Go back University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
Head of Midwifery
The closing date is 22 January 2026
We are offering an exciting 6-month secondment for a Head of Midwifery (HoM) or an experienced Deputy HoM who is a compassionate, visionary leader ready to make a real impact.
This is a pivotal opportunity to join the Women's & Children's Clinical Management Group (CMG) at University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) during a period of significant transformation.
UHL is on a dynamic improvement journey, underpinned by an established Perinatal Safety Improvement Programme, a strong commitment to addressing health inequalities, and the complexity of delivering care across multiple sites. This secondment will play a critical role in accelerating progress and embedding sustainable change.
This is a unique opportunity to influence the future of maternity and neonatal care at UHL, working alongside the Director of Midwifery and Deputy Chief Nurse to provide visible clinical and professional leadership for nursing, midwifery, and care support teams.
What We're Looking For
* Registered Midwife with proven success in a senior leadership role.
* A leader who embodies authentic, value-based, and compassionate leadership, with the ability to inspire and support teams through change.
* Someone who thrives in a complex, multi-site environment and is passionate about equity, safety, and quality improvement.
Main duties of the job
You'll Be Working Alongside the Head of Nursing and CMG Senior Leadership Team to:
* Provide strategic and professional leadership for maternity and neonatal services, ensuring delivery of safe, high-quality, and personalised care.
* Lead the implementation of national and regional priorities, embedding continuous improvement and quality assurance across all pathways.
* Strengthen clinical governance frameworks, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and promoting a culture of learning and accountability.
* Champion workforce planning and development, supporting recruitment, retention, and resilience to meet service demands.
* Drive cultural transformation, fostering an inclusive, compassionate environment for staff and families.
* Oversee operational performance, including demand and capacity planning, escalation processes, and safety huddles to maintain safe staffing and flow.
* Collaborate across multi-site services, ensuring consistency, equity, and alignment with UHL's improvement journey and regional strategies.
About us
Our new strategy, developed with the support and feedback of colleagues, patients, and partners, is our compass for the next seven years (2023-2030).
We have four primary goals:
* high-quality care for all,
* being a great place to work,
* partnerships for impact,
* research and education excellence
And we will embed health equality in all we do - taking active steps to reduce the avoidable differences in healthcare that some people face, working in partnership with communities.
Our strategy is underpinned by new values and we will work to ensure they are an everyday reality for all:
* we are compassionate,
* we are proud,
* we are inclusive, and
* we are one team
This is an exciting moment as we look to the future with clarity on what we already do well and where we need to focus our energies to make an even bigger difference for the people we serve.
About the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust:
Job responsibilities
The Head of Midwifery will work with the Head of Nursing and Midwifery to take responsibility for line management of the deputy Heads of Midwifery, Consultant Midwives / Nurses, Clinical Nurse Specialists, and Matrons. This will involve developing professional practice and enacting key human resources policies.
The Heads of Midwifery and Nursing collectively are responsible for the oversight of over 500 midwives, nurses and support staff, the post holder will support the management team and CMG leads to plan develop, monitor and review the recruitment, deployment and management of nursing and midwifery staff in the CMG. Plus ensure there is robust oversight in supporting senior nurses and midwives in the implementation of methods, processes and systems for recruiting, deploying and managing people which support the organisations vision, values, strategies and objectives.
Please see job description/person specification for full details on the role.
Due to current operational demands and vacancies in key roles, an immediate or swift start would be ideal; however, this is not essential for the right candidate. Applicants are encouraged to discuss potential release arrangements with their line manager at the earliest opportunity.
At the conclusion of the secondment, there may be an opportunity to apply for a permanent Head of Midwifery role, subject to organisational requirements and through a competitive recruitment process. This provides a potential longer-term career opportunity for candidates considering a secondment from another organisation.
Person Specification
Training & Qualifications
* Registered Midwife
* First Degree
* Master's degree (or working towards) or equivalent level of experience in a highly specialised role
* Management training or evidence of equivalent competence
* Professional training/learning which demonstrates highly developed professional knowledge / continuing professional development
* Registered Nurse
Experience
* Extensive leadership and managerial experience with evidence of achievement acquired through at least 3 years' experience at a senior level.
* Broad range of clinical midwifery experience acquired through significant practice.
* Experience of staff management, able to persuade and influence and handle conflict.
* Strong evidence of service development and successful change management.
* Experience of risk management and quality assurance.
* Management of a large and diverse team.
* Public speaking.
* Research awareness skills.
* Leading cross boundary projects.
* Clinically sound experience and knowledge.
* Knowledge of risk management strategies.
* Knowledge of relevant speciality service provision.
* A sound understanding of the NHS, current legislation and national strategy.
* Knowledge of the key regulations, outcomes and assessment methods used by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in judgement of healthcare organisations.
* Knowledge of NMC rules governing practice.
* An understanding of the complexity of service delivery.
Service Improvement
* Multi-professional problem solving in teams.
* Strategy and policy development.
* Able to think and plan strategically, tactically and creatively.
* Identify necessary action and make recommendations and follow these through.
* Able to develop and maintain constructive relationships with all professional disciplines.
* Able to analyse complex clinical issues, identify necessary action and make recommendations and follow these through.
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.
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
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