Public Health Principal (Childrens)

Overview

As Public Health Principal – Children, lead strategic oversight of programmes improving health and wellbeing for children and young people. You will align actions across Children’s Services, Education, Health and partners to reduce inequalities and maximise impact. Focus on prevention, early intervention and evidence-based commissioning within a collaborative system. Drive population health improvements and ensure resources are used effectively. This role offers influence across partnerships and a chance to shape Reading’s approach to child health at scale.

Pay / Benefits

• generous holiday entitlement
• flexible working opportunities
• LGPS pension
• Life Assurance
• On-site day nursery
• Season Ticket Loan

Responsibilities

• Champion prevention and early intervention with evidence-based approaches to improve outcomes and reduce demand on services.
• Provide strategic public health leadership across children’s services, influencing policy and programmes to tackle health inequalities.
• Strengthen partnership working with initiatives like Families First, One Reading Partnership, and Children and Young People’s Partnership Board.
• Lead and contribute to child health partnerships, including acting as a lead for the Berkshire Child Death Overview Panel.
• Utilise public health intelligence to assess needs, identify inequalities, prioritise actions, and evaluate impact.
• Drive service improvement and commissioning to ensure programmes are evidence-based, outcomes-focused, and cost-effective.
• Foster relationships across the local system to unite partners around shared goals for children, young people, and families.
• Lead and develop staff, building a skilled and collaborative public health workforce.

Key requirements

• Significant experience in public health practice related to children, young people and families.
• Relevant degree and postgraduate qualification in Public Health or equivalent experience.
• Strong programme management, commissioning and partnership-building skills.
• Experience using public health intelligence and evidence to drive improvements.
• Excellent communication and leadership with the ability to influence diverse stakeholders.
• Passion for tackling health inequalities and improving life chances for children and young people.

• leadership
• stakeholder influencing
• collaboration
• public health intelligence
• programme management
• commissioning

…