Breastfeeding Support Service Assistant

Nhs Scotland; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 33,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 35 days + public holidays

NHS pension scheme

Incremental salary progression

Sick leave progression

Job summary

NHS Lanarkshire is seeking a dedicated role to support pregnant and breastfeeding women, mentoring volunteers and delivering high quality care across hospital, community and home settings. You will work within a multidisciplinary team to promote initiation and continuation of breastfeeding, especially in the first six weeks after birth.

The post holder will mentor volunteers and work across hospital, community and clinic settings, empowering women to give infants the best possible start in life

Qualifications

• SVQ III in Healthcare or working towards it or equivalent experience.
• Breastfeeding training or willingness to undertake training.
• Experience of working with volunteers or volunteering.
• Experience of working with breastfeeding women.
• A driving licence (UK/EU/EEA) with access to a car and ability to work flexible hours.

Responsibilities

• Support pregnant and breastfeeding women and families to promote breastfeeding in hospital, community and home settings.
• Work within a MDT to deliver high quality care and follow guidance from the management team.
• Mentor volunteers ante and postnatally across hospital, community and home settings.
• Work with professionals and partner agencies to support breastfeeding initiation and sustainment.

Skills

Breastfeeding support

Volunteer coordination

Driving licence

Education

SVQ III in Healthcare

Job description

University Hospital Wishaw

About The Organisation

Here at NHS Lanarkshire, we put the patient at the heart of everything we do. Each colleague within the organisation plays a key role in how we deliver our healthcare services.

We proudly serve a population of 655,000 across rural and urban communities in both North and South Lanarkshire. NHS Lanarkshire is comprised of Acute Services (which currently provide hospital based services over 3 main sites), Corporate & Property & Support Services, North and South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnerships which provide integrated primary healthcare and social care services to local communities and surrounding areas.

The Role

• To work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to support pregnant and breastfeeding women and their families throughout NHS Lanarkshire, to promote the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding, especially within the first six weeks following birth.
• The post holder will deliver high quality care in accordance with guidance given and work delegated by their management team.
• The post holder will mentor volunteers. This mentoring/support will take place ante and postnatally, in the hospital, community and at home, to empower women to breastfeed, therefore giving infants the best possible start in life.
• The post holder will work across several settings including the hospital, the family home, community and clinic settings, and work with other professionals and partner agencies public health nurses and health improvement staff.

The working pattern for this role is mainly days any 3 days out of 7, with occasional evening work

In this key role, you will:

• Assist in delivery of high quality care to meet womens needs.
• Assist clinicians within a variety of clinical settings as required.
• Following appropriate training, the post holder will carry out tasks as delegated by a registered midwife.
• Support families by providing information and support with the initiation and sustainment of breastfeeding. This will include adherence to the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative best practice standards.

What You'll Bring:

• SVQ III in Healthcare or working towards or equivalent experience working in the role.
• Breastfeeding training or willingness to undertake
• Experience of working with volunteers or experience of volunteering.
• Experience of working with breastfeeding women
• A driving licence is required; this must be a full UK/EU/EEA licence, access to a car & ability to work flexible hours

What we Offer

As a valued employee of NHS Lanarkshire, you can enjoy an extensive range of benefits including:

• Annual Leave - 35 days including public holidays
• Generous NHS pension scheme
• Annual incremental salary progression
• Paid sick leave increasing with length of service
• NHS discounts and more.

NHS Lanarkshire is dedicated to building a diverse workforce where everyone can thrive, develop, and succeed based on their skills, knowledge, and talent - regardless of race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or care experience* or any other dimension that can be used to differentiate people from one another.

*Care experienced applicants include those who have lived with foster parents, kinship carers, or in residential/secure childrens settings.

AI tools like ChatGPT or Copilot can be great for planning and preparing your application, but your answers must be your own.

• Show us the real you: Your application should reflect your skills, experience, and motivations authentically.
• Use AI wisely: Its fine to use AI for ideas or to check spelling and grammar, but dont let it write your answers.
• Why this matters: Applications that rely on AI-generated content may be withdrawn. By applying, you confirm your responses are based on your own knowledge and achievements.

Tip: Think of AI as a helper, not a substitute. We want to understand you, not an AI tool.

Interested?

Full details about the role are provided in the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

Please review our which explain key information including closing dates, amendments, righttowork requirements, sponsorship eligibility and important points to be aware of before submitting your application

You can also learn more about working with NHS Lanarkshire by viewing our Information Pack

Unless otherwise stated, the deadline for applications is 23:59 hours on the closing date. Please note, CVs will not be accepted.

- Urban Practice