Job description
Employing Organisation
Public Health England
Job title
National Consultant in Dental Public Health
Directorate
Health Improvement
Pay band
Consultant medical and dental salary scale
for England appropriate to their years of
seniority
£82,096 to £110,683 per annum pro rata
Accountable to
National Lead for Dental Public Health
Base/location
Flexible
Hours/sessions per week
0.8 WTE (8 programmed activities per
week)
Job type
Permanent
(i.e. fixed term/permanent)
Managerially responsible for
Consultants in one of the national roles
may have direct administrative and
business manager reports, act as
educational supervisors and may have
delegated duties in terms of professional
responsibilities for other Consultants
across PHE.
National Dental Public Health Consultant
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1. Appointment
This is a part time/job share post for a Consultant in Dental Public Health, working within the National
Dental Public Health Team, located in the Health Improvement Directorate. Candidates who wish to
work flexibly, part time or job share will be considered.
A detailed job plan will be agreed between the post holder and PHE’s National Lead for Dental Public
Health. The job plan will comprise 8 programmed activities (PAs).
2. Job Summary
The National Consultant in Dental Public Health (NCDPH) will be part of a national team leading and
delivering on national priorities for PHE and partners, and supporting Dental Public Health Consultants
and partners at Centre level within PHE.
They will support the development and implementation of national work plans, and each of the
NCsDPH will take leadership and management roles delivering on key functions for dental public
health including: oral health improvement/ water fluoridation/ evidence, intelligence and epidemiology /
support to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England (NHSE) with
commissioning/ health protection with relation to dental services/ workforce development and network
development.
The Consultants will support functional and geographic networks at a subnational level and may take
on a professional leadership role across PHE.
The post holder will be expected to support and deputise for the national lead for Dental Public Health
and the other NCsDPH
3. The employing organisation
Public Health England provides strategic leadership and vision for protecting and improving the
nation’s health. Its ambition is to lead national y, and enable locally, a transformation in the health
expectations of all people in England, regardless of where they live and the circumstance of their birth.
It will achieve this through the application of research, knowledge and skills. PHE is an executive
agency of the Department of Health. It is a distinct delivery organisation with operational autonomy to
advise and support government, local authorities and the NHS in a professionally independent
manner.
4. The Health Improvement Directorate
The post sits within the Health Improvement Directorate which takes the lead in promoting healthier
lifestyles, chronic disease prevention, national health marketing and health equity programmes. This
saves lives, promotes wellbeing and helps create environments where individuals, families, and
communities are better informed, more empowered, healthier and happier.
The Directorate takes an integrated approach to closer alignment of our surveillance, data, evidence
and research capability with our policy advice expertise. Its continued application of evidence into
practice is vital to inform and influence public health across national and local government, and the
NHS. It:
works with a range of partners, within and outside PHE, to develop and implement robust,
effective health programmes and to address the social factors that affect people’s health.
works at a national level with local government and the NHS to protect and improve health and
wellbeing and to help people make healthier choices. This reduces health inequalities so the
poorest and most poorly benefit most.
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works with partners to inform, educate, and empower people and communities, especially
those in greatest need. It helps people to take more control of their health and the things that
affect their health.
works across the system to develop a robust public health workforce that is knowledgeable,
capable, and effective at improving health, promoting wellness, and tackling health inequalities.
champions science and looks to put research into practice – we always call on the best
available evidence when advising, developing and implementing high-impact strategies to
improve health outcomes.
builds partnerships and engages a wide range of stakeholders to help address health
inequalities and influence the factors that affect the public’s health.
5. Healthy People Division
The Dental Public Health Team is part of the Healthy People Division which is a diverse group of
teams that aim to improve population health outcomes and reduce health inequalities through
providing expertise and system leadership within PHE and with partners.
6. National Dental Public Health team
The dental public health team includes:
National lead for dental public health
National Consultants in Dental Public Health
Senior Fluoridation Operations Manager
Contracted Fluoridation expert specialist engineer
Senior dental public health intelligence analysts
Epidemiology and national administrative support
Senior Public Health managers
Strategic Dental Public Health Lead
PA and operational support
Academic Consultants (funded contracts)
The Senior Team meets weekly and has a face to face meeting (when possible) once a month. All
members of the wider team join the monthly meeting.
7. Management arrangements
The post holder will be professionally and managerially accountable to the National Lead for Dental
Public Health. An initial job plan will be agreed with the successful candidate when they take up the
post. This job plan will be reviewed as part of the annual job planning process.
