Leila Saeed is a Senior Public Health Practitioner at Wirral Council. She joined the NHS in 2016, drawn by the opportunity to influence services, improve access, and reduce inequalities. Starting in frontline roles, she worked closely with community and mental health services and third sector partners, developing inclusive and preventive approaches.
Over time, Leila moved into management and service oversight, gaining experience in leadership, team development, joining Public Health in 2024. She is now a Senior Public Health Practitioner, applying public health evidence directly to practice while supporting complex system-wide initiatives.
The Champs Collaborative has played an important role to Leila’s professional growth. Through networking events, CPD programmes, and across-system initiatives such as the All Together Smokefree programme and PROACT Social Prescribing, she has been able to connect with colleagues across Cheshire and Merseyside, share learning, and build practical skills.
Connect, Learn, Thrive has helped Leila navigate career development, offering structured support and visibility of progression pathways, including the skills escalator, which highlights opportunities for development at all stages.
Looking ahead, Leila plans to work towards UKPHR recognition and further develop her skills, with a longer-term focus on mentoring, coaching, supporting the development of others across wider workforce.
Read more about Leila’s story below.
What first attracted you to public health and how did you start your career in public health?
My interest in public health began in 2016 when I joined the NHS. I had previously qualified as an orthoptist, which is an NHS clinical role, but I didn’t go straight into practice after university. Instead, I worked in the private sector, including with opticians, although I always had a strong desire to return to NHS services.
At the time, I was working as a Health Link and Advocacy Worker. This was a frontline role that gave me valuable insight into the barriers some populations face when accessing healthcare services, and how social factors influence health outcomes over time. Through this work, alongside my healthcare background and close collaboration with community organisations, I became increasingly motivated to work in prevention, supporting people before they reached crisis point. I was particularly interested in how services could engage people earlier, and why some individuals found it easier to access services than others.
Public health appealed to me because it offered the opportunity to improve and influence accessibility of health programmes and services, and ultimately to help reduce inequalities. It allowed me to work more closely with services to advocate for inclusion and ensuring equitable access.
How has your journey in public health progressed since then?
I started in 2016, working closely with frontline services, primarily in service delivery. Over time, I began to take on more management and leadership roles, which involved less direct work with individuals. I had the opportunity to work closely with mental health services on inclusion as Social Inclusion and Engagement Lead, which enabled me to support service improvements and drive developments through engagement with underserved communities and population groups experiencing poorer outcomes. This work allowed me to build a programme of training to support staff working in community and mental health services to ensure inclusive, equitable and culturally responsive services.
Following this, I moved into a leadership role, overseeing a Community Inclusion Service which expanded my responsibilities to include line management, team leadership and development and service development oversight. Working in these roles, and monitoring service performance, gave me the chance to further develop services with an emphasis on inclusion and prevention as core performance indicators.
While I was doing this, I completed a Master’s in Public Health at the University of Liverpool. Not long after finishing, an opportunity arose within Wirral Councils Public Health Team. I had researched Wirral’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy and was struck by how action focused and delivery driven it was, I jumped at the chance to apply and here I am!
What support have you had along the way from your employer and others along your journey?
Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to have excellent mentors who supported me, providing opportunities to learn on the job, access professional development, and engage in cross-sector collaboration.
Being involved in complex pieces of work has also helped me develop my leadership skills, allowing me to reflect on my own capabilities and grow.
These opportunities, combined with being part of the Champs Collaborative, have been invaluable. The Champs Collaborative enables engagement with the wider Cheshire and Merseyside public health system, helping you understand what others are doing, their priorities, and learn from best practice. Connecting with colleagues across the region, as well as participating in Connect, Learn, Thrive events and hearing from guest speakers, has provided valuable insights and learning opportunities.
How has the Champs Collaborative helped you to Connect, Learn, Thrive and progress your career?
Before I started this role, I was connected to the Champs Collaborative mainly through networking events, and involvement in programmes of work, such as the Social Prescribing service within Alcohol Care Teams rather than the Public Health CPD opportunities. This involvement was really useful in helping me understand what public health does and providing broader context.
The Connect, Learn, Thrive events and involvement in the workforce model supported by the Champs Support Team have been excellent. They provide the chance to work with other public health colleagues across the system. That support is invaluable for making connections, meeting new people, and understanding the wider public health landscape across the region. The Champs Collaborative does a great job of facilitating connection and shared learning.
Another good example is the All Together Smokefree initiative. Colleagues from across the system come together around tobacco control, so if you’re ever facing challenges or want to learn about best practice, there’s always a network to tap into. It’s not just about professional development, it’s also about learning from others and improving practice across the system.
What is your biggest career achievement to date?
Without a doubt, landing my first role in Public Health at Wirral Council has been a major highlight. It marked a significant turning point where I moved from delivering services to supporting commissioning. This transition has brought a steep learning curve but enormous personal and professional growth, thanks to a great team around me too.
I’m also proud of the work I’ve done with partners across organisational boundaries, which has helped broaden my network and strengthen my understanding of how systems fit together. This transition has allowed me to develop a new set of skills and being able to apply public health evidence directly to practice through working in partnership to shape services, contribute to reducing inequalities and improving outcomes for Wirral residents has been particularly interesting and fulfilling.
What’s next for you… do you have plans to progress your career further?
It’s always important to keep moving forward. My next step will definitely be working towards UK Public Health Register recognition, reflecting on my level of practice and professional capability and demonstrating that I meet national professional standards. I’m also keen to continue progressing in my role and developing my own skills. As I gain more experience, that’s my short- to medium-term goal.
In the longer term, I’d like to play a more active role in workforce development, coaching, and mentoring. I’ve done this in my previous NHS roles and really enjoy supporting the growth of others, it’s always been a key part of my practice. For now, my focus is on embedding myself further within the profession making the most of new learning opportunities and continuing to develop my public health skills.
The Connect, Learn, Thrive public health pathway helps frame how I can reach the next stage. I particularly like the skills escalator, which recognises that people enter public health from a wide range of backgrounds and offers flexible pathways depending on individual goals. The skills escalator provides a clear way to understand the different development routes available and helps identify what aligns best with your own ambitions.
What advice would you give to others thinking of starting or progressing their career in Public Health?
Start where you are – frontline roles provide invaluable insight into real-world health inequalities and context, giving you a strong foundation for future progression. Embrace learning opportunities and be open to constructive feedback, especially those outside your comfort zone. Taking on new challenges, seeking feedback builds confidence and helps you grow. Building relationships is also essential in public health, it is highly collaborative, so learning from others across the system is crucial.
Finally, be patient and reflective. Public health careers are rarely linear, and each role or project you take on, whether that is in public health or other services or organisations, adds to your experience and skills, supporting long-term progression. Over time, these cumulative steps support meaningful and sustained career progression.
Case study: June 2026
