Closing date: 29 October 2026

Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a qualified Health Visitor to work closely with Best Start Family Hubs. This is a fixed term role until March 2029. Line managed within the Children Young People and Families Public Health Service you will strengthen links between Public Health and Family Hubs supporting the ambition for 75% of Southend children to achieve a Good Level of Development (GLD). You will hold a reduced generic Health Visitor caseload.

The role focuses on supporting children whose development is below expectations but does not require specialist SEN intervention. This includes Communication and Language, Fine and Gross Motor, and Social and Emotional development.

This developmental role will help shape Health Visiting pathways for early help. Working alongside named Health Visitors and Family Hub SEN Inclusion Practitioners, you will plan and coordinate family support. A small caseload may include children aged 2-3 years following their 2-2.5 year review and may involve some generic health visiting duties, such as duty cover and mandated reviews.

You will collect, analyse and report on ASQ data, contribute to the GLD database, and support the development of Early Help pathways. The named Health Visitor will retain overall caseload responsibility.

Health Visiting and School Nursing teams in Southend operate within an integrated 0-19 Children's Public Health Service model using a skill-mix approach to service delivery.

Main duties of the job
Our Health Visitors lead the Healthy Child Programme 0-5 and are valued leaders for the childrens Public Health agenda. We work in close collaboration with family Centres, Early Years Providers, Education, and alongside other partner agencies to improve population outcomes and reduce health inequalities for children and young people and families in our city.

About us
We offer:

• A recruitment and retention bonus of £3,000 (pro rata) is payable as follows: £1,500 following successful completion of the probationary period and 6 months' continuous employment, and £1,500 upon completion of 3 years' continuous employment.
• A retention bonus of £2,000 per annum (pro rata) is payable, subject to the organisation's terms and conditions.
• 37 hour working week with option of compressed working hours
• Reimbursement of NMC fees
• Corporate membership with iHV
• A Local Authority pay award each year
• A comprehensive induction
• A robust preceptorship programme for newly qualified SCPHNs and those returning to practice
• A professional development opportunity to become a dual qualified SCPHN Nurse
• Staff support via management, safeguarding and restorative supervision
• A flexible working pattern
• Continuation of NHS pensions

Details
Date posted: 15 October 2026
Pay scheme: Other
Salary: £40,444 to £46,579 a year Recruitment & Retention Bonus
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 2 years
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working
Reference number: F0033-R2R105118
Job locations: Southend-on-sea City Council, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-sea, SS2 6ER, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities
As a Level 8 (AfC Band 6 equivalent) Health Visitor, you'll be part of our valued team at Southend City Council.

You will lead the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme, ensuring services are provided within the tiered model approach Building Community Capacity, Universal, Targeted, and Specialist.

To promote the health of all children and young people, especially those from disadvantaged groups, to ensure they are offered the opportunity to achieve optimum development.

To Identify, prioritise, develop, and implement programmes of care to meet individual and local needs. This will be achieved through evidence-based assessments, effective care planning and implementation of a range of support packages for individual families, targeting the most vulnerable families and groups utilising best available evidence.

Work in accordance with the commissioned service specification, to ensure the 5 mandated reviews, plus an additional 3-5 month contact, are completed within required timescales, services provided are evidence-based.

To clinically interpret information, analyse and identify appropriate individual plans of care in line with Universal, Targeted and Specialist cases within the Health Visiting caseload.

To appropriately delegate and supervise workload within the skill mix team in line with service operating procedures and competency frameworks.

To provide expert advice, support and interventions to all families with children in the first years of life.

To identify the needs of individual children, parents and families (including safeguarding needs) and refer or direct them to existing local services, thereby promoting early intervention.

To operate within Children, Young People and Families Public Health Services Child Safeguarding Policies, Standards and Procedures, recognising and taking appropriate action in relation to children where there is suspicion of abuse.

To participate in strategy meetings, case conferences, providing reports as required and to have clinical and safeguarding supervision as per policy for Safeguarding children.

Liaise and maintain good working relationships with statutory and voluntary agencies whilst making referrals and consulting as necessary.

Please see attached job description for further information.

Person Specification
Qualifications

• Essential: First Level Nurse Registration or midwifery; Specialist Community Practitioner qualification in Health Visiting.
• Desirable: Experience as a Registered Health Visitor.

Additional Criteria

• Essential: Empathetic and non-judgmental; Able to manage strong emotions, sensitive issues and undertake courageous conversations; Confident and resilient; Ability to inspire and motivate others; Quick and decisive decision making; Prioritising workload and sensitive cases; Current Full UK Driving Licence and car; A committed, enthusiastic person who can demonstrate good team working and autonomy; Demonstrate good communication skills; Skilled in managing and prioritising own caseload and workload; Flexibility in working hours and environment; Ability to travel extensively within acceptable time scales.
• Desirable: Experience leading in a team; Planning schemes of work.

Experience

• Essential: Effective oral / written communication and interpersonal skills; Ability to work independently and as part of a team; Skills in managing own workload through effective use of prioritisation; Ability to use child and family focused approach to care, which utilises enabling and facilitation skills to maximise the involvement of parents/carers; Ability to use evidence based, clinically effective interventions in the holistic planning and implementation of family centred care; Evidence of commitment to life-long learning; Experience of developing and managing groups; Computer literacy, knowledge of SystmOne; An understanding of Strategic Direction of Childrens Services; An understanding of current political and local drivers for Public Health.

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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: Southend On Sea City Council
Address: Southend-on-sea City Council, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-sea, SS2 6ER, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.southend.gov.uk/

For questions about the job, contact: Senior Public Health Clinical Lead, Helen Mullem, HelenMullem@southend.gov.uk, 07918036435

Apply through our website.