Job Description

Health Visitor - Family Food Practitioner

Job Title

Family Food Practitioner

Salary Range

37,338 - 52,809 (pro-rata for part-time hours)

Hours of Work

22.5 hours per week (0.6 Full-time Equivalent)

To be worked flexibly across the working week and may include some evenings and weekends.

Responsible for

Family Food Programme Assistant

Accountable to

Family Food Programme Operational Manager

Location:

Based in Doncaster at various locations.

Regular travel across Doncaster is expected up to 3 days per week. Remote work may be required.

Doncaster's Family Food Programme

Primary Care Dietitians are proud to deliver the Family Food Programme on behalf of Doncaster Council, leaders in Compassionate Approaches to Weight.

They have commissioned this Family Food Programme as a new and innovative service to support first-time families from as early as possible in their pregnancy/adoption process to gain the knowledge, practical skills and tools to give themselves and their child the best possible nutrition.

It is well recognised that having a nutritious and healthy diet is heavily influenced by our surroundings and our circumstances, not simply personal choices.

The focus of the Service is to be on making small, sustainable behavioural changes. These goals will not be limited to traditional targets of weight management and will consider broader outcomes such as, but not limited to, family harmony, self-esteem, physical activity and food behaviours.

The aim is that families - and particularly children - are enabled to have a positive and peaceful relationship with food, reducing body-image stigma and sustainability if developed through training to other professionals and peer supporters.

As this is a new programme, an evaluation will be carried out from the outset and there is an expectation that this will inform continuous changes and improvements to the programme.

Why Join Primary Care Dietitians?

Make a real difference supporting new mothers in primary care Competitive salary 25 days' annual leave + bank holidays (increasing with length of service to 31 days + bank holidays) Private healthcare cover via Medicash Funded mental-health support (8 face-to-face sessions per year) Weekly protected CPD and funded leadership-development courses Clear career progression into management roles Company pension with salary-sacrifice option Hybrid working - mainly based in Doncaster, with flexibility Commission and incentive schemes for supporting recruitment Strong, supportive culture with close working relationships with leadership Admin and resource support to maximise your impact Be part of an established, high-performing team

Role Summary

This role is crucial to the development and clinical relevance of the programme.

Multiple professions can take this job, and anyone who is a midwife or health visitor would be eligible for this role.

Key Responsibilities

Promote the Service

Working with the Family Food Programme team, the Primary Care Dietitians Leadership team and commissioners you will positively promote the service to potential service users and referral agents.

This will require attending events across Doncaster throughout the life of the programme.

Conduct assessments of all referred families

Using your significant clinical experience in infant feeding and maternal health, you will assess each referred family. This will be evidence-based and help identify those with higher-level needs to take the one-to-one pathway of the delivery programme.

Develop and Deliver 1:1 pathway Interventions

These will be three 1-hour appointments specifically for families with higher needs. These may take place in a clinic venue, over the telephone or via a messaging service so long as the Data Protection Act is observed and the participants' preferences are respected.

Develop Group Session content

Create the groups programme of five sessions, each 90 minutes long, following the Responsive Feeding Framework and using behaviour-change techniques to influence change.

The sessions will address:

Parenting and feeding styles, attitudes and beliefs The parent/carers' relationship with food and their own body image Practical support to access resources and develop personal plans of action to enable infants to be fed responsively

Develop Training Packages and deliver training and supervision to the Family Food Programme Assistant

To ensure the Family Food Programme Assistant is confident and competent to deliver the group sessions and drop-in Q&A sessions, you will train them in line with their needs, respecting their existing knowledge and skills.

Support the development of content for digital/social-media platforms

Using your clinical expertise, you will develop content for 7-minute videos and podcast-type content for the social- and digital-media platforms used in this programme as an alternative to face-to-face provision.

You will be supported to record the content; editing will be completed by a professional.

Develop training and supervision packages and deliver training and supervision to other service providers

In year 2 of the programme, other providers of services to families will be trained using a combination of the Responsive Feeding Framework, Infant Feeding Guidelines and Compassionate Approaches to Weight evidence base alongside practical applications and behaviour-change techniques based on your findings and experiences from the group and drop-in delivery across Doncaster.

You will lead the delivery of the training, supporting the Family Food Programme Assistant to develop their competency to deliver training sessions.

Once other service providers have been trained, you will supervise delivery of interventions and support the Family Food Programme Assistant to supervise as well, providing constructive feedback to enable other service providers to continue to improve their approaches.

