Modern Matron

Transformation Unit; Newcastle upon Tyne; Remote; GBP 58,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellbeing Hub and health programme

Flexible working opportunities

Generous annual leave and pension

Lease car and electronics scheme

Professional development and training

Savings scheme via salary sacrifice

Job summary

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Modern Matron (NHS AfC Band 8a) to provide visible clinical and operational leadership across maternity services, working with the Head of Midwifery and multidisciplinary teams to ensure safe, high‑quality care for women, babies and families.

You will lead on governance, workforce management, and continuous improvement, promoting equity and personalised care while supporting staff development across Northumbria's local hospitals and

Qualifications

• Registered Midwife with UK registration and midwifery qualification.
• Post‑registration management and leadership training completed.
• Evidence of teaching and mentorship capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Provide visible clinical and operational leadership across maternity services.
• Lead on workforce management, governance and patient experience.
• Support staff development and drive continuous improvement.

Education

Registered Midwife

PP126/127 / D32/33 or equivalent teaching qualification

Diploma /Degree in Midwifery

Management Course

Leadership Course

Registered Mentor

First Level Degree in midwifery

NLS Course

ALSO Course

Preparation Course /Willingness to undertake

Job description

Main area Midwifery Grade NHS AfC: Band 8a Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (Flexible working - 9 day fortnight (optional)) Job ref 319-8354829JA-A

Employer Northumbria Healthcare - NHCT Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site North Tyneside General Hospital Town Newcastle upon Tyne Salary £57,528 - £64,750 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 19/11/2026 23:59

Modern Matron

NHS AfC: Band 8a

Do you want to work in one of the best performing NHS organisations in England? Work for an organisation that was voted the best acute and combined acute and community trust in the country, based on the experience of its staff (NHS Staff Survey 2022). Work in an organisation that supports its staff and focuses on staff experience as much as it does the experience of its patients? You can live and breathe in an area that has the cleanest air, cost effective living, great nightlife, some of the best schools with a wealth of history available on your doorstep. Sound too good to be true? Well it isn’t, this is what you get when you work for Northumbria Healthcare and, this is…the Northumbria Way!

What the Northumbria Way means for you:

• Extensive staff health and well-being programme including access to our specialist Wellbeing Hub
• Support and connection through a variety of Staff Network groups
• A range of flexible working opportunities
• Generous annual leave and pension scheme
• Access to lease car and home electronics scheme (qualifying criteria applies)
• Opportunities to improve your professional development through our vast training programmes
• Access to savings scheme via salary sacrifice with Northumberland Community Bank

We work closely with Kids First Nurseries that are based within our trust grounds at Wansbeck, North Tyneside and Hexham hospitals to care for our Trust family's children, they offer care for children from 6 weeks old up to 4 years. There are a number of funding options run by the government to help working parents, including Early Years Funding and Tax Free Childcare.

Flexible working offers choice in where, when, and how we work, ensuring patients remain at the heart of all we do. It’s open to everyone, and we aim to find solutions that work for both you and the organisation. All arrangements must be reasonable and balanced to maintain safe and effective patient care.

We are proud to be one of the country’s top performing NHS trusts – rated ‘outstanding’ overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We provide a range of health and care services to support more than 500,000 people living in Northumberland and North Tyneside across the largest geographical area of any NHS Trust in England. Our teams deliver care from hospitals, a range of community venues and people’s homes. Our hospitals include a specialist emergency care hospital (the first of its kind in England), three general hospitals and community hospitals. In the community we deliver a wide range of community and public health services.

We lead in innovation and quality, having opened the Northumbria Healthcare Manufacturing and Innovation Hub during the Covid-19 pandemic and have recently launched our Community Promise – a pledge to make a real impact not just in healthcare but on the wider factors that affect people’s lives, such as education, employment and the economy.

If Northumbria Healthcare sounds like somewhere you could belong we would love to hear from you. Visit our website to catch up on our latest news.

Whilst Northumbria Healthcare are a highly innovative organisation, the use of Third Party Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents a risk to the integrity of our Recruitment & Selection processes. If you use AI, and it poses a risk to the integrity your individual recruitment process, we may withdraw your application at any stage of the process.

Job overview

The Maternity Matron post is a senior clinical leader responsible for providing visible, professional and operational leadership across maternity services. Working closely with the Head of Midwifery, obstetric, neonatal and wider multidisciplinary teams, the post holder will lead on the delivery of safe, effective and compassionate care, ensuring that women, babies and families receive high-quality services that meet national standards and local priorities.

