Technical Skills
A Biological scientist at this level will be expected to possess an understanding or developing understanding of:
Essential
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Experimental Design
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Data Analysis, Statistics and Reporting
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Collaboration & Team Working
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Report writing
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Presentation Skills
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Data visualisation
Desirable
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Working in hazardous or non-routine environments or working with hazardous materials.
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Experience of programming for automation and control or data processing (e.g. Matlab, Python, C++, SCADA, R, LabVIEW)
Experience
Essential
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Evidence of hands on experience in biological science based laboratory
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Laboratory experience and understanding of safe working practices in ACDP/ACGM Containment Level 2
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Experience in biological techniques e.g Molecular Biology (PCR, sequencing etc), cell culture (mammalian and bacterial) and immunoassay
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Working to deadline
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Experience in reaching evidence-based conclusions, supported by analysis
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Communicating technical content to diverse audiences.
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Experience of working as part of a team and independently, as you will be required to undertake analysis independently and still work effectively in a scientific team.
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Experience in using Microsoft Office package (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) for data analysis, technical reports and presentations.
Desirable
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Networking successfully with customers and colleagues including external partners in government, academia and industry
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Integrated industry placement during degree course
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Experience as a Home Office Personal Licensee working under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (1986) or a willingness and ability to undertake modular training in multiple species in order to become a Personal Licensee
Behaviours
Changing and improving
Examples of changing and improving are when you:
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work with others to identify areas for improvement and simplify processes to use fewer resources
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use technology where possible to increase efficiency
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encourage ideas for change from a wide range of sources
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clearly explain the reasons for change to colleagues and how to implement them, supporting individuals with different needs to adapt to change
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encourage an environment where colleagues know that they can challenge decisions and issues safely
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take managed risks by fully considering the varied impacts changes could have on the diverse range of end users
Working together
Examples of working together are when you:
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encourage joined up team work within your own team and across other groups
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establish professional relationships with a range of stakeholders
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collaborate with these to share information, resources and support
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invest time to develop a common focus and genuine positive team spirit where colleagues feel valued and respect one another
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put in place support for the wellbeing of individuals within the team, including consideration of your own needs
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make it clear to all team members that bullying, harassment and discrimination are unacceptable
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actively seek and consider input of people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives
Developing self and others
Examples of developing yourself and others are when you:
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identify capability gaps for yourself and your team
ensure development objectives are set and achieved to address any gaps and enable delivery of current and future work -
take time to coach, mentor and develop other colleagues to support succession planning
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promote inclusiveness by respecting different personal needs in the team and use these to develop others
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reflect on your own work, continuously seek and act on feedback to improve own and teams performance
Delivering at pace
Examples of delivering at pace are when you:
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show a positive approach to keeping the whole teams efforts focused on the top priorities
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promote a culture of following the appropriate procedures to ensure results are achieved on time whilst still enabling innovation
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ensure the most appropriate resources are available for colleagues to use to do their job effectively
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regularly monitor your own and teams work against milestones ensuring individual needs are considered when setting tasks
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act promptly to reassess workloads and priorities when there are conflicting demands to maintain performance
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allow individuals the space and authority to meet objectives, providing additional support where necessary, whilst keeping overall responsibility
Safety
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Must appreciate and be responsible for the health and safety of self and others; both understand and meet defined accountabilities as written in Dstl policy,
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Must demonstrate the expected HS (& EP) behaviours as defined by the Civil Service and Dstl and lead by example,
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Must ensure understanding and maintenance of appropriate training, experience and knowledge (i.e.: competent / SQEP) for self and direct reports,
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Develop a working environment that is supportive of and champions the Dstl approach to health, wellbeing, safety and environmental (HSEP) management,
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Be aware of the downstream impact of their actions and the actions of their direct reports on those outside of their immediate control.
Important Information
Our work in defence, security and intelligence requires our employees to be UK Nationals who are able to gain a high level of security clearance to undertake the projects we are involved in to protect us from security threats. For this reason, only UK Nationals will be able to apply for this role. If you are an international or dual-national candidate, and you think you have the skills we need, please consider applying to any of our government, security or defence partners.
This role will require full UK security clearance and you should have resided in the UK for the past 5 years. For some roles Developed Vetting will also be required, in this case you should have resided in the UK for the past 10 years.