Public health

Public Health is a wide-ranging sector that focusses on protecting and improving the health of populations through education, policy making and the promotion of healthy lifestyles. Working together nationally and internationally, public health professionals develop strategies that enhance healthcare systems, prevent disease, and promote wellness to ensure that all individuals can lead healthy lives.

This page will be useful if:

  • You are studying public health and are looking to explore some options
  • You have an interest in public health but are not studying a related course.
  • You are looking for ways to build your experience and explore specialty training.

No matter where you are up to in your exploration, there is information about a range of roles in the public health sector and the other contexts where public health roles can be found.

Explore job roles

Public Health takes place in various settings. If public health isn’t in the job title, it doesn't mean the job isn’t public health-focused. There are many roles out there where public health is interwoven within the role or company you're working for.

In the UK, the NHS is one of the better-known employers for Public Health roles and several pathways are detailed on their Health Careers website. Roles can also be found within local councils, charities, and some private sector organisations. E.g. In local councils, there are roles in population health/health inequalities and food safety.

Be guided by your area or sector of interest and read what certain roles work on as opposed to looking for the term ‘public health’. You could also consider roles in terms of the area they work in. Here are six of the main areas outlined by Health Careers:

  • improving people's health
  • protecting people's health
  • working with information
  • teaching and researching
  • maintaining and raising standards
  • leadership, planning and management

Further resources

Use the job profiles below to find out about, skills, entry routes and experience

Core public health roles (where public health is the main part of the role):

Wider public health workforce roles:

Tip: Use the information about skills in the profiles to help you build a tailored CV.

Building skills and experience

Work experience will enable you to explore areas of work, but also demonstrate motivation for working in public health. Use the list of work experience opportunities on the main Health sector homepage as a starting point. [link]

Use LinkedIn to explore where Manchester public health graduates work and where they gained experience whilst studying.

Follow relevant organisations on LinkedIn and other social media e.g. Professional bodies like the 'Faculty of Public Health' (company directory), global organisations like 'WHO', governmental bodies like 'Public Health England' and regional organisations like 'Health Innovations Manchester'.

Use a targeted approach to identify relevant work experience by researching how public health is addressed/delivered where you live.

  • Who is responsible for delivering public health initiatives and interventions? E.g. in the UK, NHS, local authorities, central government/devolved (UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) for health protection, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) in England, charities/third sector, international organisations.
  • How do they do it? Primary healthcare, secondary healthcare, national campaigns, charities, policy, health education, ethics
  • What are the big themes/what interests you? Healthy eating, smoking/drinking, exercise, epidemiology, child health, ageing populations, sexual health, mental health, allergies, food safety, global health.

Gain relevant experience and skills while you study

Use the job profiles above to check which skills are normally needed for the roles you are interested in.

Overseas opportunities

Volunteering overseas can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it is important to do careful research.

Finding and applying for jobs

Start with these key websites and jobs boards but we recommend also researching local organisations in the locations you want to work.

Training in the UK

The Public Sector (Local government, civil service, higher education)

The Private Sector (Private and independent organisations)

The Third Sector (charitable organisations and social enterprises)

Public Health 'Specialty Training Programme' in the UK

If you’re interested in specialty training in public health, you can train to become a public health specialty registrar/consultant with or without a degree in medicine. This can be a popular route for those studying the undergraduate or postgraduate in public health, however, it’s also important to be aware of the limited number of places on these programs- for example in 2023 there were 1258 applications for 124 NHS specialty training places.

Public health specialists and consultants support people and communities to maximise opportunities for a healthy, happy and productive life, helping them to live healthier for longer.

Specialists could be employed in different sectors including local government, the NHS, universities or the private sector.

To get onto the program without a medical degree, you need to have at least 48 months' work experience, of which 24 months must be in an area relevant to population health practice.

For more information about the training programme, experience needed and applying, please see the following links:

Outside the UK

Public health operates on a global scale e.g. the World Health Organisation provide a variety of internships and roles working across the world in different areas. Other international organisations and charities work to challenge health inequalities.

  • To search for international opportunities, you may find our general International Careers pages useful.

To explore some international opportunities and general news about public health, there are also some useful groups and organisations to follow on LinkedIn:

Other sources of international job listings