8. Specific Responsibilities
The post holder will manage a portfolio in
one or more of the key functions within the dental public
health team. These include:
oral health improvement and reducing inequalities
water fluoridation
evidence, intelligence and epidemiology
support to the DHSC , NHSE and Office of the Chief Dental Officer
health protection in relation to dental services
workforce and network development
Co-ordination of academic dental public health work to support PHE
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All NCDPH will:
deputise for the National Lead Dental Public Health and other NCsDPH as required.
provide strategic leadership for dental public health ensuring alignment with PHE’s aims and
priorities.
provide expert advice and support to the National Executive Director Health Improvement for
all the functions of the division and act as an ambassador and a credible subject expert across
both PHE and the wider public health system.
manage a range of national external relationships relevant to the portfolio and work in matrix
collaboration within the Directorate and more widely across PHE to drive results.
support and influence national policy development on oral health and dental services and
support local implementation.
provide sub national support for clinical quality, patient safety and identification of risk in
dentistry, including the management of serious poor performance or patient safety issues which
cross multiple organizational boundaries where needed.
provide professional leadership to dental public health staff throughout PHE as a subject
expert.
identify and secure the active involvement and engagement of sponsors, key partners,
stakeholders and agencies, ensuring collaborative working and the use of modern management
of change processes to overcome resistance to change and ensure successful outcomes.
develop, review and co-ordinate national networks of Consultants in Dental Public Health to
support work programmes.
lead and develop a professional team, with accountability for the effective deployment of
human, financial and physical resources.
negotiate and secure appropriate resources (people and money) to ensure successful
implementation of strategies or programmes and manage resultant budget(s).
where required, be responsible for interpreting national policy and strategy to establish goals
and standards for subnational areas and ensure implementation and delivery.
ensure appropriate data collection systems are in place or established to ensure changes are
evidenced based and service and healthcare improvements can be quantified and measured.
maintain an understanding of best practice nationally and internationally to support the strategic
development of oral health improvement initiatives and improvements to healthcare services.
promote freedom of Information and ensure that all staff within their team understand and fulfill
their obligations under Freedom of Information legislation in line with PHE’s policy.
respond to Parliamentary questions, enquires and calls for advice for Ministers.
ensure that the philosophy and best practice for “Improving Working Lives” are adopted, openly
discussed and implemented.
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ensure that processes exist for effective communication with all staff, irrespective of working
pattern, that staff involvement in decision making is positively encouraged and that staff are
fully engaged in changes affecting them. Ensure that the findings of the staff survey are openly
discussed and action plans developed and implemented.
ensure that all PHE policies are brought to the attention of all staff and are readily and easily
accessible.
be responsible for promoting diversity and equality of opportunity across all areas of PHE. This
applies in service delivery, as an employer and for staff under your management control and
ensure that staff are aware of their equal opportunities responsibilities and their performance in
this area is included in the appropriate performance review.
deliver specialist training in dental public health for any specialty registrars seconded to national
team, and dental public health development and training to the wider workforce and partners
where appropriate.
lead/ support functional and geographic networks to ensure:
resilience and continuity of service
consistency of approach
sharing best practice and its local application
avoidance of duplication and economies of scale
Exercise political astuteness in partnership working in particular with external organisations
The specific duties of each NCDPH will depend on their key function/s role and may involve a
combination of the following:
Strategic planning, co-ordination and delivery of the NHS Dental Epidemiology Programme for
England and the National Decennial Epidemiology Survey.
Strategic planning and co-ordination of evidence and data requirements for PHE and partners.
Responsibility for the strategic and operational aspects of England’s water fluoridation
schemes, both current and future.
Supporting PHE in exercising the functions and responsibilities of Secretary of State in relation
to water fluoridation including the requirement to undertake health monitoring.
Responsibility for proactive and reactive aspects of health protection with relation to dental
services and patient safety issues.
Responsibility for supporting partners (including DH, NHSE, LAs) and the public with evidence
based oral health promotion resources
Responsibility for coordinating the work of those dental public health academics funded by
PHE to ensure their objectives meet the needs of PHEs work plans.
Support to the Department of Health Dental System Reform programme and future strategic
programmes of work
Support to the office of the Chief Dental Officer (OCDO) and the work of the National Dental
Commissioning Group
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Support to Dental Health Education England Advisory Groups and wider workforce
development
Support the National Dental Public Health Lead in discharge of their professional
responsibilities with CDPH including supporting Centres and PHE Medical Director with PDPs
and any performance issues.
9. Other The above is only an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role. You will
carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by the directorate.
The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with
the changing needs of the organisation.
