Infant Feeding Specialist Health Visitor

NHS; City Of London; On-site; GBP 56,000 - 64,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading health care provider seeks a part-time Health Visiting band 7 Infant Feeding Specialist in London for an 8-month fixed-term contract. The role involves supporting breastfeeding initiatives, delivering training, and promoting effective collaborations within the community. Applicants should be registered health visitors with experience in breastfeeding promotion. A clean driving license and access to transport are essential.

Qualifications

• Evidence of supporting and enabling mothers to breastfeed.
• Understanding of health benefits of breastfeeding.
• Experience in providing ongoing professional development.

Responsibilities

• Support practitioners with complex infant feeding cases.
• Deliver UNICEF Baby Friendly training.
• Lead audit programs for maintaining Baby Friendly accreditation.

Skills

Breastfeeding promotion

Training delivery

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Education

Registered Health Visitor

UNICEF breastfeeding course or equivalent

Certified Lactation Consultant

Tools

Word

Excel

RIO

Job description

Overview

Health Visiting band 7 Infant Feeding Specialist – Health Visitor. This 8‑month fixed term/secondment post supports infant feeding within the Lewisham Health Visiting service and carries a caseload as a senior practitioner. This position is fixed term until end March 2026.

We are looking for an experienced and innovative Infant Feeding Specialist Health Visitor within the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. The Health Visiting Service is accredited by UNICEF UK as Baby Friendly Level 3 and was commended for the high standard of care provided to pregnant women and new mothers.

We have other specialist posts in the service, including Perinatal Specialist Health Visitor and Domestic Violence Specialist Health Visitor. As the infant feeding specialist, you will promote effective working relationships with colleagues, GPs, other professionals, and statutory and voluntary agencies, and you will organise and deliver training to all grades of clinical and non‑clinical staff.

A clean driving license, access to a car or alternative transport (e.g., bicycle) is an essential requirement for this post.

Details

Band: Band 7

Salary: £56,276 to £63,176 a year per annum pro rata incl. HCAS

Contract: Fixed term

Duration: 8 months (fixed term/secondment) – end March 2026

Working pattern: Part-time

Location: Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, Community, London (BR1 5EP)

Responsibilities

• Be a resource for practitioners and support them when working with complex infant feeding cases.
• Promote effective working relationships with all health care professionals and agencies.
• Organise and deliver UNICEF Baby Friendly training and assessment of Health Visiting staff breastfeeding skills with the management team and clinical specialist educator.
• Lead the audit programme for the Health Visiting service to maintain Baby Friendly accreditation Level 3.
• Ensure robust working practices deliver on strategic level outcomes.
• Support Children’s centre and family hub colleagues in supporting feeding choices for women and families.
• Plan and organise workload around the infant feeding strategy for Lewisham and Greenwich.
• Act as a role model and provide support to colleagues, team managers, and neighbourhood health visitor leads.
• Lead initiatives to motivate health visiting teams across Lewisham and implement new practices as appropriate.
• Organise and deliver level 3 breastfeeding training and assessment of staff in collaboration with Public Health and Clinical Practice Educator.
• Lead ongoing delivery of breastfeeding hubs across the borough and contribute to health inequalities work with multi‑agency partners.

Qualifications and Skills

Essential

• Registered Health Visitor
• UNICEF breastfeeding course or equivalent
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• Evidence of supporting and enabling mothers to breastfeed
• Evidence of specialist skills underpinned by theory
• Experience of breastfeeding promotion

Desirable

• 997/998 or equivalent
• Certified Lactation Consultant

Knowledge and Experience

• Understanding of local, national, and international strategies relevant to breastfeeding
• Understanding of the health benefits of breastfeeding and related health inequalities
• Good IT skills including email, Word and Excel
• Knowledge of audit and research; knowledge of RIO (desirable)

• Significant NHS community setting experience and multidisciplinary working
• Experience of community development, project management, and delivering training and supervision (desirable)

Other

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1975 and associated disclosures. Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For more information see the NHS Careers website.