Strategic Lead - Children & Young People

Job Title: Strategic Lead - Children & Young People
Starting Salary: £61,443 progressing to £68,775 per annum (pro rata for part time)
Hours: 37 - Part time will be considered but no less than 22.2 hours (0.6 WTE)
Location: Stevenage - Farnham House & Remote Working
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Public Health

About the team

Hertfordshire Public Health team is recruiting to the role of Strategic Lead for children and young people’s public health. This is an exciting opportunity to take up a senior public health post, joining at an exciting and busy time to join the team.

You will report to the Consultant in Public Health for Children and Young People and All Ages Mental Health, and have strategic oversight of the children and young people’s public health portfolio. You will lead the Children and Young People’s Public Health Team, which comprises a small team of very passionate and experienced individuals who will help you in delivering the programme of work and achieving the objectives set out on the Public Health Business Plan.

You will play an important role in the wider health and care system, working in partnership with colleagues across the Council, in Districts and Boroughs, local NHS trusts, Integrated Care Board and local Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector partners. In this role you will build and foster relationships, which will ensure every child in Hertfordshire is given the best start in life and continues to thrive as they grow and develop.

About the role

You will help to shape system wide policy and influence decision-making for shared priorities, to facilitate the delivery of shared public health and prevention agendas.

Linked to the government’s focus on “Opportunity for All”, you will be overseeing a developing programme of work focused on improving the quality of the 2-2.5 year development check, mobilising the new Public Health Nursing contract and working with wider colleagues in the Council to mobilise the new Best Start Family Hubs and contributing towards a Council wide plan to increase the number of children achieving a Good Level of Development (GLD).

The portfolio also has a strong focus on safeguarding and keeping children safe, child obesity (including breastfeeding and physical activity) and oral health. There is also a developing programme of work focused on the health and wellbeing of school aged children.

You will be working with colleagues across Public Health, including the Healthy Communities and Places team, the Evidence and Intelligence team and with colleagues in Children’s Services, Education, Integrated Care Board and local NHS Trust providers.

Children and Young People’s public health is a broad and diverse portfolio, so you will be expected to provide strategic leadership, prioritise and work with the team effectively.

You will have the appropriate skills to progress these agendas, navigating political environments and complex multiagency systems, working with diplomacy and effectiveness, often in the public eye.

About you

You will have a master’s in public health or equivalent qualification and experience in public health.

Your in-depth understanding of and experience working in children and young people, health improvement and healthy behaviours in the context of the local authority system and national policy, will deliver evidence-driven change at the strategic level.

You will have experience of direct line management and overseeing a team either as a team leader or in the capacity as a project lead.

You will have a strong understanding of key information and data intelligence sources relevant to children, young people and families, with experience of using them to inform priorities and measuring impact.

You will be able to demonstrate extensive experience in working at a senior level in public health, including developing reports and briefings for senior members of the Public Health team and of the Council, and deputising at a senior level.

You will have a good understanding of local stakeholders and key partners you will need to work with to deliver the ambitions of the portfolio.

In demonstrating your suitability for this role, please provide a response to the following questions in your supporting statement:

• Why are you a strong and suitable candidate for this role?
• What is your experience of working at a strategic level and in influencing partners to deliver activity/actions that impact on population health outcomes?

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is within the Health and Social Care Services, level HSC14 job profile. Please locate this via:

Job profiles - Health and social care

To hear more about this opportunity please contact aideen.dunne@hertfordshire.gov.uk for an informal discussion about the role.

Interview Date: w/c 22nd September 2025

Benefits of working for us

How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Additional information

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.