Public Health Specialist (Mental Health)

Job summary

Somerset Council is looking to appoint an enthusiastic and skilled Public Health Specialist to provide strategic leadership for improving mental health and wellbeing across Somerset. This is an exciting new role where you will apply a broad range of Public Health knowledge and skills, such as critical appraisal, analysis and evaluation of data and needs, strategic leadership and partnership working to address and improve all age public mental.

Somerset is a large geographical county with urban centres, market towns and vast rural areas, and it faces a number of important mental health challenges, including the impact of rurality, social isolation, and workforce and economic pressures, and the access to and delivery of services across the county.

The postholder will provide strategic leadership to embed mental health and wellbeing priorities across the county. Additionally, you will work collaboratively with our established Suicide Prevention Partnership, working across local government, health and care providers, third sector and the community to deliver the Somerset Suicide Prevention Strategy 2025-2030, to improve population wellbeing, reduce and prevent suicide, strengthen crisis and bereavement support and embed suicide prevention as everybodys business. As a specialist, you will also play a key role in leading the development, commissioning and delivery of programmes and interventions to improve and raise awareness of public mental health.

Main duties of the job

You will be educated to masters level or have comparable professional experience with a proven track record of delivering programmes that have had demonstrable impact on health and well-being outcomes. You will be an enthusiastic team player who is able to influence and advocate across the public health team and with a wide range of stakeholders to optimise the public health gain for our local population.

The shared vision for health and wellbeing in Somerset is for people to live healthy and independent lives, supported by thriving and connected communities with timely and easy access to high-quality and efficient public services when they need them.

You will be:

• Able to operationalise public health strategies and priorities
• Confident working collaboratively on complex, system issues, with experience of building and maintaining relationships across a range of services and sectors
• Confident in using data to determine needs and critically appraising evidence to deliver or commission interventions
• Positive, committed, adaptable and organised
• An advocate for the impact of health inequalities and social determinants of health on the mental health needs of Somersets population and the need for change

About us

• Full time (37 hours per week).
• Flexible and hybrid working (1-2 days per week in the office).

• 33 days of annual leave (pro-rata, additional to bank holidays).

Regretfully, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. We are only able to proceed with candidates who already have the right to work in the UK without the need for visa sponsorship.

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Job responsibilities

The Public Health Specialist plays a key role in improving the health and wellbeing of Somersets population by leading the development, commissioning and delivery of evidence-based public health programmes and services. Working across the Council and with system partners, the post holder provides specialist expertise to shape policy, inform strategic planning and ensure that public health priorities are effectively translated into high-quality, equitable services. The role focuses on analysing complex data and intelligence, assessing population health needs, and driving interventions that address health inequalities and improve long-term outcomes.

The post holder operates at a senior level within their area of expertise, providing leadership across multi-agency partnerships to influence commissioning, service redesign and system-wide decision-making. They lead major programmes and projects, support the delivery of statutory public health duties, and contribute to the development and implementation of local, regional and national policy. Through strong stakeholder engagement, governance oversight and performance management, the Public Health Specialist ensures that services are evidence-led, responsive to community needs and aligned with the Councils strategic objectives.

Operational Delivery

• Commission and/or act as the Councils lead client in relation to public health services.
• Manage major programmes within area of expertise or where specialism is dominant.
• Deliver major projects and resolve complex casework where required by the Director of Public Health

Service Planning and Delivery

• Shape and recommend Council policy concerning specialist areas of public health activity.
• Shape and influence the Somerset system service planning and delivery, in relation to public health priorities.

Strategic Development

• Determine or support the determination, of the strategic direction of the Council and partner agencies in relation to specialist public health expertise.

Subject Matter Expert

Surveillance and assessment of the populations wellbeing:

• Access and utilise information and intelligence systems to underpin public health improvement and action across disciplines and organisations.
• Write and/or contribute to national and local policy setting reports on the health of the population of Somerset within the area of higher-level practice and specialist responsibility.

Public Health Intelligence

• Analyse and evaluate quantitative and qualitative data and research evidence from a range of sources to make recommendations and inform decision making which has long term impacts, as appropriate to the area of higher-level practice.
• Compare, analyse and interpret highly complex options for running projects identified as key public health priorities, for example the integration of early help and health and well-being services and communicate this information across organisations and the local community.
• Lead on, plan and design agreed aspects of the assessment of health needs, health inequalities, and health impact assessment, to identify areas for action within the local population based on the best available evidence and to be responsible for short- and long-term planning and for providing advice on the treatment of groups of populations.

Assessing the evidence of effectiveness of health and healthcare interventions, programmes and services (healthcare public health)

• Provide expert public health advice and leadership and inform an evidence-based approach within ethical frameworks for commissioning and to develop high quality equitable services, across primary, secondary and social care, and across sectors including local authorities, voluntary organisations, in potentially contentious and hostile environments where barriers to acceptance may exist
• Be responsible for leading on service development, evaluation and quality assurance governance in an area of higher-level practice and for preparing and adjusting action plans in line with changing needs and changing geographical boundaries.
• Be responsible for the identification and implementation of appropriate health outcome measures, care pathways/protocols and guidelines for service delivery across patient pathways for the local population as appropriate to the area of higher-level practice.

