Community Infant Feeding Worker

We are seeking a dedicated and experienced Community Infant Feeding Worker to join our Health Improvement Team in the Healthy & Sustainable Communities Directorate at North Somerset Council. They are responsible for carrying out a range of activities to support members of the North Somerset Children & Young People’s Public Health Team by working within existing procedures and processes. Supporting the delivery of priority public health programmes; promoting health improvement activities to the public and partner services and providing general project support and evaluation of community-based Infant Feeding initiatives.

In this role, you will contribute to the design, implementation, and evaluation of several ad-hoc infant feeding projects in North Somerset communities and via social media. You will work alongside and support the valued activities of our team of volunteer Breastfeeding peer supporters, Family Hubs, Health Visitor & Midwifery Services and be supported by the North Somerset Public Health Infant Feeding Team.

The North Somerset Health & Wellbeing strategy includes specific actions to support the maintenance of the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative Gold accreditation in North Somerset. You will contribute to the planning & delivery of community support and gather feedback on our current support services which will inform future change.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the delivery of Infant feeding initiatives in line with North Somerset Health & Wellbeing Strategy, North Somerset Council Corporate Plan and team plans.
• Use infant feeding experience to support feedback collection and impact evaluation.
• Act as a community contact for service users, local businesses and public health providers across North Somerset, including volunteers and local children’s centres.
• Communicate effectively with colleagues, partners, and the public via face-to-face, digital, and social media platforms.
• Support the development and delivery of infant feeding campaigns, ensuring accessible materials for partners and service users.

About You

We are looking for an individual who is passionate about infant feeding and is keen to contribute to the delivery and planning of community-based initiatives and who possesses the following skills and experience.

Essential Criteria

• Practical experience and skills of providing community-based infant feeding support to families.
• Have undertaken Infant Feeding training e.g. Breastfeeding Peer Support training.
• Understanding of the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative Standards and supportive of providing families with evidence-based information to make their own infant feeding and care decisions.
• Experience of communicating electronically and verbally to a variety of audiences, including using social media, web-based and video communications.
• Experience of using Microsoft Office packages e.g. MS Teams.
• Due to the nature of this role, some flexibility across the working week, will be required.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of supporting campaigns and events to promote health improvement.
• Awareness and general understanding of public health and health inequalities, including national and local context.