Labour Ward Coordinator

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Chester; On-site; GBP 43,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Labour Ward Co-ordinator. The post requires a Senior Midwife with leadership experience to coordinate intra-partum services across Labour Ward, MLU, Triage and Induction of Labour.

You will lead a multidisciplinary team, ensure safe staffing and patient flow, and drive service improvements within the maternity unit. Applicants should have a minimum of five years post registration, NMC registration, and AL SO/PROMPT.

Qualifications

• Registered Midwife with current NMC registration.
• ALSO/PROMPT course.
• Minimum five years post registration.
• Ability to manage own workload, plan the work of others and work autonomously.
• Knowledge of professional, Public Health and NHS issues.
• Presentation/teaching skills.
• Knowledge of and participation in financial management within the clinical setting.

Responsibilities

• Provide shift-by-shift leadership and operational management of Labour Ward, MLU, Triage, Day Assessment and Induction of Labour rooms.
• Coordinate safe staffing levels and allocate resources according to clinical acuity and service demands.
• Maintain oversight of patient flow, bed capacity and escalation processes across maternity services.
• Lead and support the multidisciplinary team to ensure delivery of safe, effective, personalised care.
• Promote effective communication between midwifery, obstetric, neonatal and wider teams.
• Support and develop midwives, maternity support workers and students through leadership and supervision.

Skills

Leadership

Staff management

Interpersonal skills

Organisational skills

Ability to work under pressure

Education

Registered Midwife with NMC registration

ALSO/PROMPT course

Job description

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Labour Ward Coordinator

The closing date is 25 October 2026

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Senior Midwife to apply for the position of Labour Ward Co-ordinator. The Countess of Chester NHS Trust combines an obstetric led unit & MLU.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a dynamic & forward-thinking maternity team. We pride ourselves on our three core values to be safe, kind and effective. You will become a valued member of our maternity unit, be part of an innovative team that will help us to excel further to deliver our Trust objectives & values.

We are looking for an adaptable individual who has 5 years clinical experience, excellent interpersonal skills, works well as part of the multi-disciplinary team & has an ability to work under pressure, whilst moving the services forward.

The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate previous experience of leadership and staff management skills with recent experience in the intrapartum, Day unit, Triage and antenatal/ postnatal ward. The candidate would be able to co-ordinate safe, high-quality intra-partum care on a shift-by-shift basis.

Main duties of the job

Provide shift-by-shift leadership and operational management of the Labour Ward, MLU, Triage, Day Assessment and Induction of Labour rooms. Coordinate safe staffing levels and allocate resources according to clinical acuity and service demands. Maintain oversight of patient flow, bed capacity and escalation processes across maternity services. Lead and support the multidisciplinary team to ensure the delivery of safe, effective and personalised care. Act as a senior clinical resource, supporting complex decision-making and the escalation of clinical concerns. Promote effective communication between midwifery, obstetric, neonatal and wider multidisciplinary teams. Support and develop midwives, maternity support workers and students through leadership, supervision and role modelling. Ensure compliance with national maternity safety standards, Trust policies and clinical governance requirements. Lead safety huddles, incident management, risk identification and service improvement initiatives.

About us

The Trust's services are provided from three locations:

• The Countess of Chester Hospital: providing 473 general and acute beds.
• Ellesmere Port Hospital: providing 60 beds as a rehabilitation, intermediate and outpatient facility.
• Tarporley War Memorial Hospital: a base for community services which serve the local rural population.

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust employs 5,964 staff (headcount) to provide care and treatment to a population of over 400,000 people living in Chester and West Cheshire which includes Ellesmere Port and Neston as well as the Deeside area of Flintshire.

The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System. Due to its location on the border with North Wales, the Trust also works closely with the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

The Trust treats patients from England and some parts of Wales. During 2024/2025, there were approximately 643,000 patient attendances (inpatient, A&E, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery

Job responsibilities

See Job Description for further details.

Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values. An applicant guide to help and support you through your recruitment journey can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have a disability that meets the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010, and you can show that you meet the essential criteria described in the person specification for an available position, please answer YES to the question: Do you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme?

Please inform the team if you have any special support needs to be considered as part of the interview and selection processes.

The trust offers a Guaranteed Interview Scheme to any armed forces community applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

If a DBS is required for your role, you are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee applies which is payable to the DBS Service.Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costswill be deducted from their salary over the first three months of employment.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.

Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.

The Trust will not sponsor where the starting salary does not meet immigration rules

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered Midwife with current NMC registration
• ALSO/PROMPT course

Knowledge and Experience

• Minimum five years post registration
• Ability to manage own workload, plan the work of others and work autonomously
• Knowledge of professional, Public Health and NHS issues
• Presentation/ teaching skills
• Knowledge of and participation in financial management within the clinical setting

Skills

• Broad range of clinical experience
• Excellent organisational skills
• Demonstrate ability to manage complex emotional, mental and physical problems and situations.
• Understanding of quality and change in the clinical setting.

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.

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust