Oral Health Improvement Lead

NHS; Wigton; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare authority in England is seeking an Oral Health Improvement Lead to manage and develop the Oral Health Improvement Team. This role involves leading initiatives to enhance oral health across various settings, working closely with dental and public health professionals. The ideal candidate will have a degree in public health or relevant experience, along with skills in project management and collaboration to drive significant improvements in community oral health. Competitive salary and benefits are included.

Benefits

27-day holiday scheme

NHS Discounts

Salary Sacrifice schemes

Confidential counselling service

Qualifications

• Degree in Public Health or relevant subject or equivalent work experience.
• Evidence of continuous professional development.
• Work experience as a Dental Therapist and/or Dental Hygienist.

Responsibilities

• Lead & develop the Oral Health Improvement Team within Trust-based Dental Services.
• Collaborate with key dental, public health, and education professionals.
• Manage oral health improvement initiatives directly or through engagement.

Skills

Experience of public health/oral health improvement

Experience of leading oral health improvement initiatives

Teaching or training experience

Skilled in delivering oral health improvement programmes

Education

Degree in Public Health or relevant subject

Certificate in Education or Training

Tools

ICDL qualification or equivalent

Job description

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Oral Health Improvement Lead

The closing date is 23 January 2026

The role is to lead & develop the Oral Health Improvement Team within the Trust-based Dental Services across Cumbria to ensure commissioned oral health improvement objectives & associated programmes are delivered. Under guidance from regional Consultants in Dental Public Health & the Clinical Director to manage the oral health improvement initiatives either directly or through engagement with other professionals. Capable of working autonomously, demonstrating a high level of skills, knowledge & competence whilst acting as a positive role model, leading by example, mentoring & coordinating staff & identifying opportunities for continuing professional development. The post holder will be required to work closely & collaboratively with key dental, public health, medical, social & education professionals & agencies & actively participate within Networks relevant to the role. A key requirement of the post holder is to facilitate the co-ordinated delivery of the oral health improvement objectives set out within Cumbria Oral Health Team Improvement Plan, in particular the Smile4Life Programme.

The delivery of initiatives will take place within settings such as Children Centres and other Early Years Foundation Stage settings, schools, workplaces, prisons and nursing and residential care settings. In addition, you will link with numerous organisations but will have strong links with Cumberland Council, Westmorland and Furness Council, and NHS England.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will need to link with other agencies and organisations to influence people about the importance of oral health, as part of wider general health, and in relation to social inclusion. The post holder will need to have a clear overview of various campaigns and initiatives across Cumbria and the impact these are having on oral health and general wellbeing.

As part of this post there will be an expectation that reports will be produced for a variety of multi-agency groups as appropriate to update on various initiatives and/or where new initiatives are proposed. Epidemiological and statistical updates will need to be collated to assess progress against local government targets.

Press releases on new initiatives, good work, or to raise awareness are an expectation of this job. These will be produced in liaison with relevant Communications team.

As part of project management responsibilities the post holder, in liaison with the Dental Services Manager, will be expected to oversee budgets and determine spend within their role, where this is appropriate. Where necessary, the post holder will also need to identify staffing/capacity to support the delivery of commissioned oral health improvement initiative. The post holder will be involved in recruitment and supervision of oral health improvement team staff.

About us

At NCIC, we have an ambition to deliver outstanding healthcare services to the population of North Cumbria. The Trust is committed to creating a centre of excellence in providing rural and remote healthcare and provides a wide range of community and acute services throughout our county.

Our 5 key principles demonstrate our belief in the delivery of 'safe, high quality care every time':

• Being a clinically led organisation
• Quality and safety at the heart of our Trust
• A positive patient experience every time
• A great place to work
• Managing our money well

As an organisation we are serious about supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our local community and are very much focused on being an inclusive and compassionate place to work.

Across the North East and North Cumbria we are working together to deliver our ambition to be the greenest region in England by 2030. All staff are expected to support sustainability.

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for further information regarding the role and the essential and desirable criteria required to be met by applicants.

