Health Visitor

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.
• £1,500 upon completion of 3 years' continuous employment.

In addition, 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.

UK Registration

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