Public Health Careers Weekly | Edition 007
Missed this week’s email? Welcome to the online edition of Public Health Careers Weekly Edition 007.
Every Friday, we publish carefully selected public health opportunities, sector updates and practical career advice to help you build your career in UK public health.
If you’d like future editions delivered straight to your inbox every Friday, subscribe to Public Health Careers Weekly.
🌟 Opportunity of the Week
Health and Wellbeing Co-ordinator
NHS Dumfries & Galloway
Band 6: £43,231 to £52,679
Mountainhall Treatment Centre | Permanent
Closing: 28 August 2026
This public health improvement role covers prevention, community engagement, programme coordination and partnership working. It also includes professional support for community-based public health improvement staff.
Why it stands out: It combines programme delivery with community-facing public health work and offers a strong progression opportunity for someone moving beyond project-level responsibilities.
💼 Featured Opportunities
Public Health Senior Project Officer
London Borough of Bromley
£46,952 to £50,867
Full-time | Fixed term for one year
Closing: 24 August 2026
Work across the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, suicide prevention and addictions, with responsibilities spanning programme delivery, commissioning support, stakeholder engagement and service improvement.
Why it matters: A particularly useful role for professionals whose experience sits across public health and project or programme management.
Research Associate: Evaluating Spatial Planning Interventions to Improve Public Health
University of Cambridge
£37,694 to £46,049
Fixed term for 48 months
Closing: 31 August 2026
Join the Population Health Interventions Group to research how planning policy can create healthier environments, including its potential influence on diet and diet-related disease. GIS experience is essential.
Why it matters: This is a strong example of public health sitting outside traditional NHS services, connecting epidemiology, place, planning and population health research.
Senior Environmental Health Officer
Westminster City Council
£46,854 to £57,495
Permanent
Closing: 31 August 2026
The council is recruiting two permanent Senior Environmental Health Officers within its environmental health service.
Why it matters: Environmental health is an important part of the wider public health workforce and a reminder that protecting population health extends far beyond roles carrying “public health” in their title.
📰 This Week in Public Health
RSV vaccination linked with major fall in newborn intensive-care admissions
New UKHSA data published on 13 August reports a 50% reduction in newborn ICU admissions for RSV in the first full year of the maternal vaccination programme. Around 60% of women giving birth each month are currently vaccinated.
Why it matters: Vaccination programmes create work far beyond delivery, including surveillance, programme evaluation, uptake analysis, inequalities and public communication.
Almost three-quarters of England is now in drought
Following a record dry July, further areas were moved into drought status this week.
Why it matters: Climate and environmental risks increasingly intersect with population health, resilience, emergency planning and health inequalities.
UKHSA continues international outbreak monitoring
The latest outbreak monitoring report covers threats including Bundibugyo virus disease and other international incidents being assessed for their potential UK public health relevance.
Why it matters: Health protection careers depend heavily on horizon scanning, surveillance, risk assessment and translating incomplete information into proportionate action.
Explore the latest outbreak monitoring
🎓 Learning Opportunity
Making Every Contact Count
NHS England’s free MECC learning introduces how everyday interactions can be used to support healthier behaviour through effective questions, listening and signposting.
Why it matters: It is particularly relevant to health improvement, community engagement, prevention and behaviour-change roles.
💡 Career Insight
Public health careers increasingly cross traditional boundaries
This week alone, the vacancies connect public health with community development, programme management, spatial planning, research and environmental health.
That matters when you search for jobs.
Searching only “public health” can hide relevant opportunities. Search by the work you want to do too, including terms such as evaluation, prevention, population health, community engagement, health inequalities, surveillance and programme delivery.
✍️ Application Tip
Be precise about your personal contribution
There is a significant difference between:
“We developed a new programme.”
and:
“I analysed the evidence, developed the first implementation plan and coordinated feedback from five partner organisations.”
Team achievements are valuable, but the panel still needs to understand what you personally did.
Review every example in your application and ask:
Could the panel identify my individual contribution from this sentence?
If not, make it clearer.
🗺️ PHCH Resource of the Week
Public Health Career Roadmaps
This week’s vacancies show just how broad public health careers can be, from health improvement and programme management to research and environmental health.
The PHCH Career Roadmaps break down different public health specialisms, the types of roles available and the skills and experience employers typically look for.
A useful starting point if you’re trying to work out where you fit within public health or which roles to search for next.
🤝 Before you go…
If you found this edition useful, subscribe to receive Public Health Careers Weekly every Friday or share it with someone building their UK public health career.
Job leads and suggestions for future editions are always welcome.
Public Health Careers Weekly is published every Friday to help you discover relevant opportunities and make informed career decisions.