Skip to main content

This job has expired

Science and Research Advisor

Employer
Department for Transport
Location
London
Salary
£34,330 - £37,249
Closing date
24 Aug 2020

Job Details

We welcome applications from every part of the community and we don’t discriminate against any gender identity. We’re especially interested to hear from underrepresented groups in the DfT such as gender diverse, BAME, LGBT+ and disabled candidates.

Are you looking for a challenging yet developmental role in a busy Government department?

Do you have a degree or relevant working experience in STEM?

If so, we'd love to hear from you!

This is an exciting opportunity for two exceptional scientists to join the Research, Analysis and Development team (RAD) team which sits within the Department for Transport’s Transport Security Resilience & Response Directorate (TSRR).

You will be joining a very busy team, working in a fast-paced environment, often responding to high-profile terrorist incidents on the Transport network. We provide scientific and technical advice across a wide range of disciplines, from physics and chemistry to engineering, human factors and ergonomics. The team delivers a £6M per annum programme of research and analysis to support DfT's transport security policy and operational needs across all modes of transport.

The roles will involve working closely with security policy leads, scientific and technical experts across the Government National Security community (and overseas counterparts), colleagues in the intelligence agencies and the transport industry.

You will work particularly closely with the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT) and Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) in aligning counter-terrorism research, the Joint Security and Resilience Ccentre (JSaRC) and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) in commissioning and delivering research projects and trials.

This role is an ambitious, stretching, and developmental role, best suited to a person who is self-motivated and who has excellent communication skills.

Job description

Role responsibilities

• Work with the DfT transport security community, international security regulators and technical services to plan, co-ordinate and undertake scientifically robust trials

• Plan and deliver trials and assessments of low and medium technology readiness level (TRL) research projects and prototypes to determine their suitability for trials and deployment

• Build and maintain effective relationships with equipment manufacturers and transport providers to better understand technical and operational constraints of security screening to identify options for trials and testing

• Manage a portfolio of research projects to ensure high technical quality of outputs from suppliers and ensuring that the projects represent value for money for DfT

• Liaise with customers in DfT to understand policy objectives and importance, inputting into prioritisation within the research programme and communicating project progress and outputs to technical and non-technical audiences

• Develop subject matter expertise in aviation security technology in order to provide high quality technical support and advice for fast turnaround questions and longer-term evidence gathering to a range of stakeholders

• Represent DfT at international technical forums, influencing technical standards, threat consideration and testing to align with UK priorities.

• Build close working relationships with key international partners to improve understanding of aviation security technology between countries and identify opportunities for collaboration

• Use your knowledge to provide accurate, targeted and engaging briefings to support training of internal and external security staff

For further information, please see attached role profile.
 

Responsibilities

About you

We are looking for someone who has an excellent knowledge and meaningful experience of STEM, whether that has been gained from a degree or from a background working with STEM.

You are self-motivated and enjoy working autonomously while delivering quality work, being left to your own devices to achieve the desired results.

Making decisions is something that comes naturally to you and you are confident in your ability to take ownership of those decisions and their outcomes.

As an excellent communicator, you can present information, both verbally and in writing to a multifaceted audience, ensuring your message is received with the desired impact and understanding.

Important Information

The successful candidates would need to have or obtain SC clearance to undertake the role and should be willing to obtain DV clearance if there is a future business need.

About us

Our mission at the Department for Transport is ‘connecting people and places’. Everything we do to achieve this is reinforced by our values:
• Confidence: to challenge, to take action, to innovate
• Excellence: in our professionalism, in our delivery, in our learning
• Teamwork: we are inclusive, we collaborate, we support each other

These values define the kind of organisation we want to be – delivering for today whilst being ambitious for tomorrow.

We embrace diversity and celebrate our differences. Everyone is involved in making DfT an inclusive and great place to work. We actively promote a flexible approach to working whilst giving our staff opportunities to maximise their skills and achieve their full potential.

We are different people, one team.

Company

Transport matters – what we do matters.

Transport touches the lives of everyone in the country. Across road, rail, air, sea and space, our transport networks affect homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and more. It’s how we deliver goods to our shops, get people to work and reunite with our loved ones. Our staff know how important their work is and how they fit in.

 

Get job alerts

Create a job alert and receive personalised job recommendations straight to your inbox.

Create alert