Head of Midwifery and Neonatal Services

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Cricklade; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 92,000; Full time

Job summary

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced Head of Midwifery and Neonatal Services to provide strategic and operational leadership across perinatal services at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

The role oversees 3,800 births per year with an 18-cot Neonatal Unit, driving quality, safety, patient experience and governance in collaboration with the Director of Midwifery and Neonatal Services and the wider Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire system.

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in perinatal services.
• Experience delivering midwifery or nursing practice improvements.
• Ability to deputise for senior leaders and manage governance.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational leadership across perinatal services.
• Ensure delivery of high standards of care and patient experience.
• Contribute to governance, safety reporting, and quality improvement.
• Lead divisional management and on-call rota.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Change management

Communication

Education

Bachelor/Master in Midwifery or Nursing

Masters level study

Project Management qualification

Job description

Main area Midwifery Grade Band 8c Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (On call duties.) Job ref 249-8272523-2

Employer Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Great Western Hospital Town Swindon Salary £79,504 - £91,609 Per annum, Pro Rata Salary period Yearly Closing 14/11/2026 23:59

Head of Midwifery and Neonatal Services

Band 8c

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a unique organisation, serving as the sole integrated provider in the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire system. Our scope extends beyond boundaries as we oversee adult community services in Swindon and provide acute care from the Great Western Hospital.

Our 5,500 staff have 1.2m patient contacts a year, with 13,000 operations carried out in our Theatres, around 4,000 babies born, and our emergency attendances are now well over 100,000 per year. Those numbers only tell part of our story about what an exciting time it is to join Great Western Hospitals.

We are cultivating a culture that fosters our ambitions, prioritising equality, diversion, inclusion, wellbeing, and leadership. We aim to create an environment where every member of our team can truly thrive.

Job overview

Head of Midwifery and Neonatal Services

Are you an experienced and passionate leader in perinatal services ready to take the next step in your career? Great Western Hospital is seeking a dynamic Head of Midwifery and Neonatal Services to provide operational leadership across our perinatal services.

With 3,800 births per year and an 18-cot Local Neonatal Unit, our service plays a vital role in delivering high-quality, safe, and compassionate care to families in Swindon and beyond. This role is crucial in supporting the Director of Midwifery and Neonatal Services, ensuring compliance with national strategy, and driving quality improvements. You will also work collaboratively with colleagues across the Bath, Swindon, and Wiltshire Maternity and Neonatal System, helping to shape the future of regional perinatal care.

If you’re a strategic leader with a strong background in midwifery or neonatal services and a passion for service development, we’d love to hear from you. Join us and make a real impact on the future of maternity and neonatal care.

Main duties of the job

This is a senior leadership role in which the post holder will be responsible for operational direction and provision of management of midwifery and Neonatal services.

They will ensure delivery of consistently high standards of care, patient experience and satisfaction, and ensure that divisional and corporate objectives in relation to the workforce, service delivery, quality improvement, clinical quality, safety, and leadership are carried out.

The responsibility includes covering for board assurance and quality committee reports and presenting them in the absence of the DoMN.
The post holder will develop, maintain, and provide assurance on clinical and operational governance systems and processes, CQC standards, clinical policies and procedures, clinical quality, health and safety, patient experience, complaint systems and resolution, incident reporting and resolution, contractual quality measures and safeguarding.

The post holder will act as a key member of the Divisional Management Team contributing fully to the development delivery and achievement of the group's objectives with the ability to deputise for the Director
of Midwifery and Neonatal Services as required.

The post holder will participate in a senior manager on call rota for maternity and neonatal services.

Working for our organisation

We are proud to be part of BSW Hospitals Group – a formal partnership between Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. With a combined workforce of over 17, 600 colleagues, and budget of 1.6 billion the Group is united by a common purpose to deliver the best possible care to over 1 million people.

We are creating a health and care system that works with the people we care for, reducing the differences people currently face in access, experience and outcomes, improving the experience of our colleagues and tackling shared challenges like sustainability and finances. Every improvement we make across our Group will be guided by what creates the greatest benefit for our colleagues, our patients, our communities and our partners.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post holder will assist the Director of Midwifery and Neonatal Services (DoMN) in the development of the professional midwifery and neonatal nursing agenda to achieve consistency of practice, high standards of care and innovation with a strong patient safety focus.

Please see attached the full Job Description

Person specification

Qualifications

• Midwife or Nurse NMC Registered Practitioner
• Degree in Midwifery or Nursing
• 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

Experience

• Significant experience in a senior midwifery or nursing position at Band 8a or above and currently working in a leadership role
• Experience of midwifery practice in hospital and community settings
• High degree of professional development
• Can demonstrate expertise in midwifery or nursing practice
• 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
• 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
• 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 in setting and achieving objectives/KPI’s
• Previous publication of own work
• Previous experience of clinical research or audit
• Previous experience of working with pre and post registration students of multiple disciplines

Certificate of Sponsorship - Sponsorship can only be offered where the role meets the relevant eligibility criteria, including minimum salary requirements. Please note that not all roles within the organisation are eligible for sponsorship. Eligibility for this role includes:

• Current right to work in the UK, subject to verification

Meeting the Skilled Worker visa criteria, where applicable

From 4 April 2024, UK immigration policy changes increased the minimum salary levels required for Skilled Worker visas. Further information is available on the UK Visas and Immigration website.

Current employees should be aware that this position is advertised as a Great Western Hospitals position and appointment ends any TUPE protection.

Candidates are responsible for covering the cost of their own DBS check if required: £21.50 for a Standard DBS check, recoverable from the first pay, or £49.50 for an Enhanced DBS check, divided and recoverable over the initial two pay periods. Payment for DBS checks for bank posts must be settled prior to commencement. Apprentices are exempt from DBS payment.

We are committed to supporting our staff in achieving a healthy work-life balance through flexible work arrangements. Upon joining the Trust, you have the right to request flexible working, with an unlimited number of requests allowed.

Upon acceptance of a job offer, your information will be transferred to the national NHS Electronic Staff Records System. All communication regarding your application will be conducted via email; please ensure to check your junk/spam folders as emails may occasionally be filtered there.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer; all applicants who have a disability can opt to be considered under the guaranteed interview scheme, which means that, providing they meet the minimum essential criteria for the post, they will be offered an interview. We are also proudly accredited as a Veteran Aware organisation and have signed The Armed Forces Covenant.

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.

Name Kat Simpson Job title Director of Midwifery and Neonatal Services Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07841122744