Develop and deliver Peer-Supporter Programme

In year 3 of the programme, peer supporters will be recruited and trained, using the same principles as for the other service providers above.

You will lead the delivery of the training, supporting the Family Food Programme Assistant to develop their competency to deliver training sessions.

Once peer supporters have been trained, you will supervise the delivery of interventions and support the Family Food Programme Assistant to supervise as well, providing constructive feedback to enable peer supporters to continue to improve their approaches.

Supporting the Family Food Programme Team with Signposting Information

Some parents will prefer to access information via our Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp pages. You will support the whole team in finding useful information and services, particularly local Doncaster ones, to signpost digital users towards as well as signpost or refer those in groups and accessing Drop-In Support sessions.

Collect Feedback from participants

Actively collect feedback from - and seek the opinions of - the families who are involved with and those who will benefit from the Family Food Programme, ensuring the collection methods are flexible and inclusive of all types of diverse needs.

Support Evaluation of the programme

As this is a new programme of work it is expected to continuously evolve and change, based on feedback from participants and opinions of diverse communities about the content.

Support Registration to Doncaster's BABiD Programme

Encourage and support first-time families to register with Doncaster's BABiD programme.

Key Working Relationships

Family Food Programme - Assistant Family Food Apprentice Operational Manager Primary Care Dietitians Leadership Team Doncaster Primary Care Dietitians Doncaster Family Hubs Staff Doncaster Health Visitors Doncaster Midwives

Health & Safety

All staff are required to take reasonable care for the health, safety and welfare of themselves and of others who may be affected by their actions or omissions. Staff must co-operate fully with the Primary Care Dietitians' policies and procedures relating to health and safety, report any health and safety concerns promptly, and actively participate in training and risk assessments as required.

Compliance with all statutory requirements and Primary Care Dietitians procedures is mandatory.

Confidentiality & Data Protection

All staff are required to comply with Primary Care Dietitians' Information Governance Framework, ensuring the secure handling, storage, transmission and disposal of information in line with best practice and relevant legislation. This includes adherence to the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and NHS Digital standards where applicable.

Staff must complete mandatory Information Governance training and demonstrate an understanding of their responsibilities in maintaining confidentiality, protecting personal data and supporting safe information sharing within multi-agency settings.

Family Food Practitioner - Person Specification

Qualifications

UK Registered Health Visitor, Midwife

-- Essential(Assessment: A)

Registration with relevant professional body

-- Essential(Assessment: A)

Baby Friendly Level 3

-- Desirable(Assessment: A)

Knowledge & Experience

Behaviour-change techniques and their practical use

-- Essential(Assessment: A/I/Test)

Practical application of the Responsive Feeding Framework Theory

-- Essential(Assessment: A/I)

Practical application of Infant Feeding Guidelines and Practices

-- Essential(Assessment: A/I)

Supporting families who experience health inequalities

-- Essential(Assessment: A/I)

Supporting families who experience food insecurity

-- Essential(Assessment: A/I)

Creating training packages

-- Essential(Assessment: A/I)

Understanding of Doncaster Council's Compassionate approach to weight

-- Desirable(Assessment: A/I)

Understanding of the Baby Friendly initiative and its application across Doncaster

-- Desirable*(Assessment: A/I)

Experience of supervising others' clinical delivery and providing constructive feedback

-- Essential*(Assessment: A/I)

Skills & Attributes

Delivering training to a range of participants

-- Essential(Assessment: A/I/Test)

Ability to form positive relationships with a range of colleagues and the public

-- Essential(Assessment: I)

Excellent communication skills, especially with those with diverse needs

-- Essential(Assessment: A/I/Test)

Positive attitude towards change and continuous improvement

-- Essential(Assessment: A/I)

Listening to and acting on feedback from participants

-- Essential(Assessment: Test)

Values & Behaviours

Adaptable

-- Essential(Assessment: Test)

Non-judgemental, with a compassionate approach to weight

-- Essential(Assessment: Test)

Friendly & approachable

-- Essential(Assessment: I)

Inquisitive / Curious

-- Desirable(Assessment: I)

Assessment key:

A = Application form?I = Interview?C = Certificate?T = Test/Assessment centre

Job Types: Part-time, Permanent

Pay: 37,338.00-52,809.00 per year

Benefits:

Company pension Cycle to work scheme Employee discount Health & wellbeing programme Referral programme Sick pay Work from home
Schedule:

Flexitime Overtime Weekend availability
Work authorisation:

United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 18/05/2025
Expected start date: 30/06/2025