Public Health Early Years Officer

Do you have experience of developing and delivering specialist health and wellbeing programmes and projects by working in partnership with stakeholders?

Are you passionate about supporting improvements to health and wellbeing of Buckinghamshire residents?

Buckinghamshire Council is looking for a Public Health Early Years Officer to join the Public Health team.

About us

Buckinghamshire Council is looking for a new Early Years Public Health Programme Officer to join its Public Health team. The Council is an innovative and high performing organisation, and public health is embedded in the Council’s core business. Public health is defined as “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organised efforts of society.” The Public Health workforce delivers a range of work to protect and improve the health of communities and populations at local, regional, national, and global levels.

Buckinghamshire is generally more affluent and as a result has better health outcomes than the national average; there are however significant inequalities in health across the County. Rather than focussing on the health of the individual, the Public Health workforce delivers a range of work to protect and improve the health of communities and populations primarily at a local but, in some cases, also at regional, national, and global levels.

The Public Health Early Years Officer will act as the key link for public health projects targeted at those residents (and their families) in their early years (0-5 years), providing high quality project management advice and support.

About the role

We are looking to recruit a new Public Health Early Years Officer to act as a bridge between Public Health and the teams involved in supporting those residents (and their families) in their early years (including, but not limited to, the Early Years, Family Hub Health Visiting and NHS England Screening and Immunisation teams). The Public Health Early Years Officer will develop, deliver and monitor a range of specialist health and wellbeing programmes and projects. In doing so, they will proactively develop, influence and manage key relationships with stakeholders and early years settings providers to increase awareness of programmes, such as vaccinations and parenting programmes, and to ensure the achievement of shared priorities and targets.

The post will be managed by Stephen Pinel (Public Health Principal) and be part of the Children and Young People’s team within Public Health, as part of the Adults and Health Directorate. We offer flexible working and opportunities for continuing professional development.

About you

The ideal candidate will have significant experience of working in an early years and/or public health environment, an excellent understanding of the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice, safeguarding and other relevant statutory documents related to early years and childcare, with practical experience of providing advice to and influencing the early years sector.

You will work in partnership with other local authority services areas and other external partners and service providers to maximise health improvement and reduce inequalities in health and well-being.

Other information

If you would like to have an informal conversation, please contact:

Closing date for applications is 20th September 2024.

The provisional dates for interviews are 30th September or 4th October 2024.

The interview type will be in person and held at the Walton Street Office, Walton Street, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP20 1UA.

As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office (Walton Street Office) a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare all unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

Our values

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining us, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

We know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Service Area

Buckinghamshire is an exciting place to work and a beautiful place to live. It has a population of more than 500,000 and although generally healthy and wealthy, there are significant public health challenges and inequalities across the county. The Council is now a unitary authority, which enhances our ability to address the broader determinants of health.

Good health is vital to the social and economic success of an area. It contributes to safe, strong, cohesive happy communities, educational attainment and the ability to find and remain in employment. In turn, this reduces demand on children and adult social care services and healthcare services.

Our Public Health service works with communities and colleagues in the NHS, voluntary sector and other partners to co-design approaches, building on the assets of communities to develop solutions and provide equal access to all residents. Some of the ways we do this are by supporting mental health, improving access to healthy, affordable food through a range of growing schemes, and our Active Communities program. We are looking for people who share our values of looking after the wellbeing of our residents and engaging with our communities about delivering the best solutions for them.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. We also offer a salary sacrifice personal car lease scheme to those who are eligible and have passed their probation period. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.