Clinical Lead - Neonatal Consultant

Central East Integrated Care Board; Shefford; On-site; GBP 114,000 - 151,000; Part time

Job summary

Central East Integrated Care Board in Shefford is seeking a Clinical Lead – Neonatal Consultant on a fixed-term 18-month contract. This part-time role (0.1 sessions per week) sits within NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant grade, offering senior clinical leadership across perinatal services.

The post focuses on governance, quality improvement, transformation and partnership work to improve outcomes for babies and families within the Central East region.

Qualifications

• Evidence of leading complex, system-wide quality improvement, transformation or service redesign with measurable impact.
• Strong knowledge of maternity or neonatal quality, safety, clinical governance, risk and relevant national standards.
• Experience interpreting complex clinical, performance and population health data to inform strategic decisions.
• Communication and influencing skills, with the ability to convey complex issues clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences.
• Evidence of effective partnership working and influencing across providers, commissioners, regional or national bodies and wider system partners.
• Experience of developing or implementing strategy, policy, commissioning priorities or business plans.
• Evidence of values-led, inclusive leadership, political awareness and sound judgement in complex or sensitive situations.
• Demonstrable commitment to reducing health inequalities, improving outcomes and incorporating service-user voice.
• Proven ability to create environments where people from all backgrounds feel respected, valued, and able to contribute fully.

Responsibilities

• Lead quality improvement, transformation or service redesign with measurable impact across the perinatal pathway.
• Provide senior clinical leadership to support quality and safety improvements.
• Advise the ICB and support providers on best practice and change management.
• Champion needs of families across the Central East community.
• Contribute to strategy, policy and commissioning priorities for perinatal services.

Skills

Quality improvement leadership

Neonatal leadership

Data interpretation

Stakeholder engagement

Policy/strategy development

Inclusive leadership

Equality and equity

Clinical governance

Senior clinical leadership

Obstetrics or neonatal expertise

Education

UK medical registration

Job description

Main area Neonatal Consultant Grade NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant Contract 18 months (Fixed Term) Hours Part time - 0.1 sessions per week (1 PA = 4 hours per week) Job ref 644-CE103-A

Employer Central East Integrated Care Board Employer type NHS Site Priory House Town Shefford Salary £113,565 - £150,569 per annum, pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 22/11/2026 23:59

Clinical Lead - Neonatal Consultant

NHS Medical & Dental: Consultant

We are Central East ICB, the new organisationentrusted with serving more than 3.5 million people across Bedfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Hertfordshire.

We are responsible for making sure that the NHS can continue to support our community – now, and in the future. Everything we do will be guided by our core purpose: to do what best serves the population of this area.

We promise to focus on what makes the biggest difference to people’s lives – acting earlier to help prevent illness and detect disease and making it easier for our community to get the health care they need, closer to home, whenever that’s possible.

Read about our priorities in our strategy document, Our Way .

Job overview

An exciting leadership opportunity in maternity transformation

We are seeking an obstetric and neonatal consultant to join our ICB, Senior Leadership Team on a fixed-term 18-months contract. This is a fantastic opportunity for a highly motivated individual to play a pivotal role in aligning clinical insight with system transformation, commissioning, quality improvement, and service delivery.

Main duties of the job

About the role:

This role will support CE ICB to provide senior clinical leadership that supports quality, safety, and transformation across the perinatal pathway. Perinatal transformation will be led by the Quality Improvement & Patient Team. This role will include advising the ICB and supporting individual providers when appropriate. This role will play a pivotal role in supporting understanding of best practice, benchmarking current position and advising on change. This role offers the opportunity to champion the needs of families across central East community.

Working for our organisation

We are committed to promoting equal opportunities to achieve equity of access, experience and outcomes and to recognising and valuing people’s differences. We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity; we see this as a strength and part of our founding mission, values and behaviours. We know through experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers patient outcomes.

We are committed to creating the best place to work, where your contribution is valued, your wellbeing is supported and all our colleagues can reach their full potential. We welcome and encourage applications from all areas of the community, who meet the criteria for the role, regardless of their protected characteristic. We work to ensure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible to everyone, including making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition and support with the recruitment process for people with lived experience.

We are happy to discuss flexible working options for all roles.

We operate a Carer friendly working environment that is supportive and inclusive. We actively encourage Carers to self-identify themselves.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and commit to shortlisting suitable applicants who meet the essential criteria for an interview. Please inform us of any adjustments you may require.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on this role please see the job description and person specification attached

Person specification

Experience

• evidence of leading complex, system-wide quality improvement, transformation or service redesign with measurable impact
• strong knowledge of maternity or neonatal quality, safety, clinical governance, risk and relevant national standards
• experience of interpreting complex clinical, performance and population health data to inform strategic decisions
• communication and influencing skills, with the ability to convey complex issues clearly and persuasively to diverse audiences
• evidence of effective partnership working and influencing across providers, commissioners, regional or national bodies and wider system partners
• experience of developing or implementing strategy, policy, commissioning priorities or business plans
• evidence of values-led, inclusive leadership, political awareness and sound judgement in complex or sensitive situations
• demonstrable commitment to reducing health inequalities, improving outcomes and incorporating service-user voice
• Proven ability to create environments where people from all backgrounds feel respected, valued, and able to contribute fully
• Applicants must demonstrate current professional registration and senior clinical expertise in obstetrics or neonatal care, with consultant-level experience or equivalent senior clinical leadership experience.

Please Note:

• This vacancy may close before the advertised closing date if a sufficient number of suitable applications are received. We recommend submitting your application early to avoid disappointment.
• Successfully shortlisted applicants will be contacted by email with an invitation to interview.
• Please note that we do not pay interview expenses, all costs are incurred by the candidate.

Notes on completion of applications:

• All reference requests will be made to your employer/previous employers' HR Department, covering the previous 3 years of activity.
• We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes.
• All eligible staff will need to have gained clearance through a standard/enhanced DBS check prior to working.
• All posts are subject to a probationary period.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.