An exciting opportunity has arisen to join our passionate and committed team of Band 4 Health Improvement Advisors for Tobacco Dependency. You’ll be part of a small, friendly, and motivated team delivering Inpatient and Maternity Tobacco Dependency Services across our hospitals.
In this rewarding role, you’ll work directly with pregnant people and acute inpatients, providing compassionate, evidence‑based support to help them quit smoking. This includes delivering personalised behavioural support and ensuring timely access to Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) through face‑to‑face and telephone consultations.
You’ll also contribute to training clinical staff, promoting the delivery of Very Brief Advice (VBA) and accurate recording of smoking status, while leading by example to embed a strong Smoke Free culture.
We’re looking for enthusiastic individuals with a passion for health promotion and behaviour change, excellent communication skills, strong attention to detail, and confidence using complex IT systems. This service plays a vital role in delivering the NHS Long Term Plan and Saving Babies Lives, offering the chance to make a meaningful difference to patient care
This role supports the delivery of the core aims of the Tobacco Dependency Programme, in line with the NHS Long Term Plan and the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, by providing Tobacco Dependency treatment in Maternity and Acute Inpatient settings. Working as part of a Trust‑wide team across all University Hospitals Sussex sites, you will work directly with patients and their families in Brighton , delivering support through face‑to‑face, virtual, and telephone consultations and follow‑ups.
You will have strong record‑keeping and IT skills, enabling you to work confidently across multiple clinical systems and maintain accurate databases for national outcomes reporting. Excellent communication and rapport‑building skills are essential, including the ability to use Motivational Interviewing techniques. You will work both collaboratively within a cross‑site team and independently, managing patient consultations with minimal direct supervision.
The role also includes delivering training to clinical staff on the importance of providing Very Brief Advice to support smoking cessation. You will lead by example, helping to embed and sustain a Smoke Free culture across the Trust.
At UHSussex , diversity is our strength, and we want you to feel included to help us always deliver Excellent Care Everywhere, as shown in our Outstanding for Caring CQC rating. Your uniqueness and experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of staff networks to help break down barriers, and can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 3) and a Veteran Aware Trust.
Candidate Pack
Please refer to the Job Description for a detailed outline of the main responsibilities for the role of Health Improvement Advisor for Tobacco Dependency
Please note: This role does not meet the minimum criteria for visa sponsorship under the current UK immigration rules, which set specific salary and skill thresholds. As such, we are unable to provide sponsorship for this post. Applicants will therefore need to already have the right to work in the UK to be considered. We include this information at the outset to provide clarity and avoid unnecessary inconvenience for applicants.
If you do not meet the sponsorship requirements, and you are applying using a Graduate visa as your right to work, you must have a minimum of 18 months remaining on your visa at time of application.
