Senior Bioinformatician

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 385385

**Salary**:

- £44,852 - £50,472
- Per annum, pro rata
- A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

**Job grade**:

- Senior Executive Officer

**Contract type**:

- Permanent

**Type of role**:

- Analytical
Science

**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

**Number of jobs available**:

- 1

Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Colindale, London

About the job

**Job summary**:
We are seeking an experienced and driven Senior Bioinformatician to join our dynamic team in London at UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). This is a unique and exciting opportunity to make a tangible impact on public health by advancing critical research and surveillance.

You will be part of the Healthcare Associated Infection (HCAI), Fungal, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), Antimicrobial Utilisation (AMU), and Sepsis Division within the Clinical & Public Health Group at UKHSA. In this role, you will collaborate closely with National Reference Laboratories to investigate and tackle antibiotic resistance and to characterize healthcare-associated bacterial pathogens. Your work will play a vital part in defining outbreaks and identifying transmission pathways, directly influencing national strategies and interventions.

As a Senior Bioinformatician, you will lead the development of cutting-edge bioinformatics and public health informatics solutions that drive the division’s work. If you are passionate about improving healthcare outcomes, solving complex public health challenges, and working within a forward-thinking, collaborative team, we would love to hear from you

**Working for your organisation**

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.

**Job description**:

- Be responsible for day-to-day running and maintenance of the software and computer systems delivering existing UKHSA Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) pipelines
- To work with Lab Informatics Management (LIMs) informaticians and other bioinformaticians in our laboratory and more widely in UKHSA on data handling and analysis pipelines for laboratory data
- Contribute to expanding deployment of existing WGS pipelines to additional computational platforms
- Develop tested, validated and versioned software components for WGS analyses, incorporate into and validate new WGS pipeline versions
- To provide training and advice on use and interpretation of bioinformatic tools for HCAI and AMR work
- Analyse data from projects to which you are assigned, accepting responsibility for generating reports within agreed timelines.
- Lead preparation of reports, posters and publications arising from the data
- Represent UKHSA at internal, National and International meetings
- Work consistent to quality management system, ISO and other accreditation standards; participate in quality audits to support the unit’s accredited service
- Comply with safety and quality protocols and procedures at all times
- Ensure confidentiality and conformity to the requirements of the GDPR, in collaboration with the designated Caldicott Guardian, Data Protection Officer and Security Information Officer

For a full list of the main duties and responsibilities of the role, please refer to the attached Job Description.

**Person specification**:
Essential criteria

You will be assessed on the below (7) essential criteria, which have been selected from the Job Description:

- Degree in Bioinformatics or a related life science.
- Post Graduate training in Bioinformatics or a related life science
- Knowledge of Next Generation Sequencing technologies and associated bioinformatic analytical approaches
- Experience of developing, modifying, debugging code used for data analysis, preferably python
- Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands
- Must be able to use initiative to identify and implement tested solutions with a view to process and service improvement

**Benefits**:

- Alongside your salary of £44,852, UK Health Security Agency contributes £12,993 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

**Selection process details**:
This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours/Ability/ Experience/Technical skills.

**Stage 1: Application & Sift**

Success profiles asse