Director of Public Health (Health & wellbeing)

Job responsibilities

Statutory Role

The Director of Public Health is the system leader for improving the health and wellbeing of residents, reducing inequalities in health outcomes, and protecting local communities from public health hazards (infectious diseases and environmental threats). As such, the Director of Public Health is a statutory chief officer of the authority and the principal adviser on all health matters to elected members, officers, and partners, with a leadership role spanning health improvement, health protection and healthcare public health. Section 73A(1) of the NHS Act 2006, inserted by section 30 of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, gives the Director of Public Health responsibility for:

all their local authoritys duties to improve public health.

any of the Secretary of States public health protection or health improvement functions that s/he delegates to local authorities, either by arrangement or under regulations these include services mandated by regulations made under section 6C of the 2006 Act, inserted by section 18 of the 2012 Act.

exercising their local authoritys functions in planning for, and responding to, emergencies that present a risk to public health.

their local authoritys role in co-operating with the police, the probation service, and the prison service to assess the risks posed by violent or sexual offenders.

such other public health functions as the Secretary of State specifies in regulations.

producing an independent annual report on the health of local communities.

In order to deliver their responsibilities on behalf of the residents of Telford & Wrekin the DPH will need to be a visible system leader in the health and wellbeing partnership arrangements. The DPH will be expected to use all the resources at their disposal to ensure that the local public health system is able to tackle the full range of determinants of health affecting communities in Telford & Wrekin, to improve population health. Working with local communities, he/she should be able to inspire development of innovative solutions that support improvements in health and wellbeing and reduction in health inequalities whilst at the same time maintaining the confidence of Councillors and government.

HEALTH & WELLBEING DIRECTORATE

The DPH leads a small directorate with three teams Public Health & Commissioning, Health Protection (including Food Health & Safety, Civil Resilience and Corporate Health & Safety) and Health Improvement. The Health Improvement service area includes directly managed Healthy lifestyle and smoking cessation service.

The Corporate Insight Team work with the DPH to develop and deliver the JSNA. The Corporate Communication Team support Public Health communications and the Community Participation team support a range of volunteer-led programmes.

Key responsibilities

- Support the Chief Executive and Councillors in developing and delivering the Councils strategic agenda.- Be the chief officer and principal adviser on public health to the Council, local communities, and local partners.- Operate strategically as a member of the Senior Management Team and across the Council influencing policy and practice.- To deliver commission, and or deliver services which are effective, value for money and meet quality standards.- To act as a leader across the local system of public services, influencing change and enabling a culture of continuous improvement in health and wellbeing, innovation and evaluation.- Utilise the public health resources imaginatively and cost effectively across all domains of public health in order to improve health and wellbeing of local communities and reduce inequalities in health outcomes.- Accountable for both the shaping and delivery of the Health and Wellbeing agenda taking account of the national agenda and benchmarking (using the national outcomes frameworks; public health, NHS and social care).- Deliver an independent annual report on the health and wellbeing of local communities for publication by Telford & Wrekin Council to stimulate debate and/or action by the Council and partners.- In delivering these responsibilities, the postholder and their team will undertake the following tasks:

1. Strategic Leadership

Working with the Councils Insight Team delivery of a system to support surveillance, monitoring and evaluation of health and wellbeing and inequalities in health outcomes of local communities (including an easily accessible Joint Strategic Needs Assessment System).

Ensure all activity undertaken by the Council takes account of both, the need to reduce inequalities as well as the requirements of the Equality and Diversity Act.

To ensure scientific principles are applied to assessing need, exploring interventions and assessing progress of the Councils strategic agenda.

Ensure as a core member of the Health and Wellbeing Board and in partnership with a wide range of teams across the council, partners and the public, the development of plans to enable local communities to become healthy, sustainable and cohesive.

Collaborate to ensure a programme of action to impact on the wider determinants of health that will promote improvements in health and wellbeing of local communities and reduction in health inequalities.

Provide assurance that the health protection system for local communities is fit for purpose.

2. Directorate Specific Accountabilities

To be an advocate for improving health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities.

Exercise the statutory responsibilities including the delivery of the mandated services.

To advise Telford & Wrekin Council on its statutory and professional public health obligations.

Work with the UKHSA Centre and NHS partners to ensure local communities are protected from infectious disease threats (including food and water borne disease, pandemics, etc.) and environmental hazards.

Ensure the development and delivery of a credible plan to improve health and wellbeing of communities in Telford & Wrekin and reduce health inequalities.

Ensure that the Council has implemented its EPRR responsibilities and as part of the Local Health resilience Forum, that partner organisations (UKHSA, OHID, NHS England and the ICSs) have delivered their EPRR responsibilities.

