Head of Midwifery, Band 8c- Maternity

at  Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Are you an exceptional midwife looking for an opportunity to progress into an important senior midwifery role? We are looking for a dynamic and motivated midwife who will provide inspirational and positive professional leadership working closely with the Director of Midwifery.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust operates hospitals on our two main sites in Cheltenham and Gloucester, as well as Stroud and the Forest of Dean. We are one of the largest NHS trusts in the country.
Our maternity services provide exceptional choice to women and midwives within the full range of maternity settings. Across Gloucestershire we have over 6000 births. A very exciting opportunity has arisen to work as a Head of Midwifery on a permanent contract. The successful applicant will be provided with an individualised leadership and coaching programme, supported by the Director of Midwifery.
As a key member of the senior leadership team, the Head of Midwifery will provide guidance, support and leadership to midwifery and support staff to ensure patient safety, service quality and excellent patient experience is consistently monitored and maintained in all maternity settings.
Through responsive leadership you will act as a strong patient advocate you will ensure that a culture of continuous improvement and development is supported in order to drive quality care delivery across the service.
With professional integrity, wisdom and compassion you will support the Director of Midwifery to promote a culture where all staff thrive to participate in growing change to provide maternity services where women/birthing people and their families are at the heart of all decisions. We have an excellent relationship with our Maternity Voices Partnership and you will be instrumental in co-designing developments and co-create solutions based on maternal feedback and views.
As our most valuable asset, we understand that happy, fulfilled staff will offer their best, and we aim to achieve this by providing a supportive team approach.
As an exceptional, experienced senior midwife you will become an essential part of that supportive multi-disciplinary team, providing inspirational leadership, working with key stakeholders to support transformation within our service
The post holder is a key member of the senior leadership team within the Division and works under the professional direction of the Director of Midwifery to provide guidance, support and leadership to all midwifery and nursing staff to ensure patient safety, service quality and excellent patient experience is consistently maintained.
Accountable for ensuring the appropriate management and leadership of the midwifery and nursing teams, holding Matrons, ward and department leaders and clinical practitioners to account to ensure that organisational performance indicators and regulatory standards and quality indicators are monitored and appropriate action is taken according to results.
Provides both the professional, strategic and operational leadership across the maternity service to ensure optimum standards of care and service are delivered through effective management of human, financial and physical resources.
Focus is on the provision of responsive, compassionate, visible leadership for wards and departments within maternity and a range of services which are both hospital and community based.
Acts as a strong patient advocate ensuring that a culture of continuous improvement and learning is supported in order to drive quality care delivery across the division and facilitate the development of clinical practice, to ensure excellent care.
Develops services through the implementation of innovative strategies to ensure an empowered workforce at all levels that is fit for purpose and equipped to deliver excellence in care standards, including securing the workforce for the future.
Proactive, makes recommendations, facilitates and contributes to the management of change to ensure services are patient and family focused, evidence based and provide high standards of clinical care; delivering service provision in line with national and local policy.
Ensures that all responsible midwifery and nursing staff are effectively developed to achieve their own and their departmental objectives which in turn will meet the Trust’s strategic priorities, commissioning intentions and CQC requirements.
Assists the Director of Midwifery in the implementation of the corporate midwifery agenda; taking a specific strategic lead where requested on allocated cross divisional and corporate roles.
Areas of key focus will change over time, but currently key outcome measures are:
Achieving KPI associated with the National Maternity and Neonatal Transformation programme, particularly around the learnings from national reports to grow change
Undertaking a six-monthly Midwifery and Multidisciplinary staffing review and leading on the associated workforce plan.
Engagement of the midwifery, obstetric, anaesthetic and neonatal teams in monitoring and reporting of clinical outcomes across the service
Works with the Director of Midwifery and Speciality Triumvirate to develop an annual business plan which is in line with commissioning intentions and organisational objectives.
Communications and working relationships

Internal/External

• Divisional Directors: Chief of Service, Director of Midwifery, Director of Operations.
• Speciality Director, Matrons and General Managers.
• Trust Leadership Team.
• A range of senior midwives and nurses both within and outside the division.
• Medical staff and other members of the multi-disciplinary team.
• Service users, Maternity Voices Partnership and their families.
• General public.
• Trust departments e.g. HR, Occupational Health, Finance, Information, Estates, Safety and Experience, Complaints, Legal Services.
• Regional Chief Midwife
• NHS England and NHS Improvement
• South West regional maternity team
• South West Heads of Midwifery and Directors of Midwifery
• Local Maternity and Neonatal System
• Integrated Care Board
• Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch
• Universities and colleges
• Health Education England
• External agencies and networks
• Royal Colleges
• Trade Unions

Please refer the Job description for details