Health Trainer (Full-Time)

Job Description

Job Title: Health Trainer (2 posts)
Salary: £33,531– £38,052 per annum
Grade: D
Contract Type: Permanent
Working Hours: Full-time37 hours per week

About the department

Thurrock Health Trainer Service is a key part of the local authority’s Public Health Team, dedicated to supporting residents to improve their health and wellbeing. Our service provides practical, one-to-one and group support to help people make positive lifestyle changes, particularly those from disadvantaged or hard-to-reach communities.

Health Trainers work closely with individuals to assess their current lifestyle, set achievable health goals, and develop personalised action plans. They offer guidance and motivation on a range of health issues, including healthy eating, physical activity, stopping smoking, reducing alcohol intake, and improving emotional wellbeing. Health Trainers also signpost clients to other relevant services and community resources as needed.

Our team is committed to reducing health inequalities by engaging with local communities, building trust, and empowering people to take control of their own health. We work in partnership with other health and social care professionals, voluntary organisations, and community groups to ensure a holistic approach to health improvement.

About the Role

As a Health Trainer, you will be responsible for:

• Organising, managing and delivering healthy lifestyle one-to-one and group interventions, to help individuals identify risk factors that may be affecting their own health and wellbeing, using behaviour change techniques to facilitate appropriate lifestyle advice to reduce risk. These will include advice and support to stop smoking, eating healthy and managing weight, being more physically active, and reducing alcohol harm.
• Using appropriate assessment, evaluation and benchmarking tools and techniques to monitor client progress against their action plans.
• Ensuring that individuals are aware of options to improve their health within Thurrock, including timely access to high quality and appropriate risk management interventions via onward referrals into clinical or lifestyle intervention services, and signposting to relevant services and community assets.
• Conduct health check assessments within the Thurrock area, in line with locally agreed approaches, as outreach and in workplaces, in line with national framework guidance and best practice.
• Engaging with a range of voluntary, community, faith sector, local businesses, and Health and Social Care professionals, as well as communities and localities, to identify groups and individuals who may benefit from healthy lifestyle interventions but may not traditionally engage with health promotion activities or NHS services.
• Supporting and promoting the development of schemes and opportunities to target those most vulnerable to poorer health and wellbeing outcomes.

This role offers the chance to make a real difference by empowering individuals to take control of their health, reducing health inequalities, and improving the wellbeing of communities through personalised support and positive lifestyle change.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for someone who has:

• A minimum of 2 years’ experience in a relevant health improvement/health trainer field, for example, nursing/clinical, smoking cessation, diet and nutrition, weight management, sports science.
• Good communication and facilitation skills to support the assessment and monitoring of behaviour change
• Good interpersonal skills to enable interaction with clients with a range of emotional needs, in order to listen, influence, negotiate and motivate individuals in relation to health behaviours.
• An ability to work individually and as part of a specialist mixed skill team.
• An ability to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences both written and verbal.

Essential qualifications:

• Diploma or equivalent experience in health trainer/health improvement field
• National Centre for Smoking Cessation Training (NCSCT) accredited skills practitioner certificate
• RSPH Level 2 award in Nutrition for Health or equivalent qualification

DBS Check: Basic check is required for this post

Benefits of Working with Us

At Thurrock Council, we value our employees and offer a comprehensive benefits package, including:

• Generous annual leave entitlement
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Flexible and hybrid working opportunities (where applicable)
• Ongoing training and professional development
• Employee assistance programme and wellbeing support
• Staff discounts and local offers
• A supportive and inclusive working environment

Important Dates

Closing Date (Redeployment Only): 13th November 2025

Closing Date (Internal & External): 30th November 2025

Interview Date: To Be Confirmed

Additional Information

If you have any questions about the role or interview process, please contact:

Tina Lincoln, Health Trainer Service Manager

tlincoln@thurrock.gov.uk | 07712 540486

To view the Job Profile and Person Specification, please follow the link below:

Download Job Profile (PDF Document)

Where the Job Profile and Person Specification list any qualifications as essential, please upload copies of those relevant qualifications.

About us

Why Thurrock?

Working at Thurrock Council gives you the opportunity to join an organisation that is changing at pace, one where you can make a real difference to the lives of the people we serve.

Thurrock Council is moving towards a new community leadership approach which involves linking with local partners and communities as we shape our improvement for the years ahead.

This is an exciting time to join us, to shape the future success of our changing organisation and to have a positive influence on our borough.

Our location

Thurrock is located on the north bank of the river Thames. Our urban centres are a vibrant mix of established towns and new young communities, with a diverse and growing population of around 160,000 residents.

We are an emerging cultural and arts centre, home to the production centre for the Royal Opera House and the National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural Skills. We have excellent retail and leisure opportunities, including Lakeside Shopping Centre, country parks, forests, and marshes.

Thurrock is just half an hour journey away from the centre of London by train and well connected by road.

Staff benefits

We offer lots of staff benefits, including a generous annual leave entitlement and hybrid working. We champion flexible working and job share applications are welcome.

Further information can be found here Employment benefits | Working for the council | Thurrock Council

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Thurrock Council is committed to equal opportunities. As a Disability Confident Employer, disabled people will be offered an interview where they meet all essential criteria on the person specification.

We serve a diverse community where people are different yet equal. Diversity underpins everything we do.

For further information about Thurrock Council please visit our website: Thurrock Council