10. Professional obligations
The post holder will be expected to:
participate in the organisation’s staff appraisal scheme and quality improvement programme
and ensure appraisal and development of any staff for which s/he is responsible.
pursue a programme of Continuing Professional Development, in accordance with General
Dental Council or the Faculty of Public Health requirements, audit or other measures such as
future revalidation required to remain on the GDC Specialist Register.
practice in accordance with all relevant sections of the General dental Council’s Standards and
the Faculty of Public Health’s Good Public Health Practice.
undertake annual professional appraisal and undertake the professional appraisal of others
These professional obligations should be reflected in the job plan. The post-holder may also have
external professional responsibilities, e.g. in respect of training or specialty societies. Time allocation
for these additional responsibilities will need to be agreed with the line manager.
11. Key relationships
Within PHE:
Director of Health Improvement
National Lead for Dental Public Health
National and Centre level Consultants in Dental Public Health Team
PHE staff across the Tri-directorate
Centre and Regional Directors and their teams
PHE staff within health protection and Medical Directorate
Outside PHE:
OCDO and national NHS England medical and commissioning and operational directorate
dental teams
Dental policy team within Department of Health
Health Education England – national and local
Local Dental Networks and national steering group
Local Government Association
Directors of Public Health and their teams, and Health and Wellbeing Boards
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Dental Public Health Academics
International links with dental public health professionals
British Dental Association
12. General conditions and Terms and conditions of service
The job description will be subject to review in consultation with the post holder in the light of the
needs of the employing organisation and the development of the speciality of public health and any
wider developments in the field of public health.
This is a substantive appointment to the terms and conditions of service for doctors and dentists in
public health medicine and community health service and hospital medical and dental staff England
and Wales.
The salary for this post will be to the point of the consultant medical salary scale for England
appropriate to your years of seniority (Salary scale (01/03/2021) £82,096 to £110,683 per annum)
The post holder will be eligible for local and national Clinical Excellence awards and any existing
awards held will be honoured.
Membership of the National Health Service Pension Scheme is available, unless an
Employee decides to opt out or is ineligible to join.
Because of the nature of the work of this post, it is exempt from the provisions of Section 4(2) of the
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, 1974. Applicants are, therefore, not entitled to withhold information
about convictions, including those which, for other purposes, are `spent' under the provisions of the
Act, and, in the event of employment, any failure to disclose such convictions could result in dismissal
or disciplinary action by Public health England. Information given will be completely confidential and
will be considered only in relation to an application for positions to which the order applies.
Candidates must be included on the GDC Specialist List for dental public health.
This appointment is subject to completion of a satisfactory medical questionnaire which may involve a
medical examination. You may also be required to undergo medical examinations in the future and/or
at intervals stipulated by Public Health England.
Indemnity
As the post-holder will only be indemnified for duties undertaken on behalf of Public Health England,
the post-holder is strongly advised to ensure that he/she has appropriate professional defence
organisation cover for duties outside the scope of Public Health England and for private activity. For on
call duties provided to other organisations as part of cross cover out-of-hours arrangements, Public
Health England has confirmed that those organisations will provide indemnity for the post-holder.
Flexibility
The post-holder may, with their agreement - which should not reasonably be withheld - be required to
undertake other duties which fall within the grading of the post to meet the needs of this new and
developing service. The employing organisation is currently working in a climate of great change. It is
therefore expected that all staff will develop flexible working practices, both within any relevant local
public health networks and at other organisational levels, as appropriate, to be able to meet the
challenges and opportunities of working in public health within the new and existing structures.
Confidentiality
The post-holder has an obligation not to disclose any information of a confidential nature concerning
patients, employees, contractors or the confidential business of the organisation.
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Public Interest Disclosure
Should the post-holder have cause for genuine concern about an issue (including one that would
normally be subject to the above paragraph) and believes that disclosure would be in the public
interest, he or she should have a right to speak out and be afforded statutory protection and should
follow local procedures for disclosure of information in the public interest.
Data protection
If required to do so, the post-holder will obtain, process and use information held on a computer or
word processor in a fair and lawful way. The post-holder will hold data only for the specified registered
purpose and use or disclose data only to authorised persons or organisations as instructed in
accordance with the Data Protection Act.
Health and safety
Employees must be aware of the responsibilities placed on them by the Health & Safety at Work Act
(1974) and its amendments and by food hygiene legislation to ensure that the agreed safety
procedures are carried out to maintain a safe condition for employees, patients and visitors.
Smoking policy
The employing organisation has a policy that smoking is not allowed in the work place.
