depending on which is most appropriate.

To be appointed on Agenda for Change or Medical and Dental terms, you must have the correct professional registration and may be asked to provide evidence of previous service to determine your starting salary.

Working at UKHSA

UKHSA is at the forefront of safeguarding the health of the nation. Our dedication to protecting and improving public health and wellbeing requires a vast array of diverse professional areas.

Our teams consist of experts in various fields, including:

  • microbiology
  • science
  • medicine
  • epidemiology
  • data analysis
  • public health
  • technology
  • support services ranging from commercial, legal and HR to communications

Each profession plays a crucial role in our mission to identify, prepare for, and respond to health threats, ensuring the safety and resilience of the communities we serve.

Learn more about our different professional pathways

Apply for a job

Search roles we are currently recruiting for on Civil Service Jobs.

Apply now

At UKHSA we have a structured application, interview and onboarding process designed to be fair and inclusive and to recruit the best and most suitable candidates.

We use the Civil Service Success Profiles to attract and retain people of talent and experience from a range of sectors and all walks of life.

Our recruitment process includes:

  • an applications sift and candidate shortlisting
  • an interview stage
  • issuing a formal offer
  • pre-employment checks and security screening

Learn more about our applications process

Reasonable adjustments

To help you during the recruitment process, we will consider any reasonable adjustments that could help you. An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work.  

This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme.  

If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process, please contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

Career development

Our talent offer includes access to a broad range of cross-government development schemes alongside our flagship in-house talent scheme, Accelerate.

We empower our people to own their talent and provide an offer that supports them to pursue their career goals, enabling UKHSA to be a scientific and operational leader in health security at a local, national and global level. No matter what stage of your career you are at, UKHSA we will support you to own your talent.

Learn more about our learning and development opportunities

Diversity and inclusion

We want to attract the broadest range of talented people to be part of our organisation. The more diverse our workforce, the better able we are to respond to the diverse needs of the population we serve.

We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from individuals, regardless of:

  • age
  • gender
  • ethnicity
  • disability
  • sexual orientation
  • gender identity
  • socio-economic background
  • religion or belief

To ensure our people have the diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds we need to thrive, we have a number of diversity partnerships including:

Our locations

Scientific campuses 

These are focused on the delivery of our scientific activities. These locations are available for all roles alongside our main locations, if requested:

  • Colindale 
  • Porton Down
  • Chilton

Support hubs

Hubs are primarily for regional health protection operations but there is also additional space for wider staff use for meetings and hot-desking. Only certain geographically linked roles would be recruited to these locations:

  • Nottingham
  • Bristol
  • Newcastle

Main locations

Our core headquarters are in London, supported by 3 large regional offices. These are the default work locations for all staff, unless their role is location specific. These are available for everyone to use:

  • Leeds
  • Liverpool
  • Birmingham
  • London
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