Policy and Strategy Development and Implementation

• Lead (on behalf of the Somerset Council Public Health team) the communication, dissemination, implementation and delivery of national, regional and local policies, developing inter-agency and interdisciplinary strategic plans and programmes, within a specialist area of practice and with the support of Consultants and the Director of Public Health.
• Be responsible for the development and implementation of multi-agency long-term public health programmes as required, based on identification of areas of potential health improvement, the diversity of local needs and the reduction of inequalities.

Health Improvement

• Be responsible for designated areas of health improvement programmes. This may include engagement with primary care professionals and community staff to raise awareness and achieve engagement in their public health role.
• Take a senior level leadership role in an area of higher-level practice with local communities and vulnerable and hard to reach groups, helping them to take action to tackle longstanding and widening health inequality issues, using community development approaches as appropriate.
• Provide expert knowledge to ensure effective community involvement with regard to all the work of the organisation including commissioning and prioritising high-cost services and to ensure that policies and strategies are interpreted, developed and implemented at all levels, reflecting advanced theoretical and practical knowledge, in the area of higher-level practice.

Health Protection

• Demonstrate an understanding of the processes of safeguarding the health of the population in relation to communicable disease, infection control and environmental health.
• As appropriate to the area of higher-level practice, communicate effectively and diplomatically with a wide audience including the media and the public to change practice in highly challenging circumstances such as immunisation and screening.

Service Improvement

• Provide expert support evidence-based commissioning, prioritisation advice as appropriate to the area of higher-level practice to of services for the population (and in some circumstances providing highly specialised advice on preferred treatment options or protocols based on the evidence for individual patients) in order to maximise opportunities for health.
• Contribute to clinical governance and/or audit as appropriate to the area of higher-level practice.

Academic Public Health / Research and Development

• Undertake and commission literature reviews, evaluative research surveys, audits and other research as required to inform equitable service and reduce health inequalities.

Delivery of Statutory Duties

• Advise the Council and Integrated Care System on their obligations and duties arising from the statutory/regulatory framework covering specialist public health topics.

Financial / Budget and Resource Management

• As appropriate to area of specialist practice and within a specialist area, the post may be a designated budget holder (ca £250K per annum) and contribute to the formulation and monitoring of service budgets and financial initiatives.
• The post-holder will be involved in actively influencing public health spend across the health and wellbeing system with the potential to influence budgets of other organisations, for example the total health and care budget in Somerset (ca £1.1 billion per annum)

Performance Management Frameworks

• Create, monitor and review frameworks of performance measures and quality standards to be applied in the delivery of services in specialist public health areas.

Team Management

• Specify and mentor the Continuous Professional Development of other professionals in their field.
• Line manages a team of specialist and professional staff.

Problem Solving

• The ability to problem solve is key to success in this role. It requires fast paced thinking and delivery on tight timelines with frequently changing guidance.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Drive and operate partnership and co-operative working with other agencies/bodies to ensure effective commissioning and/or delivery of services in their specialist areas.

Resource Management

• The post-holder will be involved in actively influencing public health spend across the health and wellbeing system with the potential to influence budgets of other organisations, for example the total health and care budget in Somerset (ca £1.1 billion per annum).

Organisational or Service Specific Delivery

• Undertake representational and communication duties on behalf of the Council and partners both to promote the Councils interests in matters concerning specialist areas.

Other

The job description will be subject to review in consultation with the post-holder and in the light of the needs of the employing organisation and the development of the speciality of public health and any wider developments in the field of public health.

Person specification

Knowledge

Essential

• Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of the statutory, policy and strategic commissioning framework within which specialist services operate and their context within local government and the health and wellbeing system.
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of using data and evidence to support policy change and commissioning to improve health and wellbeing.

Qualifications

Essential

• Masters degree or equivalent

Experience

Essential

• Evidence of work related continuing professional development in public health.
• 5 years experience of implementing public health programmes and working in partnership across multiple agencies.
• Experience of undertaking clinical and quality audits and challenging poor practice.
• Demonstrable experience of partnership working, including the ability to influence and, where required, lead multi-agency projects and initiatives with particular reference to standard setting and whole service commissioning.

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Good understanding and ability to develop and implement effective performance management and quality assurance frameworks.
• Computer literate, using MS Office suite of programmes.
• Collaborative in their approach to working with partners, both internal and external.
• Has a positive attitude towards improving outcomes for health and wellbeing.
• Promotes the need for change and acts as a role model for change.
• Positive, committed, adaptable, thorough and confident approach.
• Ability to work to deadlines and to motivate others to work effectively and demonstrate a duty of care.
• Ability to work in a team and contribute to shared goals.
• Able to challenge practice effectively.
• Innovative and creative approach to service improvement and value.
• Customer- and Communities- focused.
• Personal Integrity.
• Drive and self-motivation can do attitude.

Desirable

• Track record of operating corporate projects and providing clear advice on policy options and policy development and delivering projects on time and within budget.
• An understanding and commitment to effective customer and community engagement leading to service redesign and change management.