• Suffolk County Council
• Address: Countywide in Suffolk, community based
• Salary: £40,777 – £47,054 per annum (pro rata for part time)
• Hours: Minimum of 22.2 hours up to 37 hours per week, flexible working options available
• Contract: Permanent

We’re focused on making a meaningful difference to communities across Suffolk. How? By listening to our people learning from what they say and creating a culture of mutual respect, where everyone works together to achieve great things. As a Health Visitor with Suffolk County Council, you’ll be as keen to collaborate and build a bright future as we are. So, to make a positive impact, connect with us and connect with a fantastic career.

Reimagine the possibilities.

Join Suffolk County Council’s 0–19 Healthy Child Service as a Health Visitor and help give every baby, child and family the best possible start in life.

This is a chance to practise relationship-based public health nursing in a service that is strengthening clinical standards, safeguarding, early help and support for families across Suffolk. You will lead delivery of the Healthy Child Programme (0–5), using your professional judgement to identify need early, reduce inequalities and make a lasting difference during the most important years of a child’s development.

We welcome applications from both experienced Health Visitors and SCPHN Health Visitor students who are due to qualify.

If you are newly qualified or about to qualify, we will support you to make a safe, confident transition into autonomous health visiting practice.

You will benefit from:

• a structured induction programme tailored to newly qualified Health Visitors
• a gradual and supported caseload build, with clear clinical oversight
• regular safeguarding, clinical and management supervision
• support from experienced Health Visitors, managers and practice educator
• protected development opportunities, reflective practice and ongoing learning
• 3 paid continuous professional development days to support development and revalidation (pro rata for part time)
• time to grow your confidence in complex assessment, safeguarding, partnership working and leadership of delegated practice.

If you are an experienced Health Visitor, this role offers the opportunity to use your specialist public health nursing expertise to shape high-quality local practice, provide clinical leadership within a skill mix team, support students and colleagues, and help develop a consistent, outcomes-focused service for children and families.

Your role and responsibilities

As a named Health Visitor, you will:

• lead and deliver the Healthy Child Programme (0–5), including universal contacts and targeted support
• build trusted relationships with families from pregnancy through the early years
• complete holistic assessments of child development, parental wellbeing, family context, risk and resilience
• identify safeguarding concerns early, escalate appropriately and work confidently with partners
• provide proportionate, evidence-based support for families with differing levels of need
• use family voice, local intelligence and data to improve access, quality and outcomes
• support colleagues, students and newly qualified practitioners through a positive learning culture.

What you’ll bring

• SCPHN Health Visitor qualification, or you are a SCPHN Health Visitor student nearing completion
• current Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registration as a nurse or midwife
• strong communication, listening and relationship-building skills
• a compassionate, can-do and family-focused approach
• confidence, or developing confidence, in assessment, safeguarding, clinical decision-making and multi-agency working
• a commitment to prevention, early intervention, reducing inequalities and improving outcomes for children and families.

You can view a full list of requirements in the Job and Person Profile (JPP), which you can find in the ‘How to apply’ section towards the bottom of this advert.

Why join us

• make a real, lasting impact on babies, children and families across Suffolk
• join a service with a clear focus on clinical quality, safeguarding, prevention and reducing inequalities
• work Monday to Friday, normally 9am to 5pm, with no shift work
• access flexible working options, including part-time roles from 22.5 hours per week
• receive a structured induction for newly qualified Health Visitors and ongoing professional development
• benefit from regular clinical, safeguarding and management supervision
• work in communities, Family Hubs and partner settings where families need support most
• access NHS or Local Government pension arrangements, subject to eligibility, and generous leave entitlement.

The team

You will join Suffolk’s Children’s Community Health Team, delivering the Healthy Child Programme across Suffolk as part of Public Health, Communities and Public Safety.

Our Health Visitors are specialist clinical public health leaders for children aged 0–5. Working within a supportive skill mix model, you will help families receive safe, accessible and proportionate support at the right time.

You will:

• build trusted relationships with families from pregnancy through the early years
• work closely with Family Hubs, midwives, GPs, early years providers, social care and voluntary sector partners
• focus support where need and risk are greatest
• contribute to a positive learning culture where newly qualified and experienced practitioners can both thrive.

This is demanding, skilled and highly rewarding work. You will be supported to practise safely, think critically, work compassionately with families and use your expertise to improve outcomes.

Please view our Locality Map to see the areas our teams cover. We do cover the whole of Suffolk and are currently reviewing the team boundaries

Empowering Everyone

We’re big believers in potential, possibility and the power of different ideas. We’re always searching for ways to encourage, respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown in our Workforce Equality Report.

For more information

Please contact Tara Saunders for a casual conversation about the role, including our support for newly qualified Health Visitors and opportunities for experienced practitioners. You can reach them by calling 01449 745191 or emailing tara.saunders@suffolk.gov.uk

How to apply

Step 1 – Read the Job and Person Profile (Word).

Step 2 – Click ‘Apply Now’ to start your online application.

Step 3 – Upload a supporting statement answering the following questions below (no more than 400 words per question). You should use the Supporting Statement template (Word).

1. Please tell us why you want to work as a Health Visitor in Suffolk’s 0–19 Healthy Child Service and how your values align with compassionate, family-focused public health nursing.

2. Please describe how you would build trusted relationships with families while identifying need, risk and protective factors early.

3. Please tell us what support, development or experience you would bring to this role as either a newly qualified or experienced Health Visitor.

Step 4 – Upload a CV (without name and personal details).

Please note: Without a supporting statement and CV, your interest will not be progressed. Any supporting documents must be in either PDF or MS Word format.

For guidance on completing your application, please see our How to Apply page.

Planning to use Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Please ensure your application still reflects your own skills, experience and ideas. If used inappropriately, your application may not be processed. Please read our guidance for using AI to understand what’s acceptable.

Do you need any reasonable adjustments to help you to apply? If you are disabled and/or have additional support needs, you can request reasonable adjustments. You can do this by contacting our Recruitment Team at recruitment@suffolk.gov.uk or 03456 014412. You can find examples of possible adjustments on our Reasonable Adjustment pages.

 

Closing date: 11.30pm 2 August 2026.

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts. #LI-Hybrid

As a modern and effective council, we offer a wide variety of careers to suit people with a range of skills, abilities and ambitions. We offer working options that flex to reflect the way people work today and take the time to understand and support your individual needs. We’re driven to make a positive difference to the world around us and encourage everyone with drive and focus to join us and build an influential and impactful career. Reimagine the possibilities.

In return, you’ll enjoy:

• up to 29 days annual leave entitlement (pro rata), plus UK bank holidays and two paid volunteering days
• membership of a competitive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• travel, lifestyle, health and wellbeing benefits
• performance-related annual pay progression, in addition to an annual cost-of-living pay increase
• training and encouragement to expand your knowledge
• a variety of career development opportunities across our organisation
• diverse and active staff networks
• flexible working options, with the right to request flexible working from your first day

Plus lots more!

If you want to know more about our benefits, values and equality commitments please visit our Suffolk County Council careers website (careers.Suffolk.gov.uk).