Public Health Practitioner

Milton-Keynes-Council; Milton Keynes; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Great holiday benefits

Excellent pension

Family friendly policies

Health benefits programme

Bike purchase scheme

Blue Light Card

Salary sacrifice car scheme

Job summary

Milton Keynes City Council is recruiting a Public Health Practitioner to join our Public Health team and help make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of local people across Milton Keynes and the wider shared public health service. This is a Public Health Practitioner post working across the shared public health service.

The post holder supports and reports into a Public Health Principal based in MKCC.

Qualifications

• Degree-level qualification or equivalent experience in public health or related field.
• Ability to understand public mental health and suicide prevention priorities.
• Experience using data and evaluation to understand needs and reduce inequalities.
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly to different audiences.
• Confidence when managing competing priorities and delivering projects.

Responsibilities

• Deliver high-quality analysis, interpretation and presentation of population health data, needs assessments and health inequalities evidence to support decision-making.
• Support the development of local action plans and strategies by providing clear evidence and insight on public health priorities.
• Lead on the co-ordination of public mental health and suicide prevention programmes, ensuring agreed actions are delivered effectively.
• Work collaboratively to build productive relationships with health partners, local authorities, voluntary organisations, residents and other stakeholders.
• Ensure effective management and co-ordination of data submitted to the real-time suicide surveillance system, maintaining accuracy and consistency.
• Take responsibility for monitoring projects and budgets, evaluating outcomes and identifying opportunities to improve population health and reduce inequalities

Education

Degree-level qualification or equivalent experience in public health or related field

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - Civic Offices, 1 Saxon Gate East, Central Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

Civic Offices, 1 Saxon Gate East, Central Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

Closing Date:

20/09/2026

Job Category:

Public Health

Service Area:

Public Health- Public Health Management & Admin

Package Description

In addition to your salary, we offer a range of benefits including:

• Great holiday benefits - most roles include 28days annual leave every year on top of public (bank) holidays, increasing to 32days after five years.In addition, there is a holiday purchase scheme allowing staff to purchase up to 5 additional days of leave each year.
• Excellent pension - everyone who works for us can join the national Local Government Pension Scheme, widely regarded as one of the best available.
• A full range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, adoption and paternity support.
• Access to an award-winning employee benefits programme that includes a health cash plan, a low-cost bike purchase scheme as well as high street discounts and money off entertainment and travel.
• Salary sacrifice car scheme - eligible employees can access low‑cost leasing of electric and low‑emission vehicles.
• Blue Light Card - employees working within social care can qualify for an additional range of discounts from national retailers and local businesses.

Roles are either ‘site based’ or ‘home based’.

Site based roles are mainly based at the workplace, with the option to work from home for up to two days a week, depending on service needs.

Home based roles are mainly based at home, with the expectation of attending the workplace up to one day a week.

The working arrangement for each role is set by the manager, based on service requirements.

Job Introduction

We’re recruiting a Public Health Practitioner to join our Public Health team and help make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of local people across Milton Keynes and the wider shared public health service.

This is a Public Health Practitioner post working across the shared public health service. The post holder supports and reports into a Public Health Principal based in MKCC. They are specifically responsible for monitoring, analysing and presenting Public Health data relating to population health needs and inequalities to inform the development of local action plans and strategies to improve population level outcomes.

The role also co-ordinates the delivery of key evidence-based public health priorities and actions in areas including public mental health and suicide prevention, helping partners work together to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities.

In addition, you’ll lead the co-ordination of data input into the real-time suicide surveillance system, working closely with key stakeholders to ensure timely, accurate and consistent reporting that supports evidence-based prevention activity.

This role may be suitable for home working, following an assessment. Home‑based roles require a minimum of one day per week working from the office or site

Interviews for this role will be held on 5th October 2026

At Milton Keynes City Council, we aim to make a difference every day. We’re dedicated, respectful and collaborative. We act as one council, and we work hard to create cleaner, safer and healthier communities while tackling inequalities and supporting people to thrive.

We take pride in our supportive work culture and try to go that extra mile when it comes to investing in our colleagues.

• Deliver high-quality analysis, interpretation and presentation of population health data, needs assessments and health inequalities evidence to support decision-making.
• Support the development of local action plans and strategies by providing clear evidence and insight on public health priorities.
• Lead on the co-ordination of public mental health and suicide prevention programmes, ensuring agreed actions are delivered effectively.
• Work collaboratively to build productive relationships with health partners, local authorities, voluntary organisations, residents and other stakeholders.
• Ensure effective management and co-ordination of data submitted to the real-time suicide surveillance system, maintaining accuracy and consistency.
• Take responsibility for monitoring projects and budgets, evaluating outcomes and identifying opportunities to improve population health and reduce inequalities

Ideal Candidate

• You bring a degree-level qualification, a relevant professional qualification, or equivalent experience in public health or a closely related field.
• Your ability to understand public mental health, suicide prevention and wider public health priorities will help you make a positive impact from day one.
• Experience in using data, evidence and evaluation to understand needs, identify inequalities and improve services will be important in this role.
• A strong understanding of how to communicate complex information clearly to different audiences will help you influence and inform decision-making
• Confidence when managing competing priorities, meeting deadlines and delivering projects will enable you to succeed in a busy environment.
• An approach that demonstrates our values of being Dedicated, Respectful and Collaborative, while building positive relationships and taking ownership of outcomes, is essential.

About The Organisation

Milton Keynes City Council is a large, modern and financially stable employer with around 2,500 people working across our eight areas. Together we provide local residents and businesses with a wide range of important round-the-clock services and aim to make our city a better place to live.

We work hard because of the demands placed on us, like protecting children from harm or preventing homelessness. However, working for the city is always rewarding and everyone has the opportunity to make a real difference.

We’re very proud of our diversity and are committed to having a workforce that reflects the community we serve.

Whatever your background, you will be welcome here if you share our values of being dedicated, respectful and collaborative.

We offer great training and support and because of the size and scale of the organisation there are always new opportunities to explore when it’s time for a new role.

If you’d like to know more about how we do things and what matters to us, take a look at our short booklet What makes us Milton Keynes City Council.