People, Policy, Economy and Public Health

The People, Policy, Economy and Public Health (PPEPH) function is made up of teams of professionals supporting specialist areas of:

• strategy and policy
• communications and marketing
• sustainable and economic growth
• property and infrastructure
• public health
• Essex’s adult community learning offering
• people business partnering and consultancy
• pay and reward
• people casework and change programmes
• organisation development
• workforce and leadership development
• resourcing and talent management
• people analytics, insight and performance
• wellbeing
• equality, diversity and inclusion
• payroll
• organisation design
• policy
• research and citizen insight
• data and analytics
• strategy, levelling up co-ordination
• equalities and partnerships
• performance and business intelligence

The function leads on many key areas across the organisation. 

At the heart of what we do is our 4 key priorities underpinned by actions or ambitions.

Strong, inclusive and sustainable economy

Deliver a strong, inclusive and sustainable economy that levels up both priority areas and priority cohorts through:

• developing new regeneration opportunities and securing investment to level up our priority places
• working to address the drivers of social economic inequality to help level up priority cohorts through equal access to life chances
• encouraging businesses to invest in the jobs of the future that will provide greener more innovative more productive and more secure employment
• helping Essex residents build the skills they need to secure good employment opportunities by encouraging provision for the jobs of the future
• unlocking new growth through local plans, housing, garden communities, new schools, new business accommodation and high quality physical and digital infrastructure that supports our communities
• promoting the benefits of relocating, working, visiting, studying and living in our extraordinary county to bring inward investment and growth into Essex

Health, wellbeing and independence

We aim to provide health, wellbeing and independence for all ages.

The Wellbeing, Public Health and Communities function brings together a range of services that contribute to the delivery of the council's statutory and wider responsibilities. These include:

• improving public health outcomes
• protecting our most vulnerable and reducing health inequalities, namely Trading Standards, the Gypsy and Traveller Service, Active Essex and the Strengthening Communities team

The service works with functions across the council, with a range of external partners including public sector, voluntary sector and private businesses to commission and directly deliver services to meet the needs of the local population.

Major capital programmes

To lead on the delivery of major capital programmes across the council, supporting our Net Zero commitments on our own estate as well as supporting the wider school estate to reduce our carbon footprint.

To manage the council's property estate, making sure it is efficient and that we have the right buildings in the right places being put to the right use. Our property estate must reflect the excellent services we deliver and focus on serving our communities in the most cost effective and environmentally sustainable way, enabling employees by offering flexibility and performance.

People and organisational development

People and Organisation Design is responsible for leading multiple human resources and organisation development projects. It's also responsible for ensuring the council has the core organisational capabilities required for the future, including transitioning to becoming a genuine leading organisation.

There is a focus on creating a new, compelling people agenda to:

• improve business performance
• harness the potential of all employees to achieve the council's ambitions
• deliver accessible and impactful services to residents

This work will enable the council to transform how it operates and what it delivers through employees, partners and stakeholders.

Organisational structure

The council's activities are divided into seven functional areas. Our organisational structure chart is a visual representations of the council's internal structure and hierarchy, including the directors or leaders responsible for each service.