Provide system leadership to the ICB to support their prevention and inequalities responsibilities.

Collaborate with the ICB and Directors of Adults and Childrens Social Care to develop placed based arrangements to deliver improvements in health and access to high quality healthcare for residents.

Provide public health advice (the mandated core offer) to Shropshire Telford Wrekin ICB to support the commissioning of appropriate, effective (based on evidence), and equitable health services.

Support the Health and Wellbeing Board to deliver its statutory duty to promote integration for the benefit of local communities.

3. Resource Management

To be accountable for the budget including reporting on the use of the public health ring fenced grant.

To manage Council resources (people, property, information and finance) imaginatively and efficiently.

4. Commissioning

Ensure services for improving health and wellbeing of local communities are commissioned within the Council policy for procurement and monitoring system and are responsive to the needs of the communities in Telford & Wrekin over time.

To set the framework for standards for commissioning and delivery; including the promotion of innovative approaches and appropriate risk management systems which are responsive to performance challenges.

To ensure scientific principles of evaluation underpin all commissioning and delivery, of health and wellbeing services.

5. Advocacy

Develop a constructive relationship with the media and the public, within the context of the Council Communications policy.

To use the Faculty of Public Health, the LGA, the ADsPH, UKHSA and other channels to advocate for the publics health.

The post holder will be responsible for a number of generic tasks as, as a member of the Senior Management Team. Please see attached job description for further details.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working in senior public health roles with a track record of delivering public health improvements
• Evidence of being able to add public health values to corporate agenda.
• Experience of working in complex political and social environments.
• Experience of establishing and promoting clear public health vision aligned to the corporate business strategy and consistent with government policy.
• Experience of providing strategic public health advice to senior officers and to elected Members.
• Significant successful experience of cross-sector partnership working.
• Significant experience of working successfully within a political environment to achieve corporate and service objectives.
• Proven track record of successfully delivering major service improvements and cultural and organisational change.
• Experience of managing staff; providing clear vision and objective setting and willingness to tackle sub-optimal performance.
• Evidence of management of a significant budget.

Qualifications

Essential

• In line with legislation, inclusion in the GMC Full and Specialist Register with a license to practice/GDC Specialist List or inclusion in the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) for Public Health Specialists at the point of application.
• If included in the GMC Specialist Register/GDC Specialist List in a specialty other than public health medicine/dental public health, candidates must have equivalent training and/or appropriate experience of public health practice
• Public health specialty registrar applicants who are currently on the UK public health training program and not yet on the GMC Specialist Register, GDC Specialist List in dental public health or UKPHR must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they are within 6 months of gaining entry to a register at the date of interview.*
• If an applicant is UK trained in Public Health, they must ALSO be a holder of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), or be within six months of award of CCT by date of interview
• If an applicant is non-UK trained, they will be required to show evidence of equivalence to the UK CCT
• - MFPH by examination, by exemption or by assessment, or equivalent
• - Must meet minimum CPD requirements (i.e. be up to date) in
• accordance with the Faculty of Public Health requirements or other
• recognised body

Knowledge

Essential

• High level of understanding of epidemiology and statistics, public health practice, health protection, health promotion, health economics and health care evaluation.
• Detailed Knowledge of methods of developing clinical quality assurance, quality improvement and evidence based clinical and/or public health practice.
• Understanding of NHS and local government cultures, structures and policies
• Understanding of the public sector duty and the inequality duty and their application to public health practice
• An understanding of the issues facing the public sector and their implications for service delivery.
• An understanding of the Co-operative Council approach.
• An understanding of the key issues arising from working within a political environment and the importance of positive working relationships with elected members.

Skills

Essential

• Excellent oral and written communication skills (including dealing with the media) including to present to mixed audiences and the media.
• Practical experience in facilitating change in a variety of settings, proactively seeking opportunities to create and implement improved service effectiveness.
• Able to plan strategically and to work creatively to identify practical business solutions to problems focused on outcomes for our community.
• Able to influence the attitudes and opinions of others by using a range of strategies.
• Skillful at negotiation at all levels to achieve a positive outcome and managing conflict appropriately.
• Able to model the Councils leadership and management competencies

Personal style and behaviours

Essential

• Commitment to the Councils Co-operative working ethos and corporate values.
• Establishes and maintains relationships at all levels, using engagement and communication as tools to promote challenge in a constructive and positive manner.
• Creates and maintains a service area in which team members can fulfil their potential and feel that their development is valued.
• Responds positively to change by prioritisation, balancing competing demands and accommodating high expectations.
• Maintains effective work behaviours in pressured and stressful situations, demonstrating resilience and consistency.
• Models a personal commitment to inclusivity and the welfare of others.
• Develops an environment of trust by displaying tact, honesty, openness and integrity.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).