Midwifery Manager

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust; Ashford; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in East Kent is seeking a Senior Midwifery Manager to oversee operational management within the maternity unit. The role involves ensuring high standards of care, leading change initiatives, and maintaining a positive culture in providing patient-centered services. Applicants should be registered midwives with leadership experience and a passion for quality improvement. This position offers the chance to significantly impact maternity services for the community.

Benefits

Relocation policy for eligible candidates

Flexible working options

Parking available at Trust sites

Qualifications

• Inspirational leader with commitment to patient care.
• Experience in operational management within maternity services.
• Knowledge of quality improvement initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the operational function of the maternity unit.
• Champion infection prevention and uphold care standards.
• Ensure effective staffing and resource management.

Skills

Leadership

Quality Improvement

Communication

Operational Management

Clinical Practice

Education

Registered Midwife

Job description

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Senior Midwifery Manager who is passionate about delivering high-quality care and an exceptional patient experience. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in the ongoing improvement and transformation of East Kent maternity services.

The successful candidate will have primary responsibility for the operational management of the maternity unit, ensuring safe, effective, and compassionate care. You will be a highly visible and accessible leader for women, their families, and our staff, modelling best practice and promoting a positive culture.

Your focus will include:

• Leading and supporting change as part of our maternity improvement programme
• Ensuring consistently high standards of clinical care
• Championing infection prevention and control
• Upholding cleanliness and the essential standards of care
• Embedding and sustaining quality improvement initiatives
• Ensuring all women and families are treated with dignity and respect

As a key member of the midwifery leadership team, you will also participate in the midwifery management on-call rota.

If you are an inspirational leader with a commitment to excellence and a desire to make a meaningful difference, we would welcome your application.

You will work closely and collaboratively with the wider senior midwifery management team to ensure effective communication systems are in place, promoting shared learning and driving quality improvements that support excellent standards of care and compliance with national and local requirements.

These pillars include:

• Clinical Practice
• Leadership
• Facilitating Learning
• Evidence, Research and Development

You will contribute to quality improvement in nursing and midwifery practice to enhance the standard of care provided to patients.

With approximately 3200 deliveries per year, the Maternity Department at WHH works closely with our sister site at the QEQM in Margate to provide high‑quality care to women across the beautiful Garden of England here in East Kent.

The post holder will play a pivotal role in the implementation and embedding of a Maternity High Dependency Unit within the Delivery Suite, as well as supporting and leading service improvements across the department to help make East Kent the maternity unit of choice for women. The unit also has a level 3 tertiary level 3 neonatal unit.

The unit includes a Maternity Triage department and a co‑located Midwifery‑Led Unit, providing a diverse and rewarding clinical environment.

Key duties:

• Ensure the maternity service strategy is clearly communicated to all Labour Ward staff and translated into effective operational practice.
• Work collaboratively with senior midwifery leaders, obstetric, neonatal and theatre teams to support a high‑quality, safe and responsive service.
• Manage allocated pay and non‑pay budgets effectively and use Trust information systems to monitor resource utilisation and plan for future service needs.
• Oversee the recruitment and induction of staff in line with Trust policies.
• Investigate complaints and serious incidents, monitor themes, and ensure learning and actions are implemented and shared with staff, senior management and the governance team.
• Contribute to continuous quality improvement in nursing and midwifery practice, using national maternity publications and evidence‑based recommendations to support change.
• Support and lead the implementation of actions identified in Kirkup (2022).
• Ensure midwives adhere to local clinical guidelines, policies, and procedures.
• Work with the governance team and HOM to ensure effective risk management, incident reporting and Datix oversight in line with Trust policy.
• Monitor infection control and cleaning standards, undertake gap analysis and implement improvements to maintain compliance.
• Ensure all intrapartum‑related KPIs and targets are achieved and elevate concerns where required.

Performance Management

• Monitor the quality of service delivery against local, Trust and national standards.
• Oversee the performance of all Band 7 midwives and work with the Professional Development Team to support all staff groups.
• Address poor performance using appropriate HR processes.
• Ensure robust communication systems exist between the post holder and the staff they manage.

Operational Management

• Design and implement effective systems of working that support delivery of the maternity service strategy and overcome operational constraints.
• Ensure safe staffing and effective deployment of all available resources across Labour Ward.
• Provide oversight of the operational function of the Delivery Suite, Maternity Triage and co‑located Midwifery‑Led Unit.
• Play a pivotal role in implementing and embedding the new Maternity High Dependency Unit within the Delivery Suite.

Professional Responsibilities

• Provide professional leadership to midwives, promoting a woman‑centred, culturally sensitive service.
• Promote meaningful involvement of service users in maternity service planning and delivery, working closely with the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP).
• Maintain professional registration, comply with NMC standards, and meet revalidation requirements.
• Act as an ambassador for the Trust in professional and public settings.
• Contribute to clinical governance developments alongside the line manager.

Expert Clinical Practice

• Lead midwives, nurses and support workers through coaching, mentoring and role‑modeling to achieve high standards of practice.
• Lead and facilitate multidisciplinary skills and drills sessions with the Obstetric Lead.
• Work with the Education Team to facilitate PROMPT training and support in‑situ simulation.
• Act as the midwifery clinical lead for the weekly multidisciplinary maternity case review meeting and ensure actions and learning are implemented and shared.

Leadership

• Provide credible and visible leadership to midwives and nurses.
• Support delivery of the Trust's nursing and midwifery strategy.
• Promote and support excellent communication with women, families and the multidisciplinary team.
• Work collaboratively with clinical teams and patient groups to shape services that meet the needs of the local population.
• Advocate for women, families and carers, providing expert clinical advice as required.
• Use evidence‑based practice to contribute to service development and pathway improvement.

• Maintain professional and clinical competence and take responsibility for ongoing development, including mandatory training.
• Ensure personal annual appraisal is completed and development objectives are met.
• Participate in education and training relevant to the role.

Staff and patients from across East Kent Hospitals are the feature of the biggest NHS recruitment drive in its 70 year history. https://www.ekhuft.nhs.uk/patients-and-visitors/work-here/

Filmed in William Harvey and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother hospitals, the 'We are the NHS' campaign highlights the extraordinary work that staff across EKHUFT do every single day. As one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a population of over one million people, EKHUFT was perfectly placed to demonstrate the care, cutting‑edge treatments, research, innovations and life‑saving operations that the campaign needed.

There are lots of great opportunities at East Kent Hospitals, where staff are caring and put patients first, innovation flourishes and you can develop your career. We're on an exciting journey of transformation. With a new Medical School at the centre of our community, a focus on research, clinical leadership and making our trust a rewarding and friendly place to work, there's never been a better time to join us. To find out more about east Kent visit our website at.

We'll close this job advert once we've received sufficient applications which may be before the closing date so please apply as soon as possible. We only accept online applications. If you have any difficulty with this please contact our Resourcing Team on 01227 866450 who are happy to help.

We have a relocation policy for eligible candidates, parking available at Trust sites but we encourage other options, like car sharing or public transport.

The Trust is committed to supporting flexible working to fulfil our pledge as part of The Trust's People Strategy to help staff to achieve a healthy work/life balance. Please speak with your Recruiting Manager for further information on how this can be managed alongside department expectations and requirements.

The ability to converse easily and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for all customer facing roles.

Most positions require a Disclosure and Barring check and will be exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Posts working regularly or unsupervised with children or vulnerable adults require an enhanced check.

Applicants for eligible roles requiring Tier 2 sponsorship must meet UK Visas and Immigration eligibility criteria.

We operate a no‑smoking policy on all our sites and grounds.

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference'. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day‑to‑day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.