Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Health Intelligence 2026: guide

This is a consultant public-health post with a specific interest in Health Intelligence. The successful candidate is expected to lead the development and delivery of quality-assured intelligence projects, products and tools that serve population-health decisions.

The role is neither a pure analytics post nor a general public-health appointment. The evidence needs to connect technical intelligence to system leadership and population outcomes.

The eligibility gate

Candidates require registration as a specialist in the Specialist Division of the Medical Council register in Public Health Medicine. The booklet also requires one year of documented postgraduate training or satisfactory experience in the relevant public-health domain.

The successful interviewee must have the necessary specialist registration before appointment. The booklet describes a maximum period of 180 calendar days from interview to secure registration and provide special-interest evidence where relevant.

Post-specific requirements include leadership of public-health programmes, work with national and international stakeholders, policy and strategic-plan delivery, and understanding of advanced analytics, predictive modelling and software development relevant to Health Intelligence.

What a strong application should connect

Start with one example where the quality of evidence changed a material decision. Explain the population question, data limitations, analytical approach, governance and action taken.

Then show the leadership around it. Who needed to agree? What professional or organisational interests differed? How did you turn the output into a programme, policy or operational change?

Other useful evidence may cover:

• quality assurance of an intelligence product;
• surveillance or analytics during an emerging public-health issue;
• standardisation across regions or agencies;
• an ethical or information-governance decision;
• development of a multidisciplinary team;
• measurement of a programme’s population effect.

Keep technical detail proportionate. The panel needs enough to understand your judgement, then a clear account of why it mattered.

Selection and test evidence

The booklet allows application shortlisting and interview. It also includes a general line permitting any other test or exercise considered appropriate.

That line does not confirm an aptitude test. No numerical, verbal, situational-judgement or psychometric format is named, and no test window is given. The immediate acquisition funnel for this role is therefore evidence planning and consultant interview preparation, not a generic question bank.

If shortlisting is used, the application is examined against the essential and desirable criteria. The publicjobs application process explains why complete, specific evidence matters even when professional eligibility seems obvious.

Conditions worth noticing

This is a 37-hour, whole-time, permanent and pensionable HSE appointment. The booklet states 30 days of annual leave and asks the successful candidate to take up duty within three months of offer.

Reading map

Pages 7 onward describe the leadership and intelligence duties. Page 14 contains registration and post-specific requirements. Page 19 sets out pay and tenure. The selection and shortlisting section is around page 26.

This guide is PSP’s independent reading of sources checked on 14 August 2026. Use the live booklet for final eligibility and appointment decisions.