Public Health Strategist (Child & Maternal Health)

Waltham Forest Council is looking to appoint a Public Health Strategist on a permanent contract to join its Public Health Team. This role has a specific focus on child and maternal health.

We are seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic person who is passionate about maternal and children’s public health We are looking for someone who is resourceful, competent and with a record in problem solving skills, with a good grasp of health intelligence and a genuine ethos of partnership working. The successful candidate will have strategic vision, will be comfortable working across organisational and professional boundaries and will work with partners across diverse communities and agencies.

The successful candidate will bring energy, drive and innovation to make a difference, working through challenges to improve outcomes for children and families in Waltham Forest.  This is a great opportunity to develop and influence the public health agenda and to build on work to tackle inequalities. This role would ideally suit a candidate with experience of children’s public health.

About us

Waltham Forest is a vibrant, diverse home to approximately 275,000 residents, approximately 67,000 children in East London. The Public Health team is embedded in the council’s core business and has well developed relationships across the council and with partners.

The leaders of the borough are firmly committed to public health, and the principles of early intervention and prevention and ensuring the Best Start in Life making this an excellent place to work in collaboration to achieve genuine improvements for residents.

The Public Health Team is committed to providing a stimulating environment within which to work, running monthly reflective practice sessions, journal clubs and providing opportunities for personal development through training, education, shadowing and on-the-job learning.

The role

The post holder will work in co-operation with other colleagues within Public Health, Council directorates, the local Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS and voluntary sector and will need to establish and maintain a wide and varied range of working relationships. This is especially true across early years settings, and with maternity, health visiting, school nursing and children and family centre services. The post holder will need to develop a good understanding of the context of services in the borough which impact on children’s health and health inequalities.

While the position is a universal public health strategist role, the portfolio to be covered by the candidate will focus on child and maternal health, including covering the following areas:

• Commissioning of the Healthy Child Programme (School Nursing, Health Visiting, Family Nurse Partnership)

• Commissioning of other children’s health services (Best Start Service (breastfeeding, healthy weight, oral health); Healthy Start Vitamins
• Support to the Children’s Health and Wellbeing Board and the Maternity and Early Years Steering Group
• Work to implement the Council’s Best Start in Life Strategy (for 0-5s)
• Partnership working around high profile areas, for example CAMHS and SEND

This post will work alongside other members of the public health team, particularly those with roles in maternal and child health, including a Senior Strategist (Health in Schools & Violence Against Women and Girls), a Healthy Early Years officer, a Public Health Officer (Life Chances); and the Consultant-level holder of the overall children’s portfolio. The role may potentially include some line management responsibility.

We invite applications from individuals who are skilled at managing relationships and negotiating across a wide range of organisations, who understand the challenges faced by local authorities and the NHS, and who will provide strong leadership in contributing to the work of our dynamic public health team.

Your application should set out how you meet the job role profile.

For further information please contact Joe McDonnell , Director of  Public Health on: joe.mcdonnell@walthamforest.gov.uk  

Previous applicants need not apply

Likely interview date: Monday 31^st October 2022