The Matron will be accountable for maintaining clinical quality, patient safety, governance, workforce management and patient experience across designated maternity areas. They will support staff development, promote a positive culture of continuous improvement, and lead initiatives that enhance service performance, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and recommendations from national maternity reviews. The role requires strong leadership, experience in change management, and a commitment to improving outcomes and reducing inequalities for women and babies.

Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy prior to the closing date once the required number of suitable applications have been received.

Main duties of the job

The Modern Matron provides senior, visible, and compassionate clinical leadership across maternity services, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, high ‑ quality and personalised care for women, birthing people, babies, and families. The post holder will lead and support community and rural midwifery-led unit teams to maintain excellence in clinical standards, operational performance, and patient experience.

Working collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team, the Midwifery Matron ensures that services are responsive to women’s needs and aligned with national maternity priorities and local service objectives. The role promotes a culture of learning, continuous improvement, professional accountability, and staff wellbeing, acting as a positive role model and clinical expert who drives innovation and delivers equitable, evidence ‑ based maternity care.

Working for our organisation

We manage three major locality hospitals at North Tyneside, Wansbeck and Hexham, plus a number of smaller community hospitals and clinics from Tynemouth to Berwick on Tweed, covering one of the largest geographical areas of any NHS trust in the country. Leading in innovation and quality – opening a state of the art Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, the first of its kind in England. Do you want to work in one of the best performing NHS organisations in England? Work in an organisation that supports its staff and focuses on staff experience as much as it does the experience of its patients? You can live and breathe in an area that has the cleanest air, cost effective living, great nightlife, some of the best schools with a wealth of history available on your doorstep. Sound too good to be true? Well it isn’t, this is what you get when you work for Northumbria Healthcare, this is the Northumbria Way! Please read ‘applicant guidance notes’ before submitting your application.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Provide visible clinical and operational leadership across maternity services, promoting a culture of safety, compassion, accountability and continuous improvement.

Lead and support maternity teams to deliver high-quality, evidence‑based care that improves outcomes and experiences for women, babies and families.

Maintain oversight of clinical quality, patient safety, risk management, infection prevention and patient experience within designated areas.

Ensure effective implementation of national maternity strategies, regulatory standards and local policies.

Lead on workforce management, including recruitment, retention, absence management, rostering and workforce planning.

Support staff wellbeing, professional development, clinical supervision and leadership development.

Monitor service performance, quality indicators and key performance metrics, taking action to address areas of concern.

Investigate incidents, complaints and patient safety events, ensuring lessons learned are identified, shared and embedded into practice.

Work collaboratively with midwifery, obstetric, neonatal and corporate teams to drive service improvement and transformation programmes.

Ensure effective management of resources and budgets, promoting efficient use of staffing and equipment.

Champion equity, inclusion and personalised care, working to reduce health inequalities and improve maternity outcomes for all women and families.

Contribute to strategic planning and service development across the maternity service.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Registered Midwife
• PP126/127 / D32/33 or equivalent teaching qualification
• Diploma /Degree in Midwifery
• Management Course
• Leadership Course
• Registered Mentor
• First Level Degree in midwifery
• NLS Course
• ALSO Course
• Preparation Course /Willingness to undertake

Applicants who are members of the Armed Forces, those who have a disability that requires support in the work place (two ticks pledge) and those who have been looked after by the care system as a child or young person (for example, in foster care, children's homes, kinship or local authority care) who meet the essential criteria will be interviewed under the Trust's interview guarantee scheme.

We recognise the positive value of diversity and inclusion and are committed to a workforce that is diverse, equal and inclusive. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME people are currently under‑represented in our workforce as well as other under‑represented groups such as LGBT+ and disabled candidates. We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, a Stonewall Diversity Champion, we have a Gold award from the Defense Recognition Scheme, and we are delighted to support Apprenticeships, Age Posi+ive and are a mindful employer.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to attend interview please make the recruitment team aware as soon as possible by calling our HR Recruitment Team on 0191 203 1415 option 2.

Applicants who meet the Fit and Proper Person Requirements (FPPR) will require additional pre‑employment checks in line with CQC and NHS England statutory guidance.

Make sure to read the ‘applicant guidance notes’ before submitting your application and make sure you know everything there is to know before joining our fantastic trust!

Certificate of Sponsorship

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust proudly hold a sponsor licence. In order to provide sponsorship you and the role you are applying for must meet UKVI eligibility requirements. Please check your eligibility prior to submitting an application. Skilled Worker visa: Overview - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Please note that it is a requirement of this Trust that all successful applicants pay for their own DBS certification if a DBS check is required for the post. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first monthly pay.

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 Claire Cameron Job title Deputy Head of Midwifery Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07729224994 Additional information

Claire Cameron

Deputy Head of Midwifery

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

E: [e-mail]

T: 07729224994