Equal opportunities policy
It is the aim of the employing organisation to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less
favourable treatment on grounds of gender, religion, race, colour, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnic
or national origins or disability or is placed at a disadvantage by conditions or requirements which
cannot be shown to be justifiable. To this end, there is an Equal Opportunities Policy in place and it is
for each employee to contribute to its success.
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National Consultant in Dental Public Health - Person Specification
Essential
Desirable
Assessed?
Qualifications
Registration
• Full registration with the UK General
• Fellowship in Dental C, A
Dental Council (GDC)
Surgery or
Specialist Listing
• On the GDC Specialist List
Membership of the
• Master’s degree in public health or
Faculty of Dental
Professional
equivalent
Qualifications (see
Surgery, or
• Intercollegiate Specialty Fellowship
Footnotes)
equivalent
Exit Examination in Dental Public
Health or equivalent
• Possession of a Certificate of
Completion of Specialist training in
Dental Public Health
Training
• Successful completion of an SAC-
A,
(see Footnotes)
approved 4-year minimum training
programme in Dental Public Health (3
years if in possession of an SAC-
approved Masters qualification) or
equivalent
Teaching
• Experience of post-graduate and
• Experience of
A, I
undergraduate teaching and training
training StRs in
at an appropriate level
dental public health
•
•
Possession of a
further qualification
in teaching and
training
Experience
• Wide experience and understanding
• High level of
A, I
of dentistry and oral health, of the
understanding of
organisation and governance of the
epidemiology with
proven outputs
profession.
• Experience of
• Demonstrate significant strategic
management or
leadership for dental public health
professional
oversight of peers.
Audit
• Effective participation in audit
A, I
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Research
• Ability to appraise scientific literature
• Publications in
A, I
critically
refereed journals
• Research relevant to
Dental Public Health
Management
• Able to prioritise and deliver high
• Possession of a
A, I
quality work against a background of
management
change and uncertainty
qualification
• Experience of achieving innovation
• Have a significant
and change
involvement and
• Be a strategic thinker with proven
experience at
leadership skills
national and local
level in dental
professional
organizations or
societies
Personal qualities
• Commitment to and focused on
• Mentoring and
A, I
quality, promotes high standards in all
coaching skills
they do
• Highly developed
•
analytical skills
Works well with others, is positive and
helpful, listens, involves, respects and
learns from the contribution of others
• Consistently looks to improve what
they do, looks for successful tried and
tested ways of working, and also
seeks out innovation
• Actively develops themselves and
supports others to do the same
• Is able to work independently and be
proactive with identifying
opportunities.
• Excellent communication and
presentation skills
• High level of emotional intelligence
• Values diversity and difference,
operates with integrity and openness
• Proven and effective interpersonal,
motivational and influencing skills
• Demonstrates high level of political
awareness and understanding of
organizational cultures
• Sensible negotiator with practical
expectation of what can be achieved
Assessment will take place with reference to the following information
A = Application Form I = Interview C = Certificate
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Footnotes:
1. The professional qualifications and training requirements listed apply to individuals who have
completed specialist training within the last few years. Existing Consultants and other
individuals, who have gained entry to the specialist list during the mediated entry period, will
not be expected to hold all or any of these professional qualifications and might not have
fol owed the established training pathway, which is why the term ‘or equivalent’ is used. Due
to the experience required for a national role, trainees within 6 months of completion of
training will not be eligible for this post.
2. Current holders of a PHE, NHS or Honorary Consultant Contract in Dental Public Health are
eligible for short-listing.
3. Applicants who are nationals from another EEA country or overseas would have to
demonstrate equivalent training/qualifications and be eligible for registration and inclusion on
the UK General Dental Council’s specialist list in Dental Public Health.
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Our behaviours
The way we behave as PHE members of staff will have the greatest impact in achieving our
ambitions as an organisation. What we say matters but what we do matters more. The CARE
people’s charter reflects PHE’s behaviours.
PHE and Civil Service Code of Conduct
PHE has adopted a Code of Conduct that incorporates both the Civil Service Code, which also
applies to all our staff, and our professional responsibilities. This PHE Code applies to all staff
employed by PHE, secondees, agency staff and individuals holding honorary contracts.
All staff must abide by this Code of Conduct as a contractual responsibility and so the Code of
Conduct forms part of an individual’s contract of employment.
The PHE Code of conduct and Civil Service Code can be found on the PHE intranet page.
Job description agreed with the post holder:
Employee signature: ……………………………………. Date:…………………………
Print name:………………………………........................
Manager’s signature:…………………………………….. Date:…………………………
Print name:……………………………….....................…
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