Public Health Specialist

• Full time permanent position.
• Hybrid working model with a balance of home, locality and office working.
• 30 days’ annual leave.
• Masters level qualification or equivalent and 5 years’ experience of implementing public health programmes.

Somerset Council is looking to appoint an enthusiastic and innovative Public Health Specialist to cover substance use commissioning and the wider inclusion health role. We are looking for a Public Health Specialist to use their knowledge and skills (critical appraisal, analysis and evaluation of data, identifying need, addressing inequalities and following the evidence base) against the priority areas of substance use, inclusion health and premature mortality. As a core part of our wider team we would expect that your work will also cut across other wider public health priorities as well and may evolve over time.

You will work within a supportive and dynamic public health team and a substance use service rated as Good by the CQC.  

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.

The successful candidate will be educated to master’s level or have equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level within public health, project management, community engagement and / or substance misuse sector. With a proven track record of delivering programmes that have had demonstrable impact on health and well-being outcomes, particularly for vulnerable communities.

The post holder must be an enthusiastic team player able to influence and advocate across the public health team and a wide range of stakeholders in order to optimise the public health gain for our local population, working through localities across the county.

• Able to operationalise public health strategies and priorities.
• Confident to lead and manage complex procurement decisions.
• Confident in partnership working on complex, whole system issues, with experience of building and maintaining relationships across a range of sectors.
• Confident in using data to determine needs and critically appraising evidence to deliver or commission interventions across a health and care system.
• Positive, committed, adaptable and organised.
• An advocate for service users and those people marginalised from society .

The council offers a range of flexible working options and recognises the need to support your continued professional development.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more

The salary for this permanent role is £53,392 per annum.

For further information please contact PublicHealth@somerset.gov.uk and an appointment will be set up with one of the team for a chat about the role.

The closing date is midnight on 2nd November 2025 and interviews will be held in person at County Hall, Taunton on 11th November 2025.

Somerset Council covers a large geographical county with urban centres, market towns as well as vast rural areas.  The county has appropriately 562,000 people, with the population expected to increase by 12% by 2041, with the 65+ group expected to grow by 35%. The council currently shares its boundary with a single Integrated Care Board.