Deputy Associate Director of Midwifery: Lead for Quality and Safety

NHS; London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player in healthcare is seeking a Deputy Associate Director of Midwifery to lead quality and safety initiatives. This role is pivotal in ensuring compliance with clinical governance standards and enhancing patient care across multiple maternity sites. The ideal candidate will possess a strong leadership style and a passion for governance, driving forward operational and strategic agendas. Join a forward-thinking team committed to delivering exceptional care and fostering an inclusive environment where every staff member thrives. This is an exciting opportunity to make a meaningful impact in a dynamic healthcare setting.

Qualifications

• Recent experience in clinical practice related to midwifery.
• Experience in leading change and problem solving in clinical settings.
• Evidence in delivering operational and strategic performance.

Responsibilities

• Lead the multi-disciplinary governance team for maternity services.
• Ensure compliance with quality standards in clinical governance.
• Work with multidisciplinary professionals to improve patient safety.

Skills

Leadership

Interpersonal Skills

Decision-Making

Analytical Skills

Communication Skills

Problem Solving

Education

Midwife NMC Registered Practitioner

Degree in Midwifery

Masters level study in a Health Related Subject

Project Management/Service Improvement

Professional Midwifery Advocate

Job description

Deputy Associate Director of Midwifery: Lead for Quality and Safety

We are one of three maternity sites, under the Barts Health Trust, delivering approximately 5,200 births annually to a diverse population. Our dedicated team includes over 200 midwives, 20 consultants, and a multi-professional staff of anaesthetists, sonographers, and neonatal experts.

The post holder will lead the multi-disciplinary governance team, ensuring the effective implementation of a comprehensive and systematic approach to clinical governance. They must understand the principles of safety, quality assurance, and the governance framework pertinent to maternity services, with the ability to analyse national standards and develop action plans. Knowledge of relevant quality improvement and assurance principles is essential.

Close working and liaison with multidisciplinary professionals to ensure triangulation of information and intelligence across the service, division, and trust will be fundamental to support our teams and deliver our best service in a busy multi-site maternity service.

As an exceptional leader with in-depth knowledge of governance, assurance mechanisms, and national standards, you will inspire confidence and innovation among our incredible workforce.

The applicant will have a passion for governance and gold standard care within maternity services and be able to provide statutory and regulatory assurance regarding the quality and safety of the care we deliver.

Main duties of the job

The primary aim of the role is to provide assurance that the maternity services have established guidelines, processes and procedures that facilitates ongoing plan for consistent compliance with all locally and nationally agreed quality standards based on clinical governance framework. These are in the domains of clinical audit, effectiveness, risk management, education, training and research. The post holder will:

*Lead on monitoring standards of a range of clinical governance, clinical effectiveness, and patient safety activity, in liaison with other multidisciplinary professionals and functional heads within the Maternity and Quality and Safety Team with direct line management of these teams across all sites. Work closely with the Associate Director of Midwifery and Nursing, the Clinical Delivery Group triumvirate, and the Trust Governance Team.

*Work in partnership with the senior obstetric and midwifery team to assist in driving forward the wider Maternity leadership, operational, governance and strategic agendas.

The role will provide oversight of the strategic and operational delivery of all aspects of quality assurance pertinent to the business of clinical governance in maternity that is safety centric, as well as demonstrating that good quality governance is understood and practised across all professional groups within the maternity service.

About us

Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain's leading healthcare providers.

The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.

Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.

We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.

Job responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.

Person Specification

Experience

• Recent experience in clinical practice related to post.
• Experience of midwifery practice in hospital and community settings.
• High degree of professional development.
• Previous experience of clinical research or audit.
• Experience in setting and achieving objectives/KPI's.
• Experience in writing reports/presenting Information internally/externally in a timely manner to a range of Senior Managers.
• Demonstrable experience of leading change and problem solving in clinical settings, patient care and experience.
• Evidence and experience in delivering midwifery operational and strategic performance including strategic safe staffing and skill mix reviews, infection control, risk management, complaints and adverse incidents across a range of services.
• Experience of working on own initiative and as part of a team working with local and external terms, acting as an ambassador of a speciality.
• Previous publication of own work.
• Previous experience of working with pre and post registration students of multiple disciplines.

Skills

• Able to demonstrate effective leadership style that is , able to build confidence / motivate staff including the ability to encourage self-initiative, good practice and completion of projects within team environments.
• Well developed interpersonal skills with the ability to lead, influence and negotiate with staff at all levels internally and externally.
• Advanced decision-making skills with the ability to think, plan and deliver strategically
• Ability to analyse complex clinical issues/problems, identify necessary actions and make recommendations in order to follow these through
• Ability to write reports in short, changing timescales whilst subject to frequent interruptions requiring immediate responses.
• Ability to work on own initiative and organise workload, allocating work as necessary, working to tight and often changing deadlines.
• Demonstrates sound judgement in the absence of clear guidelines or precedent, seeking advice as necessary form more senior management when appropriate.
• Possess excellent written and oral presentation and organisational skills.
• Ability to influence, motivate and lead teams of staff in an open and transparent management style.
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills.
• Proven track record in staff management / supervision / coordination at a senior nursing level.
• Effective advanced communication skills, ability to produce and comment on complex reports, policies, protocols and guidelines.
• Effective advanced communication skills, ability to produce and comment on complex reports, policies, protocols and guidelines.

Knowledge

• Possess expertise in the concept of Clinical Governance, Quality Improvement and evidence-based practice associate with the portfolio.
• Can demonstrate working knowledge of relevant statue, intercollegiate guidance, literature, research and legislation relating to quality and safety of patient care, with a clear understanding and knowledge of National Policy directives/ changes associated with nursing / midwifery practice.
• Knowledge of and use of computers in health care.
• Can demonstrate a working knowledge of Health & Safety legislation,
• Able to think strategically and translate vision for local service into delivery by collaboration and partnership.

Qualifications

• Midwife NMC Registered Practitioner
• Degree in Midwifery Masters level study in a Health Related Subject (or working towards)
• Evidence of recent post registration continuous professional development / qualification
• Project Management/Service Improvement
• Qualification Professional Midwifery Advocate

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.