Job summary
Health Visitors are a valued part of our Public Health Nursing Service. They work with children and their families to make healthy lifestyle choices. They lead the Healthy Child Programme and use their professional skills to assess targeted and specialist work.

The successful candidate will have excellent communication skills and be able to build effective working relationships with a wide range of people. They will demonstrate excellent time management and organisational skills, which underpin a resilient, brave and connected mind set. The ability to travel throughout the Borough is essential and therefore a car driver would be preferable.

Main duties of the job
Role holder is a qualified and registered Nurse or Midwife with additional postgraduate education and registration as a Specialist Community Public Health Nurse Health Visitor. Health Visitors will provide evidenced-based interventions to meet the health-related needs of individuals, families, groups and communities and be able to assess and evaluate their effectiveness. Health Visitors lead and deliver the Healthy Child Programme (HCP), providing support from pregnancy and throughout childhood until school age; identifying early those children and families who require additional/specialist intervention and support.

Accountable for the quality and professionalism of their work and advice, role holders answer questions about what needs to be done and how to do them, in specific (and often complex) situations. Clinical interventions at this level horizons may be short term or extend beyond weeks/months. Their work will be based on a theoretical understanding of their technical/professional field, but they will be operating within well-established professional procedures and defined Council policies. Work will involve a broad range of complex problems and role holders will need to manage changing priorities and use professional judgement to respond to differing situations. They relay technical advice and guidance, working with members of the community to ensure that their needs are met.

About us
Swindon Borough Council are on an exciting journey to transform service delivery. We want our town to be the best it can be. Our ambitious vision in the new Swindon Plan is supported by realistic transformation programmes, with the people of Swindon at their heart. Because thats who were doing it for the communities and businesses that make our town great. As part of the Council, youll support a friendly local authority making decisions with real impact. Its all for better public services. Better processes. And a better quality of life, for everyone. Join us, and Swindon will be better with you.

You must be fluent in the English language - as a requirement of Part 7 of the Immigration Act for the effective performance of a customer-facing role.

The ability to travel throughout the Borough will be required and access to a car.

We are not considering applications where there is a requirement to sponsor a work visa for successful applicants.

You will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check.

Please see visit our SBC careers site for more details on our Rewards and Benefits, Vision and Values page and our new Swindon Plan.

As an inclusive employer, we welcome applications from a diverse range of communities, and in particular disabled people and people from ethnic minorities. Read our statement of commitment to equality & inclusion.

This role is subject Swindon Borough Councils Terms and Conditions.

Job responsibilities
Key responsibilities and accountabilities:

• Work as a Specialist within the Public Health Nursing team, having continuous responsibility for a named caseload to deliver specialised support and services to children and families and the community within defined standards.
• Work with children, young people and their parents/ carers to complete a range of health, neurodevelopmental and social assessments, utilising specialist knowledge, and accountable for the onward referral to secondary and tertiary specialists as required.
• Assess, plan and provide interventions/care based on specialist knowledge and needs to support families with young children though planned ante-natal contacts, primary contacts and negotiated home visits and clinic contacts.
• Lead practitioner and responsible for planning and organising mandated activities and interventions related to the Healthy Child Programme.
• Lead practitioner and responsible for planning and organising additional, targeted support for children and families as appropriate.
• Lead practitioner and responsible for planning and organising and adjusting the delivery of specialist individual needs led care packages in partnership with other relevant agencies.
• Employ advanced communication skills in interventions in sensitive and emotive areas, including use of motivational interviewing and cognitive behaviour therapy techniques.
• Counsel and advise individuals/families/groups on specific health topics.
• To monitor growth and development and provide developmental assessments to vulnerable children based on identified needs.
• To promote positive Maternal Mental Health through working within the Peri-natal Pathway, assessing maternal mental health.
• Design and develop programmes of care to address behaviour management issues, in partnership with families/individuals/carers.
• To plan and organise home visits as appropriate as a lone worker or in conjunction with other professionals across internal and external multidisciplinary and multi-agency teams.
• Provide practice development opportunities for own team and partner organisation.
• Responsible for recognising, assessing and holding professional risk-based complex decisions.
• Provide statutory support to children and families, including the provision of information, advice, assessment, support planning and safeguarding in line within statutory guidance and Council policy and procedures.
• Work in partnership with voluntary sector organisations, partners and others to provide integrated and coordinated support to residents and families in the community.
• Participate and represent Public Health Nursing services in safeguarding meetings including strategy, child in need or child protection meetings, contributing through written and verbal reports or attendance as appropriate. Ensuring you advocate for the childs needs at all times.
• Make recommendations on procedural, process and service improvements and carry out projects to enhance overall team and service performance.
• Recognise monitor and hold risk appropriately, using expert knowledge to minimise risk within the scope of this role and then escalating issues to more senior colleagues when necessary to ensure that situations are addressed at the earliest possible time.
• Operate effectively within and contribute to the development of organisations and services, including multi-agency and inter-professional settings.
• Any other duties and/or accountabilities commensurate with the roles seniority to meet the needs of residents, through the application of relevant knowledge, skills and experience within the specialism of the role.

Person Specification
Experience
Essential

• Substantial post-registration experience in relevant area of practice.
• To have the ability to translate complex information into an appropriate format that may be understood by individual clients.
• To have the ability to negotiate with and motivate children, young people and their families to engage with appropriate services.
• Knowledge of relevant legal obligations relating to social care, health, and wellbeing, in addition to the policies, processes and procedures governing the service area, including implementing evidence-based practice.
• Full driving license and access to a car for work.
• Ability to plan and organise own work across weeks and months, with a clear understanding of how own work affects others across the organisation.
• Excellent communication skills to deal with members of the community, providing specialist advice to residents in differing situations with empathy, and to communicate at different levels across the organisation.
• Display high resilience to change within local and national work environment.

Desirable

• Please see Role profile for full details

Qualifications
Essential

• Please see Role Profile for full details
• BSc (Hons) Nursing or Midwifery or equivalent.
• PGDip Specialist Community Public Health Nursing or equivalent.
• Registered Nurse or Midwife on NMC Register.
• Specialist Community Public Health Nurse Health Visitor on NMC Register.

Desirable

• Teaching/Mentorship Qualification.

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.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).