Consultant in Public Health - Policy and Commissioning in London

This is a great opportunity to join Brent Councils Public Health Team, whether you are an experienced Public Health Consultant or newly qualified.

This focus of this role is on public health policy and ensuring we are excellent at commissioning and relationship management.

This role is supported by the Director of Public Health, and the post holder will be part of the Public Health Senior Leadership Team (which includes experienced Public Health Consultants).

The department is overseen by the Corporate Director of Service, Reform and Strategy.

As such this role has close links with Adult Social Care, Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise Sector.

There are opportunities for systems leadership.

As a Council and systems leaders, we are always focusing on sustainability and community development.

There are plenty of opportunities within this role to influence the expansion of neighbourhood working for the Council, NHS, and our other partners.

There are also opportunities to influence how we deliver services to adults and also our response to climate change.

The Public Health Team in Brent is well respected, as well as being a happy, stable, and effective team.

The team have a diverse range of expertise to deliver the public health function in the Council.

Inclusion in the GMC Full and Specialist Register with a license to practice/GDC Specialist List or inclusion in the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) for Public Health or provide evidence that nearing completion of training (within 6 months of CCT).

In November 2025, the Council adopted a socio‑economic duty as part of its commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, ensuring that policy and program decisions were given due regard to the potential impacts on people experiencing socio‑economic disadvantage.

Thus, tackling inequalities is embedded in the Councils operating model.

The council is committed to prevention, tackling inequalities and has an increased focus on working in and more closely with the diverse communities in Brent, so this is an exciting time to join us.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate collegiately with the Councils Senior Management Team (SMT) and be part of the Public Health Leadership Team, provide a proactive contribution delivering departmental and corporate objectives.
• Take responsibility for development, implementation, and delivery of public health policy, including public health led policy work and ensuring public health, prevention and inequalities feature in wider Council polices.
• The post-holder is expected to demonstrate expertise across the full range of relevant competencies as set out by the Faculty of Public Health (Appendix 1) and where required, take responsibility for resolving operational issues.
• Provide expert public health support and whole system leadership to ensure an evidence‑based approach for commissioning and developing high quality equitable services, within and across a range of organisations including voluntary, public, and private sector.

This will include expertise in evaluation and development of appropriate KPIs.

• Lead the commissioning and procurement function within the public health team and collaborate with commissioners across the Service, Reform and Strategy Department to ensure joint working and high‑quality commissioning.
• To lead and participate in internal service reviews, auditing of contracts and processes.
• Lead and manage a portfolio of customer‑focused services in alignment with both corporate and departmental aims and priorities.
• Provide leadership and management to achieve high performance and effective operational delivery, which will include managing the effective use of resources and staff.
• Work closely with the DPH and deputise on occasion, to support effective working relationships with relevant portfolio holders.
• Support and develop partnership working, including acting as an effective ambassador and advocate with external organisations.
• Take responsibility for a range of public health issues and work across organisational and professional boundaries, acting as a change agent managing complexity to deliver improvements in health and wellbeing.
• Provide briefings on the health and wellbeing needs of local communities to Councillors, Council Officers, NHS, the third sector, and the public and partners.

Where required to so, the post-holder will provide verbal briefing to Councillors, other colleagues and stakeholders in person as required.

• Utilise information and intelligence systems to underpin public health action across disciplines and organisations.
• Provide strategic and public health advice to Adult Social Care. This includes supporting the prevention agenda within Adult Social Care.
• Support the DPH in the delivery of the Councils health protection responsibilities, working with UKHSA and contributing to the Councils Emergency Preparedness and response functions, and working with UKHSA.
• Support the DPH, Directorate Senior Leadership Team and the Corporate Management Team in the development and implementation of robust strategies for improving the health and wellbeing of local communities including ensuring qualitative and/or quantitative measurements are in place to demonstrate improvements.
• Contribute actively to the training programme for Specialty Registrars in Public Health and to the training of Practitioners.
• Undertaking health needs assessments as required to enable actions to be taken to improve the health of the local population.
• Developing prioritisation techniques and managing their application to policies, services and to help resolve issues such as the investment‑disinvestment debate.
• Effective communication of complex concepts, science and data and their implications for local communities, to a range of stakeholders with very different backgrounds.
• Understanding of evaluation frameworks and applying those frameworks to the benefit of local communities.
• A capacity to apply the scientific body of knowledge on public health to the polices and services necessary to improve health, both currently and for future generations, and to formulate clear practical evidence‑based recommendations.
• The understanding of human and organisational behaviour and the application of this knowledge to the achievement of change.
• Inspire commitment to public health outcomes and to prevention as a core feature of public sector reform.
• Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, and all employees are required to act in such a way that at all times safeguards the health and well‑being of children and vulnerable adults.
• Perform duties with due regard to Brent Councils customer care; equal opportunities; information governance, data protection, health and safety and Emergency Planning & Awareness (including to provide assistance where available) policies and procedures.
• Employees should embed environmental sustainability into their work, actively contributing to Brent becoming a carbon‑neutral borough in 2030.
• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the general level of responsibility of this post.

Qualifications and Experience

• Experience of developing and leading public health policy.
• In depth understanding of health and care system and relationships with both local and national government.
• Experience of commissioning, clinical quality assurance, quality improvement, evaluations, and evidence based public health practice.
• Experience of writing and implementing public health policy.
• Experience of commissioning and procurement.
• Delivery of successful change management programmes across organisational boundaries.
• Experience of using complex information to explain public health issues to a range of audiences.
• Experience of writing communications for the public, and working with the media, and experience of demonstrating delivery of effective health behaviour or health promotion messages.
• Strong and demonstrable understanding of interfaces between health, social care, and key partners (dealing with wider determinants of health).
• Understanding of the public sector duty and the inequality duty and their application to public health practice.
• Strategic thinker with proven leadership skills and operational nous.
• Able to demonstrate and motivate organisations to contribute to improving the publics health and wellbeing through mainstream activities and within resources.
• Able to lead and manage the response successfully in unplanned and unforeseen circumstances.
• Analytical skills able to critically appraise evidence, utilise qualitative, quantitative and health economics to identify ways forward.
• Able to design, develop, interpret and implement strategies and policies.
• Able to both lead teams and to able to contribute effectively in teams led by junior colleagues.
• Able to influence senior members including Directors and CEOs.
• Experience of writing and implementing public health policy.
• Experience of commissioning and procurement.
• Experience of writing communications for the public and working with the media.
• Professional Obligations
• Undertake an annual professional appraisal including completion of a programme of CPD, in accordance with Faculty of Public Health requirements, or other recognised body, and undertake revalidation, audit or other measures required to remain on the GMC/GDC Specialist Register or the UK Public Health (Specialist) Register or other specialist register as appropriate.
• Practice in accordance with all relevant sections of the General Medical Councils Good Medical Practice (if medically qualified) and the Faculty of Public Healths Good Public Health Practice and UKPHR requirements.
• Public health practice must be conducted within the ethical framework of the health professions.
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