Public Health Practitioner | Full time | Preston, Lancashire

Salary Range £36,363 - £40,777 per annum | 37 hours per week | Permanent, Full time | Preston, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Join our Public Health team in the Adults, Health and Wellbeing Directorate of Lancashire County Council and help improve health and wellbeing for residents across Lancashire. This is a varied, impact-focused role where you will support the delivery of evidence-based programmes and commissioned services, working closely with partners, providers and communities.

You will work alongside a Public Health Specialist and Senior Public Health Practitioner, contributing to planning, commissioning, performance monitoring and continuous improvement across priority areas. You will build strong relationships and help turn data and insight into practical action.

Your primary focus will be public mental health (including suicide prevention work such as training, audits and pathway development) and complex needs, with an emphasis on improving housing and support responses for people experiencing multiple disadvantage (for example substance use, mental ill health, domestic abuse and homelessness). You will also provide wider support to the tobacco control agenda, helping to drive place-based prevention and behaviour change.

Key accountabilities are set out in the job role profile and include commissioning support, performance monitoring, partnership working and programme delivery across the priorities outlined above. You will report to the Public Health Specialist / Senior Public Health Practitioner (Health Improvement).

We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic about improving population health and reducing inequalities, and who enjoys working collaboratively with provider services, stakeholders and local communities. You may already have experience in areas such as grant management, data review and interpretation, report writing, project support and working across multiple partner agencies. If not, we welcome transferable skills and a willingness to learn.

Knowledge of public health is essential, whereas knowledge of commissioning is something that can be supported through supervision, shadowing and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities so you can grow your expertise in these areas.

In this role, you will:

• Contribute to a collaborative, system-wide approach to suicide prevention, including supporting suicide audit activity, reviewing real time surveillance data and using mortality and morbidity data to inform improvement.
• Support information governance for relevant datasets, including helping to implement and monitor information sharing agreements.
• Help develop and improve pathways and systems, including bereavement support pathways, working with partners across Lancashire.
• Support commissioning and service reviews: planning, securing, evaluating and improving public health services and programmes.
• Source, interpret and apply best practice and evidence-based guidance across all stages of public health commissioning and programme delivery.
• Undertake performance monitoring and analysis (outputs, outcomes and impact), using insight to support quality improvement and value for money.
• Communicate clearly and confidently with a wide range of audiences, tailoring messages for different stakeholders.
• Use analytical, solution-focused and problem-solving skills to progress service improvements and respond effectively to change.
• Support and coordinate partnership groups (for example the Complex Needs Alliance, Tobacco Free Alliance and the Lancashire Suicide & Self-Harm Steering Group), including agendas, actions and follow-up.
• Provide project management support across a range of health improvement priorities, helping to plan work, manage milestones and deliver outcomes.
• Contribute to transformation and improvement work, including digitally enabled approaches where appropriate.
• Work effectively as part of a supportive team, contributing ideas, sharing learning and helping to deliver collective priorities.
• Represent the public health team within multi-agency forums and contribute to countywide partnerships to improve health and wellbeing outcomes.
• Manage a varied workload, prioritising effectively and working across multiple agendas.
• Produce high-quality reports, presentations, and be able to use Excel (or similar tools) to analyse and present data clearly.

To arrange an informal discussion, please contact: Marie Demaine, Public Health Specialist – 07876 844068 or marie.demaine@lancashire.gov.uk

The role will be hybrid with an expectation of attending County Hall in Preston a minimum of 2 days each week. While we offer a flexible approach to working the role will be 37 hours per week. International Sponsorship – this role is not open to international sponsorship.

In return Lancashire County Council offers a range of benefits, which can be found on LCC Vacancies website. We reserve the right to close down a vacancy early, before the closing date, if we receive sufficient applications.