Health Protection Nurse

Location: Westmorland & Furness base, to be agreed with successful candidate

Contract Type: Permanent

About this opportunity

We have a vacancy for a Health Protection Nurse to work within the Westmorland and Furness Council Health Protection Team. This is a permanent part-time position working 22.5 hours per week.

The postholder will support the Public Health Manager-Health Protection in assuring that statutory responsibilities in relation to health protection are effectively discharged in relation to the development, implementation and assurance of local health protection programmes for Westmorland and Furness, including health emergency planning, promotion of national screening and immunisation programmes and community infection prevention and control.

The Westmorland and Furness Health Protection Team is part of the Council’s Public Health Team. The Health Protection Team works collaboratively with colleagues in neighbouring Local Authorities and across the whole of our local health economy to identify risks, proactively implement preventative measures and respond swiftly and effectively to ongoing and new threats to population health. This includes the local monitoring and promotion of national screening and immunisation programmes and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) initiatives, such as those aimed at the reduction in healthcare associated infections and reducing antimicrobial resistance as well as targeted local programmes of audit and training with our providers.

At times of local or national outbreaks of infectious diseases (e.g. Influenza/ covid pandemics) or local incidents which may present a risk to the health of our population (e.g. flooding), the team needs to respond quickly and work dynamically and flexibly alongside health protection, adult social care (ASC) and healthcare partners to swiftly implement effective control and recovery actions.

We are looking for:

• A Registered Nurse [or appropriately qualified Registered Allied Health Professional] with experience and knowledge of Infection Prevention and Control.
• An understanding of population level health protection issues and the wider determinants of health.
• Excellent communication skills and confidence in liaising with providers, commissioners, regulators and other health and social care stakeholders.
• Self-motivated and enthusiastic, confident in taking decisive action when required.
• A flexible approach to managing workload and a willingness to actively participate in the development and implementation of health protection plans and other programmes of work.
• The ability and a willingness to travel around the Council area (occasionally more widely).
• Competent in basic IT skills

It is important to carefully read the attached Job Description for a comprehensive understanding of the requirements of this role.

What can we offer you!

Working at Westmorland and Furness Council you will receive a variety of benefits, including a competitive pension scheme, enhanced annual leave allowance and other various perks and discounts schemes. For more information about life at Westmorland and Furness Council and what we can offer you, please visit our Careers site. Our benefits | Careers (westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk)

Would you like to find out more?

For further information or an informal chat about this post please contact Nicola Holland, Public Health Manager- Health Protection at [email protected]

Application and Interview information

Closing date: 21 September 2025

Interview date: 01 October 2025