Salary: £32,061 to £32,597 per annum

Hours: 37 Hours per week

Location: Carlisle and Workington

Contract: Fixed-Term (18 Months)

About this opportunity

Cumberland Council is looking to recruit two Health & Wellbeing Officers to join our team, working with individuals aged 16 years and over across Cumberland who would like to make positive changes to their lives. The posts will be based in Carlisle and Workington and will have a specific focus on quitting smoking.

Most of the people we work with have faced a period of crisis or have multiple issues that they need to understand and work through, making this role both challenging and extremely rewarding for the right person.

Within the role, you will need to be able to adopt a coaching approach and have the personal skills to build trusting and authentic relationships with individuals in our community. You will work in a non-directive style, helping people to stop smoking and motivating them to make positive changes, while also understanding and reducing any barriers to change.

Smoking remains one of the biggest causes of death and ill health in the UK. As part of the local authority’s commitment to becoming smoke-free by 2030, funding has been allocated to the Health & Wellbeing Team (H&WT) to provide people who smoke with opportunities to access appropriate support to quit at the right time for them.

For some people, quitting and remaining smoke-free is more challenging. Therefore, these roles will focus on:

1. a) supporting people from the 20% most deprived communities who may experience issues such as mental health challenges, homelessness, or substance misuse; and
2. b) supporting people on a respiratory health pathway, including those undergoing targeted lung health checks, receiving enhanced health checks, or participating in the Waiting Well project.

These roles are available on a fixed-term basis.

The role will offer

• One to one and group work with a focus on behaviour change
• Provide aids and NRT to aid quitting
• Deliver a rolling 12-week programme of support for those wanting to quit

Who we’re looking for

The successful candidate will be able to:

• Coach people to act on factors that influence health and wellbeing – primary smoking.
• Work alongside people to reduce health inequalities by understanding inequality and identify ways in which they can address and sustain changes into the future.
• Help build independence and resilience to meet future crisis.
• Understand and challenge behaviours, raise awareness and build personal responsibility.
• Engage with our local communities and social networks but also link the people we support together, encouraging them to create self-led community/social groups.

We would love to hear from anyone who could be a great asset to our team. If this sounds like you, then please apply today!

We’re looking for individuals who embody our organisation's core values: ambitious, collaborative, compassionate, empowering, and innovative. We believe in the power of these values to drive positive change, deliver excellent public services and shape a better future for our communities.

We’re also about potential over perfection and we can help you grow in the role and thrive in your career.

Be sure to take a look at the post specification (below) for the essential criteria for this role.

Contact

For more information about the role or to arrange an informal chat prior to your application, please contact HAWCrecruitment@cumberland.gov.uk

We are holding two online information sessions about the roles and the team. These will take place on 15/07/2026 and 29/07/2026, both at 5:00 pm on MS Teams.

If you wish to attend a session, then please email HAWCrecruitment@cumberland.gov.uk and we will send you the meeting invite. 

DBS Checks

This role requires a DBS check. The level of check for this role is:

Enhanced DBS check with a Children’s and Adults Barred List check.

Please note this role involves working in regulated activity with adults and Children. It is an offence for people who are barred from working in regulated activity to apply for roles that require them to work unsupervised with adults and/or Children.

Guaranteed Interviews

We offer a guaranteed interview to the following applicants as long as your application can demonstrate you meet the essential criteria for the role.

• Those who consider themselves disabled as defined by the Equality Act 2010
• Those in care or who have left care and are aged 24 and under
• Those who identify as a member of the British Armed Forces community (service leavers, veterans, their partners or spouses, reservists, cadets).

If you meet one or more of the criteria above, and wish to be considered for this scheme, select 'yes' to the appropriate question during your application. Find out more.

Diversity, Inclusion & Adjustments

We’re dedicated to enhancing the diversity of our workforce and we encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds. That’s why we’re a proud Disability Confident Leader and also an Age Friendly Employer – to provide opportunities for everyone to thrive.

If you need any reasonable adjustments to participate in the recruitment process, please let either the hiring manager or our Resourcing Team know by emailing Resourcing@Cumberland.gov.uk. While adjustments aren’t always guaranteed, we’ll always listen and we’ll try our best to accommodate your needs.

Application and Interview information

Easily apply by submitting your CV and answering a few short questions

• Closing date: 31/07/2026
• Interview date: 25/08/2026 at Cumbria House, Carlisle. 26/08/2026 at West Cumbria House, Workington.

If you experience any difficulties logging in to apply for this role, please contact the HR Systems team at HR.Systems@cumbria.gov.uk.

Please note this role may close early subject to demand. If you’re interested in applying, you should apply well before the advised closing date. We cannot accept applications once the role has closed.

Please read the supporting information:

• Post Specification

Please also refer to our Careers site to find out more:

• Our Staff Benefits
• Candidate Support
• About Cumberland Council