Are you passionate about improving the health and wellbeing of our communities through innovative and creative approaches? West Berkshire Council is seeking a highly motivated and experienced to work on behalf on three local authorities across Berkshire West (Reading, West Berkshire and Wokingham) as the Creative Health Lead.
The Role
As the Creative Health Lead, you will play a pivotal role in developing and embedding Creative Health across the Berkshire West health and care system. Working across organisational and sector boundaries, you will lead a coordinated approach that integrates arts, culture and creative practice into health improvement, prevention, neighbourhood health and care pathways. You will be responsible for:
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Providing strategic leadership, advocacy and expert advice on Creative Health to partners across public health, health and care services, local authorities, the VCSE sector and cultural organisations.
- Developing and implementing innovative Creative Health approaches that support prevention, improve wellbeing, reduce health inequalities and strengthen community resilience.
- Building and sustaining partnerships across health, social care, public health and the cultural sector, creating opportunities for collaborative working and shared learning.
- Supporting the integration of Creative Health within neighbourhood health models, social prescribing, commissioning approaches and relevant health and care pathways.
- Identifying opportunities to align Creative Health with local population health needs and wider system priorities.
- Using evidence, insight and evaluation to demonstrate the impact of Creative Health initiatives and to inform future investment and service development.
- Supporting the development of sustainable models, strategies and networks that embed Creative Health within the Berkshire West system.
- Working with local, regional and national partners to promote best practice and maximise the contribution of Creative Health to improving population health outcomes and reducing inequalities.
This is a 2-year fixed term role (from start date) - Funding limited project
The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate will possess the following skills and attributes:
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A strong understanding of public health principles, population health improvement, health inequalities and the wider determinants of health.
- Experience of developing, implementing and evaluating programmes or initiatives that improve health and wellbeing, ideally within public health, health and care, community, or cultural settings.
- Excellent partnership and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to build productive relationships across health, social care, voluntary and community organisations, and the cultural sector.
- Strong influencing, communication and advocacy skills, with confidence in engaging senior leaders, commissioners, providers and community partners.
- The ability to work strategically across organisational boundaries, bringing people together around shared priorities and driving system-wide change.
- Experience of using evidence, insight and evaluation to inform decision-making and demonstrate impact.
- Strong project and programme management skills, with the ability to take initiatives from concept through to implementation, evaluation and sustainability planning.
- A collaborative, innovative and solution-focused approach, with the ability to identify opportunities to embed Creative Health within neighbourhood health, prevention and wider system priorities.
Why Work for West Berkshire Council?
West Berkshire Council offer excellent employment benefits such as:
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Flexible working wherever possible between the hours of 07.00-21.00
- Hybrid working wherever possible working 40% in the office
- Access to a wide range of training and development opportunities
- Generous Local Government pension scheme
- Family friendly policies
- A range of local discounts
- Wellbeing Programme including Employee Assistance Programme and employee benefits
- You will also be entitled to a generous annual leave entitlement starting at 29 days per annum, pro rata (plus public holidays) Rising by an additional 5 days after 5 years’ service.
Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
Join us at West Berkshire Council and make a positive impact in our community while advancing your career. Explore everything that a career with West Berkshire Council has to offer here: Working with Us
For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Helena Fahie on 01635 503437 or email
[email protected]
Equal Opportunities
The Council supports Equal Opportunity of employment and positively encourages applications from people who fall within any of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
How to apply
Please now complete a short online application form. You will then be able to upload your CV.
This role has been identified as public facing in accordance with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016; the requirement to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in English applies.
This role requires a standard DBS check
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AI in Applications
We recognise that candidates may choose to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support the preparation of their job applications. When used appropriately, AI can be a helpful aid in structuring responses, checking clarity, and improving presentation.
However, applications must reflect your own skills, experience and understanding. If an application appears to rely excessively on AI-generated content, it may not meet the required standard and could be rejected.
We encourage all applicants to ensure their submissions are authentic, tailored to the role, and clearly demonstrate their own knowledge, experience and suitability.
