Placement background/ expected impact:
The UKHSA is seeking external academic expertise to support with development of wastewater monitoring R&D planning for 2026/2027.
Wastewater-based surveillance developed rapidly during the pandemic as an approach to monitor COVID-19 circulating in communities. It has been utilised to monitor biological and chemical markers of human health and lifestyle, but post-pandemic, there is an appreciation that it could be potentially tailored to provide a broader, relatively cost-effective public health surveillance function, complimenting or enhancing other surveillance data or as an early-warning capability where gaps exist.
UKHSA have acquired funding to develop a proof-of-concept for the development of wastewater analysis to support our public health capabilities and wider national considerations. This 12- month project builds on our previous national wastewater monitoring programme for COVID-19 and the ongoing poliovirus monitoring programme in England. We have undertaken projects based on aircraft wastewater and are currently exploring several additional opportunities for wastewater surveillance projects and collaborations. Collectively, this work will impact how UKHSA are able to respond and deliver environmental surveillance against a complex backdrop of existing and emergent biothreats. We are now exploring opportunities to build on the expected outputs from these projects so that the capability is agile in its ability to respond, integrative across Government to maximise value for money, and catalytic to ensure that wastewater surveillance opportunities that may emerge are both resilient and sustainable in the future.
Outline of duties:
During this placement we would expect you to:
- Conduct timely and tailored reviews of academic and grey literature to support strategic planning.
- Support engagement with key stakeholders from across UKHSA and Government, establishing consensus and agreement to maximise the value of future work.
- Contribute to the production and review of materials to be used in strategic development, including presentation slides, briefing notes, succinct literature reviews, and summaries of engagement activities.
- Conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis of information and data to include the production of tables, figures, or graphics.
- Be an active and engaged member of the CDO Partnerships team.
Expected output(s)/ deliverable(s):
The following outputs are anticipated to be delivered by the end of the placement:
- Literature review supporting the strategic priorities for wastewater surveillance at UKHSA.
- Checklist and summaries of internal and external engagement activities.
- Materials supporting engagement and development work
- Quantitative and qualitative analyses, where required.
Skills and experience required for the role:
Essential skills
- Strong experience working with academic and grey literature, including conducting of literature reviews.
- Strong writing and communication skills, especially focused on summarising and synthesising complex or broad topic areas.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently but evidence of a strong teamwork ethic to deliver against tight deadlines.
Desirable
- Good experience working with code for analysis, ideally using R and / or Python.
- Good understanding of a relevant scientific area (public health; environmental surveillance; epidemiology).
- Some evidence of writing and analysis skills, including peer-reviewed publications, published code or analyses.
Working pattern and location of the placement:
Placements will be remote with the occasional office/event attendance, but this is at the successful candidate’s discretion. Our head office is in Canary Wharf, we also have offices in Liverpool, Bristol and Birmingham, if you would like to attend one of the offices more regularly, we can look at getting you a government pass.
Full-time is preferred so you can fully immerse yourself in the team and project, but we will work flexibly if part-time hours are required. We do however need the placement to be undertaken in one continuous block due to IT and data access/security requirements.
Full placement details and how to apply:https://liss-dtp.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/LISS-UKHSAs-Wastewater-strategy-and-planning.pdf