Assistant Director / Consultant in Public Health

Grade: CO5; £85,541 (pay award pending)

Contract: Permanent 36.25hrs per week

Role specifics: In line with legislation, inclusion in the GMC Full and Specialist Register with a license to practice/GDC Specialist List or inclusion in the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) for Public Health Specialists at the point of application.

Interview date: 1st June 2026, Bolton Town Hall

For further information about this role, contact: recruitment@bolton.gov.uk

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

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Please read the detailed information at the bottom of this advert before you make an application as it may be rejected if we detect AI use.

If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme, please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application

Ask us about flexible working options to fit with your work/life balance - #HappytoTalkFlexible

The Role
Bolton is a borough with big ambition. Our Vision 2040 sets out a future where everyone can thrive: a place where everyone can thrive, with a strong focus on prevention, sustainable growth, investment in people, and improving the places where residents live, learn, work and play.
We are now seeking an exceptional public health leader to join us as an Assistant Director/Consultant in Public Health, working at the heart of this ambition.
About the role
This is a senior leadership position within Bolton Council, forming part of the Wider Leadership Team and reporting directly to the Director of Public Health (DPH). The postholder will have significant strategic responsibility for shaping and improving population health outcomes and reducing health inequalities across Bolton.
As a Chief Officer, you will provide authoritative public health leadership across the Council, Bolton’s health and care system, Greater Manchester partners, the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector, and wider agencies.
Your responsibilities will include:
Leading healthcare public health work area, including public health advice into the development of Bolton’s neighbourhood models and the implementation of GM’s Live Well Programme.

Strategic leadership of health intelligence, including the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and Bolton’s Research and Intelligence Network (BRAIN).

Providing public health leadership to support the Health and Wellbeing Board, working closely with the DPH.

Supporting health protection arrangements, including incident and outbreak response.

Championing Bolton’s Prevention Framework and coproduction approach across the system.

Influencing and advising senior leaders and elected members with confidence, political awareness, and sound professional judgement.

Participating as an active member of the Council’s Wider Leadership Team.

Supervising specialty registrars in public health on placement within the team.

Contributing to health protection system resilience and participation in the Council’s strategic oncall rota for civil contingencies.

About You
You will be a highly experienced public health professional, ideally already operating at consultant level, with a proven track record of leading complex system programmes and influencing senior decisionmakers. You will bring:
Exceptional political awareness and sound judgement.

Ability to advise, influence, negotiate, challenge and advocate at senior levels.

Strong systemwide leadership and collaborative skills.

Deep expertise across public health disciplines, particularly healthcare public health, intelligence and health protection.

While newly qualified consultants are welcome to apply, appointment will require evidence of exceptional readiness for a role of this seniority.
Professional requirements
Applicants must be included on the GMC, GDC, or UKPHR Public Health Specialist Register or, if on a UK training scheme, within 6 months of CCT at the point of application, in line with the Faculty of Public Health consultant appointment requirements.
Working in Bolton
Bolton Council offers flexible and hybrid working, a strong commitment to staff development, and an excellent environment for public health practice. The Council is also an approved training location for Public Health Specialty Registrars.

For an informal conversation about the role, please contact:
Lynn Donkin, Director of Public Health
PA: Gemma.oxtoby@bolton.gov.uk

About Us
This is your opportunity to join us at an exciting time as we have strong ambitions for the borough.

Bolton is a great place to work. We are a welcoming organisation that wants to contribute to a place where people feel active, connected and prosperous. We are passionate about improving the outcomes and experience of Bolton people. We want Bolton to be a vibrant place built on strong cohesive communities, successful businesses and healthy, engaged residents.

As an employer we want to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment, by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits, including discounts and exclusive gym membership prices and salary sacrifice schemes. In addition, we offer a generous annual leave allowance, flexible work opportunities, access to a Pension Scheme, as well as a range of employee wellbeing and support services.

Our Values are really important to us, read all about them below, along with all our great staff benefits, the job description/person specification for the role and the important legal bits, and our Top Tips too.

Ready to apply? Then please click Apply and upload your anonymised CV and supporting statement discussing your relevant skills and experience and explain how you believe they make you a strong fit for this role.

Within Greater Manchester, local authorities have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers, carers, and ex-military personnel. Please see greater.jobs for further information before you apply.

This post is a designated customer facing role under the fluency duty and requires a specified level of spoken English as per the person specification.

This organisation has signed up to the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment. That means we will recognise your continuous or ‘unbroken’ service in any Greater Manchester local authority or NHS organisation that has signed the commitment, Transport for Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service or Greater Manchester Combined Authority, giving you access to our service-related benefits. Please see the home page of greater.jobs for more information.

For more information about working for Bolton Council, please see greater.jobs; for advice and support with your application, contact recruitment@bolton.gov.uk