Consultant in Global Public Health, UKOTs

Job summary

This post is located within UKHSA’s Global Health Protection directorate, led by the Director of Global Health Protection. The Global Health Protection directorate supports the delivery of UKHSA’s Global Health Strategy. It provides a corporate service to UKHSA supporting the oversight, coordination and delivery of UKHSA’s international activity and working with UK government departments and other UK partners to build and strengthen international public health links. The directorate also maintains its own extensive portfolio of global health programmes and projects, focusing on capacity building and health system strengthening in partner countries.

The Postholder will work within the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) Health Security Programme in UKHSA. The programme, which is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through its Overseas Territories Resilient Economies and Security & Stability programmes, works collaboratively to strengthen health systems that prevent, detect and respond to health emergencies and threats in the UKOTs. This is achieved through the provision of technical expertise and support across the Public Health field, both for communicable and non-communicable diseases, and other hazards.

For full details, please refer to the attached Job Description & Person Specification.

Main duties of the job

The postholder’s responsibilities will be to lead two streams of work under the Resilient Communities portfolio of the UKOTs programme – risk behaviours and non-communicable diseases as well as significant senior contribution to the vulnerable populations and mental health streams. This will include delivery of public health technical advice by working with the UKOTs to identify priority areas to support system-wide and community-driven approaches to build social resilience, reduce vulnerability, and support communities to thrive through change and crisis.

The postholder will work closely in partnership with UKOT Chief Medical Officers (CMOs), members of the UKOT health teams / Ministry of Health (MoH) as well as other key UKOT ministerial departments as required to strengthen development of cross-sectoral approaches to public health issues.

The role will require leadership skills, with the postholder being an active and senior member of the UKOTs team and its Strategic Coordination Group. It will also require collaboration and partnership working with the health professionals based in the UKOTs, Voluntary Community Social Enterprise groups, community leaders, emergency planners and a variety of other international and regional stakeholders such as technical experts at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO).

For full details, please refer to the attached Job Description & Person Specification.

Person Specification

Education / Qualifications

Essential

• 1.GMC full and specialist register with a license to practice (or be eligible for registration within six months of interview) or UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) for Public Health Specialists or be eligible within 6 months
• 2.If included in the GMC Specialist Register/GDC Specialist List in a specialty other than public health medicine, candidates must have equivalent training and/or appropriate experience of public health medicine practice
• 3.Public health specialty registrar applicants who are not yet on the GMC Specialist Register/GDC Specialist List in dental public health/UKPHR must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they are within 6 months of gaining entry at the date of interview; all other applicants must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they have applied for inclusion in the GMC/GDC/UKPHR specialist registers [see shortlisting notes below for additional guidance]
• 4.If an applicant is UK trained, 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
• 5. Applicants must meet the minimum CPD requirements (i.e. be up to date) in accordance with Faculty of Public Health requirements, or another recognised professional body where applicable.
• 6. MFPH by examination, exemption or assessment.

Experience

Essential

• At least 5 years of significant strategic experience of senior leadership for public health
• Staff management and training
• Practical experience in facilitating change
• Experience of working with other agencies

Desirable

• Experience of working on global health projects
• Scientific publications, presentation of papers at conferences, seminars etc
• Training and mentoring skills
• Knowledge of grant development and research methodology

Skills

Essential

• Strategic thinker with proven leadership skills
• Proven excellent oral and written communication skills (including presentation skills and dealing with the media)
• Proven and effective interpersonal, motivational and influencing skills
• Ability to respond appropriately in unplanned and unforeseen circumstances
• Sensible negotiator with practical expectation of what can be achieved
• Substantially numerate, with highly developed analytical skills using qualitative and quantitative data
• Ability to apply epidemiological methods and statistics
• Ability to design, develop, interpret and implement policies
• Resource and staff management skills
• Project Management skills
• Budget management skills

Knowledge

Essential

• High level of understanding of epidemiology and statistics, public health practice, health promotion, health economics and health care evaluation
• Understanding of NHS and local government cultures, structures and policies
• Knowledge of methods of developing clinical quality assurance, quality improvement and evidence based clinical and/or public health practice
• Understanding of social and political environment
• Understanding of interfaces between health and social care
• An understanding of the public sector duty and the inequality
• Understanding of key agencies involved in health improvement

Equality and diversity

Essential

• Demonstrate appreciation and acknowledgement of the range and complexities of diversity; self awareness in terms of emotional intelligence, biases and personal

Closing Date: 11 August 2026