Senior Wellbeing and Public Health Officer – Men’s Health and Veterans in Chelmsford

This is a fixed term contract or secondment opportunity for up to 20 months.

Interviews will be held week commencing 03-08-2026 (in person).

This is a hybrid-working role, with a requirement to work at a functional work location on 1 day per week on average, depending on business need.

The Team

Bring your passion, your ideas and your energy – Help shape the future of Public Health in Essex. At Essex County Council, our Wellbeing, Public Health and Communities team is driven by a shared belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to live well and thrive. We are looking for people who care deeply about reducing health inequalities, strengthening communities and making a positive difference to everyday lives. This is a chance to be part of a supportive, ambitious team creating meaningful opportunities now, while also helping to re‑imagine and shape Public Health as we move through Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you’re motivated by purpose, collaboration and real‑world impact, we’d love you to join us.

The Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity to lead two high-profile and developing areas of work within Essex County Council's Public Health function. The successful candidate will lead the development of the Essex Men's Health Strategy, bringing together partners from across the system to improve engagement with prevention, address health inequalities and create a more coordinated approach to improving men's health and wellbeing. Alongside this, the role will provide strategic leadership for the Armed Forces and Veterans agenda, working with statutory, community and military partners to strengthen support for veterans and ensure their needs are reflected across wider health and wellbeing programmes. The postholder will lead the development and delivery of a shared Armed Forces Community Action Plan, coordinating activity across partners and driving progress against agreed priorities. Through partnership working, evidence-led planning and strong stakeholder engagement, you will help shape policy, influence service development and drive measurable improvements for Essex residents.

The Role

The Senior Wellbeing and Public Health Officer role provides support in the development and delivery of strategy, policy, and projects across the Health Improvement and Community Wellbeing portfolio. The role will work collaboratively with subject matter specialists and senior management to provide project support and help to deliver outlined objectives, ensuring that prioritised activities can be planned and delivered to a high standard.

• Lead the development, implementation and delivery of the Essex Men's Health Strategy, creating a coordinated and evidence-led approach to improving men's health and wellbeing across the county.
• Lead the development and delivery of a shared Armed Forces Community Action Plan, working collaboratively with partners to improve outcomes for serving personnel, veterans and their families.
• Provide support across a range of priority public health agendas, including men's health, mental wellbeing, suicide prevention and the Armed Forces community.
• Build and maintain effective partnerships across Essex County Council, NHS organisations, Integrated Care Systems, district, borough and city councils, VCSE organisations, community groups and Armed Forces networks.
• Identify opportunities to align activity across organisations, reduce duplication and maximise collective impact through coordinated partnership working.
• Work with partners to identify priorities, gaps and opportunities for improvement, ensuring activity is informed by evidence, insight and the needs of local communities.
• Lead and contribute to the development of strategic plans, business cases, funding proposals and partnership initiatives that support improved health and wellbeing outcomes.
• Use data, intelligence, research and evaluation to inform decision-making, demonstrate impact and drive continuous improvement.
• Influence senior stakeholders, elected members and system partners to build commitment to shared priorities and secure support for strategic programmes of work.
• Support governance arrangements, performance reporting and programme oversight, ensuring delivery against agreed objectives and outcomes.
• Contribute to Essex County Council's wider ambition to reduce health inequalities, strengthen communities and enable residents to live healthier lives.

The Experience You Will Bring

Essential:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent professional experience in public health, health improvement, commissioning, programme management or related discipline.
• Extensive knowledge and experience of men's health and wellbeing including prevention, mental wellbeing, suicide prevention, health inequalities and improving engagement with services.
• Experience of working with Armed Forces communities, including veterans and their families, alongside a strong understanding of the issues, barriers and opportunities that can influence their health and wellbeing outcomes.
• Experience of leading and delivering complex programmes, projects or partnerships within a public health, health improvement, NHS, local authority or wider health and care environment, with a proven track record of delivering outcomes and influencing system-wide change.
• Proven ability to build, influence and sustain effective partnerships across health, local government, voluntary and community sector organisations, Armed Forces organisations and wider system partners to deliver shared priorities and outcomes.
• Strong understanding of health inequalities, the wider determinants of health and the factors influencing engagement with prevention, early intervention and support services.
• Experience of developing and implementing strategies, action plans, policies or programmes within complex multi-agency environments.
• Experience of using data, evidence, insight and evaluation to identify need, shape priorities, inform strategic decision-making and demonstrate impact.
• Excellent communication, engagement and presentation skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders, elected members, partners and stakeholders across organisational boundaries.
• Experience of working effectively within politically sensitive and complex organisational environments.

Desirable:

• A recognised qualification or professional accreditation in programme management, public health, commissioning or leadership.
• Experience of engaging with people with lived experience to inform service design, strategic planning, policy development and decision-making processes.

Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs. At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.