Go back East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
Head of Midwifery
Closing date is 16 April 2026
Reporting to the Director of Midwifery, the Head of Midwifery, a practising midwife, will provide leadership and direction for midwifery and nursing staff within the Women and Children's Care Group. The post holder will act as a point of contact for advice and expertise on all matters relating to professional midwifery issues. The post-holder will hold the position of site lead for midwifery.
As part of the Women’s and Children’s Care Group the post holder will proactively involve and work with the midwifery, paediatric and gynaecology management teams so that all are fully aware of the current practice initiatives, priorities and challenges. The post-holder will also have an effective feedback mechanism to communicate Trust‑wide issues to midwives, nurses, operational and support staff.
Main duties of the job
The post-holder will pro‑actively develop the Care Group’s midwifery nursing programme in line with national, regional and local Maternity and Neonatal Improvement Programme as well as the Trust Transformational and Service Development Plan. This will include taking responsibility for implementing Trust‑wide objectives in all areas within the Care Group in line with the Trust's key operational priorities.
The post-holder will provide leadership which engages staff, maintains patient focus, drives change and high performance and demonstrates and develops own personal qualities as a leader. They are responsible for effectively managing the Care Group's midwifery senior managers and associated financial resources, ensuring the optimal deployment of the nursing and midwifery workforce to ensure high‑quality patient care is delivered and monitored. This will require the post-holder to have or develop the necessary knowledge and business skills to plan, implement and evaluate service delivery plans.
In collaboration with the Director of Midwifery and other members of the senior nursing, midwifery and operational team, the post-holder will be involved in the planning and implementation of developments relating to nursing and midwifery throughout the Trust.
About us
We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is ‘great healthcare from great people’. Everything we do is guided by our values: ‘People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference’. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called ‘We care’. It’s about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day‑to‑day. We’re looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.
Person Specification
Qualifications and training
* Registered Midwife
* Master’s Degree or already commenced Master’s degree
* Strong evidence of continuing professional development
* Evidence of Executive/Leadership Development
Experience
* Experience as Senior Midwife in an acute NHS environment at 8c level.
* Evidence of working with Local Maternity Systems and Strategic Clinical Networks
* Experience as a Matron/Clinical Midwifery Manager managing clinical teams.
* Experience of managing complex change and sustaining improvements.
* Experience of developing and implementing a nursing and midwifery strategy and governance processes.
* Proven management experience and the ability to lead staff in achieving complex outcomes.
* Experience of working with colleagues in the CCG
* Experience of local or regional strategic working
Skills and Abilities
* Evidence of delivering improvements in patient safety and patient experience
* Commitment to improving women’s experience.
Knowledge
* Sound knowledge and experience of all aspects of midwifery practice
* Sound knowledge of current national drives, National maternity agenda, assurance around maternity quality and safety
* Knowledge and experience of equality, diversity, and human rights in line with national policy
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
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