Associate Director of Public Health

NHS Ayrshire & Arran; House (NM); On-site; USD 106,000 - 133,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS Highland invites applications from experienced public health leaders to join our senior leadership team as Associate Director of Public Health. The role shapes population health, prevention and health inequalities across a large geographic region.

You will work with partners across local authorities, health and social care, communities and national bodies to drive transformation and improve outcomes.

Qualifications

• Substantial public health experience and leadership.
• Strong strategic leadership skills.
• Passion for collaboration, influence and improvement.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership across a wide population health portfolio.
• Drive system-wide action on population health and health inequalities.
• Collaborate with local government, health and social care, communities, the third sector and national bodies.

Skills

Public health leadership

Strategic leadership

Collaboration

Education

GMC Public Health Medicine specialist

UKPHR eligibility

Job description

Salary Scale - Medical Consultant OR Agenda for Change Band 8D

Hours – 10 Programmed Activities per week Medical Consultant

36 hours per week Agenda for Change

Are you an experienced public health leader ready to take the next step in your career?

This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of population health in one of the most distinctive public health systems in the UK.

NHS Highland is seeking an ambitious and forward-thinking Associate Director of Public Health to join our senior leadership team at a pivotal moment in our journey. As we continue to strengthen our focus on prevention, population health improvement and reducing inequalities, we are looking for someone who can help us take our organisation and wider system to the next level.

Serving the largest geographical health board area in the UK, NHS Highland offers a unique and rewarding environment in which to develop your leadership. From urban communities to some of the most remote, rural and island populations in Europe, the challenges are significant but so too are the opportunities to innovate, influence and make a lasting difference. The Associate Director role operates at Board and system level across a diverse geography and complex partnership landscape.

Working closely with the Director and Deputy Director of Public Health, you will provide strategic leadership across a significant portfolio, helping drive system-wide action on population health, health inequalities, service transformation and public health practice. You will work with a wide range of partners across local government, health and social care, communities, the third sector and national bodies to create the conditions for healthier people, communities and places.

We are looking for someone with substantial public health experience, strong strategic leadership skills and a passion for collaboration, influence and improvement. Most importantly, we are seeking an individual with the ambition to grow, develop and help shape the next chapter of public health leadership in NHS Highland.

If you are looking for a role that combines professional challenge, meaningful impact and exceptional opportunities for development, we would love to hear from you.

Join us and help create a future where people across Highland and Argyll & Bute can live longer, healthier and happier lives.

Medical applicants should be on the Specialist Register of the GMC for Public Health Medicine. Applicants from a background other than medicine should be on the UKPHR or, if in a specialist training programme, be within 6 months of obtaining this at time of interview.

Interviews will be held on: 10/11/2026

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.