Location: Victory House, Balliol Business Park or any accommodation as directed by the PCC
Salary: Grade K £45,903-£50,250
Hours of Work: Mon – Fri office hours (flexibility required for some evening work as and when required and some travel may require over-night trips).
The role:
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner is one of eighteen PCCs to have secured funding from the Home Office to develop a Violence Reduction Unit (VRU).
VRUs are a multi-agency approach designed to bring together police, local government, health agencies, education representatives and other community representatives to tackle violent crime, and importantly, its underlying causes and deliver a Response Strategy including capacity building, tactical changes and interventions
The VRU team, within the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, will develop and deliver a Response Strategy working with communities and partners to deliver a multi-agency public health approach to reducing serious violence. Our approach will focus on early intervention; youth diversion; drugs, alcohol, homelessness; mental health; domestic abuse and effective criminal justice.
We are looking for an experienced Public Health professional to join the team and lead on the development and progression of a number of key initiatives to reduce serious violence across Northumbria. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in working in partnership, an understanding of the local public health landscape as well as an understanding of how data and intelligence is used to target and develop commissioned interventions.
What will I be doing?
1. To act as the single point of contact for Public Health and NHS leads across Northumbria
2. Work with partners to identify gaps in commissioning services and support in relation to substance misuse
3. Support local interventions and work with partners to explore additional measures to support violence reduction such as Community Alcohol Partnerships, targeted drug awareness campaigns, connections with GP surgeries etc.
4. Oversee the development of a Northumbria wide Alcohol and Substance Misuse Strategy.
5. Provide specialist knowledge, advice and guidance to key stakeholders to facilitate the public health approach to prevent violence
6. Engage and liaise with key stakeholders including local Public Health teams, Health Trusts, local authorities and commissioners to refine access to data and information and develop needs led interventions aligned to the VRU Response Strategy
7. Build partnerships and collaborative relationships with local and national stakeholders and organisations in relation to effective public health approaches to reducing violence
8. Develop and maintain a database of useful contacts working within the field of public health.
9. Assist in the establishment and promotion of a knowledge base of key health and public health evidence and practice that informs effective and efficient approaches to reducing violence and wider vulnerability
10. Contribute to the formulation of operational plans to support health promotion and public health development in relation to serious violence.
11. Contribute to the provision of advice, training and support to enable others to actively engage with communities to promote health and well being
12. Oversee the progression of VRU Insight activity ensuring that health data is clearly aligned and utilised in the development and implementation of area-based interventions, this includes:
• Support the collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of information and comparative datasets on violence, health and wellbeing.
• Identify, facilitate and promote access to tools and methods to collect, analyse and use information.
• Promote evidence informed practice in the development, advocacy, implementation and evaluation of interventions.
13. Provide direct staff supervision to 2 x VRU Co-ordinators and 1 x VRU Partnership Analyst, taking into account staff welfare and ensuring effective performance management
What do I need?
Essential criteria:
• Excellent understanding of the national and local landscape in relation to Public Health
• Demonstrable ability to foster relationships with key partners in Health, Criminal Justice, Policing, Education and other services across Northumbria;
• Have the ability to provide cross-sector responses and early interventions to support the reduction of serious violence.
• Must have comprehensive project and programme management experience including developing and commissioning services and overseeing the delivery of those services;
• Must hold a degree in an associated field or have substantial relevant experience of working within a multi-agency public sector environment;
• Must have the ability to manage multiple tasks and have proven experience of delivering within timescales;
• Must have the ability to handle complex information and be able to analyse and present it in a simple fashion;
• Must have experience of managing work with people and agencies across multiple sites;
• Must have excellent communication/interpersonal and collaboration skills and an ability to communicate, build relationships, influence and negotiate with prospective providers, stakeholders and partners;
• Must have experience of working in a pressured environment to tight timelines;
• Should have a thorough understanding of the public health approach and how interventions can be delivered at population level, targeting resources effectively through increased understanding of the population.
• The post-holder may be required to undertake such other responsibilities as are reasonably commensurate with the grade of the post.
• This is a politically restricted post.
Desirable criteria:
• Experience of engaging directly with the partnership networks across Northumbria
• Ability and confidence to advise senior figures both within and outside the organisation
• Comfortable presenting to a wide range of audiences
• At least four years relevant experience in a related field
Vetting level:
Recruitment Vetting (RV)
Applicants must be a resident of the UK for a minimum period of 3 years to ensure vetting checks can be successfully performed. A job offer will be dependent upon vetting clearance, medical information and references.
If you have any queries with regard to the application process please contact the Talent Acquisition Team by email at careers@northumbria.pnn.police.uk
All staff including those appointed on fixed term contracts must successfully complete their probationary period before they are eligible to apply for a Northumbria Police vacancy.
Vacancy Contact:
To discuss the position in more detail please contact Steven Hume, Director of Northumbria VRU at steven.hume@northumbria-pcc.gov.uk
Northumbria Police fully supports a policy of equal opportunities and we welcome applications from suitably qualified people from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Appointments are based on merit alone