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COVID publications lead

Employer
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Location
London
Salary
£52,075 - £58,800
Closing date
23 Aug 2020

Job Details

We are a new and high-profile area of GO-Science set up to coordinate and deliver the central science advice needs to support the Government’s ongoing response to Covid-19. We are looking for highly motivated individuals who want to help us deliver the best possible science advice for HMG’s response to the Covid-19 epidemic.

The role of the Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA), Sir Patrick Vallance, is to advise the Prime Minister and Cabinet on all science and technology issues. He is supported by the Government Office for Science (Go-Science) who coordinate across Government, industry and academia to ensure HMG has the right systems to access excellent science advice and provide effective and impactful advice on major issues. We also provide scientific support to HMG in planning and preparedness for major national risks and emergencies, through the provision of the secretariat function for the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). SAGE exists to provide timely, independent, high quality, consensus-based science advice to the PM, COBR, departments and agencies on national and international crises and incidents. Details of SAGE structures as well as the inputs to and outputs from SAGE are published and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies

Covid-SAGE is co-chaired by GCSA with the Chief Medical Officer, and work is coordinated and delivered by the GO-Science Covid Teams. Our Covid Strategy and Delivery area is responsible for providing all the support functions to the GO-Science COVID response.

Job description

Your role will be part of the Engagement and International team in GO-Science COVID Strategy and Delivery. This team ensures a robust and accessible body of international scientific evidence on the Covid-19 response is held, including delivering on international comparators via the International Comparators Joint Unit (ICJU), ensuring science is properly considered within cross-Whitehall International Covid-19 strategy discussions and supporting the GCSA in international engagement related to COVID-19 outbreak and response. They also handle the role of National Academies in Covid-19 science advisory mechanisms, coordinate national studies, ensure clearance and publication of evidence tabled at and minutes issuing from SAGE and responding to FOIs, briefing, correspondence and PQs.

This role will provide a great opportunity to support GCSA in achieving maximum transparency of science advice through the publication of SAGE minutes and papers. Details of Covid-SAGE publications can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scientific-evidence-supporting-the-government-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19

Essential skills / experience:

• Direct experience of leading in a fast-paced environment

• Excellent organisation skills with the ability to prioritise tasks and manage busy workloads

• Personal resilience in challenging situations

• Teammate with the ability to work collaboratively across various teams

• Flexibility in taking care of changing focus and requirements

• Ability to deal with complexity and a focus on detail

• Developing and managing networks across Government and with external partners

Desirable skills/experience:

• Working in science and / or science policy in government.

• Secretariat or similar experience.

• Publishing material on www.gov.uk.
 

Responsibilities

• Leading a small team that will focus on supporting the GCSA to achieve maximum transparency of Covid-19 science advice through the publication of SAGE minutes and scientific papers.

• Liaising with the SAGE Secretariat to maintain a pipeline and scheduling of the minutes and papers through accurate record keeping.

• Leading on engagement across government and with external partners to secure the appropriate release of minutes and papers.

• Overseeing the process of releasing minutes and papers on the GO-Science website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-office-for-science in a timely fashion and to tight deadlines.

• Leading on, delegating where necessary, the answering of queries related to the publications (for example PQs or Freedom of Information Act requests).

• Support and promote an inclusive working environment where all opinions and challenges are taken into account.

• Responsibility with other managers and the senior leadership of the team for the diversity and inclusivity of the team. Staff welfare and wellbeing will remain a very important priority in the coming months given the likelihood of periods of high pressure and workload.

Due to the?evolving landscape of the cross-government Covid-19 response the job role may develop over time.

We are constantly looking to diversify our workforce to give us the broadest range of perspectives possible. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable adjustments to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits of employment. Please contact us to request any adjustments needed.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

  • Leadership
  • Working Together
  • Seeing the Big Picture
  • Making Effective Decisions
  • Delivering at Pace

Benefits

BEIS offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

  • A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
  • Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
  • A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
  • An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
  • Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.

Company

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is a government department, which was created by Theresa May on 14 July 2016 following her appointment as Prime Minister, created as a result of a merger between the Department of Energy and Climate Change and Department for Business, Innovation and Skill

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