Lead Midwife for Tobacco Dependency

Royal Berkshire; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 52,000 - 68,000; Full time

Job summary

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust seeks a Lead Midwife for Tobacco Dependence to provide visible leadership and evidence-based guidance to women and families in line with current public health guidance.

The role partners with the multidisciplinary team and local stakeholders to improve engagement with tobacco cessation services, develop training, and ensure high-quality, person-centred care across maternity services.

Qualifications

• Post-registration midwifery experience with recent exp. at band 6 or above.
• Evidence of CPD relevant to specialty at level 7 or higher.
• Experience in supporting behaviour change.
• NCSCT Level 2 Smoking Cessation Training.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and deliver tobacco dependency services within maternity.
• Develop and implement new service initiatives to reduce smoking in pregnancy.
• Manage, monitor and oversee referrals for maternity tobacco dependency and related services.
• Share specialist knowledge with other groups/agencies.
• Ensure high quality, person-centred care addressing complex health needs of women and families.
• Provide visible leadership and professional engagement to staff.

Skills

Leadership

Data collection

Analysis

Reporting

Behaviour change support

Job description

The Lead Midwife for Tobacco Dependence will provide visible leadership, evidence-based information and education to women and their families, in line with current public health guidance.

Working in partnership with service users, the multi-disciplinary team, and local stakeholders to improve and protect health and well being, to improve the health of the most deprived families (Department of Health 2013). Key work will focus upon improving outcomes of women with the single biggest modifiable risk factors for pregnancy and developing and implementing processes to secure a year-on-year increase in engagement of smokers with the Treating Tobacco Dependency Team.

Main duties of the job

Provide a visible, accessible, and professional presence, acting as a role model by providing leadership and support within the midwifery and multidisciplinary teams.

Develop in house training & education programmes and implement strategies. Regularly delivering in-house to ensure health professionals are adequately trained to support women and their families with health improvement measures.

Supporting maternity advisors with regard to their role in smoking cessation and promotion of smoke free homes.

Linking with the Stop Smoking Service providers to ensure the approach to smoking cessation related professional development is consistent with that taken in other areas of the Trust.

Managerial and professional accountability for the effective delivery of care for women around tobacco dependence in accordance with national; regional and local guidelines.

Represent RBFT at local, regional, and national level when appropriate, influencing service development in relation to public health. The post holder will work closely with the Senior Clinical Midwifery Management Team to further develop related pathways and guidelines to assure appropriate and responsive care.

Monitor and report on compliance and performance of all tobacco dependency realted services and issues. Ensure Tobacco service meets national targets and in-house governance.

About us

Diversity makes us interesting... Inclusion is what will make us outstanding.

Inequality exists and the journey to eliminate it is not easy. Every step we take will be a purposeful step forward to deliver a truly inclusive culture where all our people are enabled to deliver outstanding care, where background is no barrier, and where everyone can be their authentic self and we truly represent our patient community.

We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants where possible. All applicants who have a disability and meet the minimum criteria for the post can opt for a guaranteed interview.

We support flexible working wherever possible, with requests considered on an individual basis taking into account service requirements, operational needs and the requirements of the role.

Our primary method of communication will be via email. However, if you would prefer to be contacted through a different method, please inform the recruitment team.

Job responsibilities

Support the coordination and delivery of the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation maternity tobacco dependency services, Smoke Free Hospitals and other related projects and initiatives

Aid in the development of new service initiatives related to reducing smoking in pregnancy in the community and hospital settings.

Manage, monitor and oversee referrals for the maternity tobacco dependency and treatment service. This includes the maternity in-house, community booking referrals and any other antenatal or postnatal referrals.

Share specialist knowledge with other groups/agencies.

Ensure the delivery of high quality, person-centred, safe and compassionate care, which addresses the complex and changing health and well-being needs of women, birthing people and their families.

Provides visible leadership by being accessible to women and families, ensuring clear communication, addressing concerns promptly, and fostering trust through professional and compassionate engagement.

Act as an expert practitioner and role model demonstrating high levels of critical thinking and analytical skills to effectively manage clinical and operational issues within complex and rapidly changing situations. Provides high levels of support and guidance to staff, to empower and enable them to develop confidence and competence to manage complex situations.

Ensure robust rostering processes which meet service needs and are within financial budget, escalating risks appropriately.

Support the recruitment, retention and management of staff conduct and performance, in line with Trust policies, upholding high standards of staff performance and engagement, as part of a positive and well-led specialist team.

Manage finances in line with Trust policies, ensuring all expenditure stays within allocated limits and supports safe, effective patient care.

Be responsible for ensuring a safe learning environment for staff and students which promotes personal and professional development to maximise staff potential, capability and development of the specialism.

Be responsible for driving performance against key performance indicators, leading quality improvement and actively contributing to service development, in line with Trust and national priorities. Responsible for ensuring compliance with all relevant statutory, regulatory and local policies and procedures.

Act as an exemplar, utilising advanced interpersonal skills to manage the provision and receipt of information, which is highly complex, sensitive or contentious in nature, to a wide range of audiences, ensuring effective communication and understanding.

Person Specification

Education and training

• 5 years post-registration experience with recent expereince at band 6 or above
• Evidence of CPD relevant to speciality through academic study at level 7 and short course

Experience

• Experience in supporting behaviour change
• NCSCT Level 2 Smoking Cessation Training

Leadership

• Experience in data collection, analysis and reporting
• Experience in Trust quality improvement framework

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.