CERTIFICATE OF SPONSORSHIP

Please note, due to changes implemented by the Government to the UK immigration policy, individuals who require a Health and Care Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa may no longer be eligible for sponsorship where the UKVI salary threshold is not met or if the occupation is not included in the updated Immigration Salary List (ISL). Applicants must check their eligibility to be employed in any role they are interested in applying for, prior to completing an application for employment. Any applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be progressed. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

If you are applying under the Disability Confident Scheme or Armed Forces Covenant and you meet all the essential criteria for a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.

Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants moving to the region for certain posts. Please see our Policy for eligible vacancies.

Disclosure and Barring Service

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

The cost of the DBS must be met by the successful candidate(s) through salary deduction. DBS charges are as follows (if applicable to the post):

• Standard Check: £21.50 + Administration cost of £5.90 = £27.40. Deducted from salary over a 4 month period or a one-off payment.
• Enhanced Check: £49.50 + administration cost of £5.90 = £55.40. Deducted from salary over a 4 month period or a one-off payment.

NCIC can offer successful future employees the following benefits

• 27-day holiday scheme rising to 33 after 10 years
• NHS Discounts
• Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
• Vivup is a free, confidential counselling and information service to assist with personal or work-related problems

*Subject to eligibility

Please ensure that you document evidence of meeting all the essential criteria in the supporting information.

If sufficient response is received this post could be closed earlier than the specified closing date, please apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered.

Candidates who have been successfully shortlisted for interview will be asked via an email notification to log on to their Trac account to select an interview time. This will usually be within 2 weeks of the closing date.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Degree in Public Health or relevant subject or equivalent work experience and/or willingness to work towards this level of qualification
• Evidence of continuous professional development
• Work experience as a Dental Therapist and/or Dental Hygienist or in oral health improvement
• Certificate in Education or Training

Knowledge & experience

• Experience of public health/oral health improvement
• Experience of developing, implementing and evaluation (oral) health improvement interventions
• Experience of working with other agencies
• Teaching or training experience
• An understanding of oral health issues, particularly in relation to vulnerable groups
• An awareness of the causes of inequalities in oral health
• An awareness of government policy to improve oral health
• An awareness of and commitment to equal opportunities in service delivery
• Experience of leading oral health improvement initiatives and/or teams
• Multi‑agency partnership group management
• ICDL qualification or equivalent
• Knowledge of local statutory and voluntary services
• Knowledge of the evidence‑base for public health interventions that impact on oral health
• Able to plan, implement and evaluate a programme of work
• Skilled in delivering oral health improvement programmes and sharing information with a range of clinical and non‑clinical stakeholders both internally and externally of NCIC NHSFT.
• Able to learn rapidly about current research, information and activities on a variety of oral health improvement issues
• Understanding of good practice in project management.
• Able to work unsupervised, to plan and prioritise a diverse workload to meet deadlines
• Able to work effectively as part of a team, sharing ideas and expertise with colleagues and external organisations
• Able to think creatively, introduce innovative ideas and be proactive
• Organisational and administrative skills for managing a complex workload
• Skilled in the use of a range of IT applications to collate information, monitor data and create reports.
• Understanding of informed persuasion, health improvement principles and motivational change to influence others.
• Training and facilitation skills
• Skills in database, spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentation packages
• Understanding of local dental services

Personal Circumstances

• Be able to work on own initiative and as part of a team
• A strong commitment to a social model of health for reducing oral health inequalities.
• Ability to motivate and influence others.
• Car owner/driver essential for use on a daily basis.
• Ability to travel across the County on a regular basis, with occasional regional and national travel
• Comply with the NHS policy on smoking
• Ability to work flexibly to meet the needs of the role.
• Willingness to be flexible and work on a variety of topics according to the requirements of the Service and/or under guidance from the Consultant in Dental Public Health
• Able to work at a VDU for prolonged periods of time with prolonged concentration to produce detailed reports and complete evidence reviews in line with DSE Regulations
• Able to lift health improvement materials and equipment

Other requirements

• Promote equality and value diversity Level 3

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

£38,682 to £46,580 a year Per Annum Pro Rata