Job summary An exciting opportunity exists for you to join County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust as manager of our busy labour ward, based on our University Hospital of North Durham site. This is an opportunity for an ambitious practitioner who is ready to progress in their career. This post will require a unique and talented individual who will continue the strong clinical leadership of our fast paced, consultant lead, labour ward. The postholder will work within the team, across the Family Health Care Group (including other Care Groups as appropriate) and with external stakeholders to deliver cohesive, comprehensive and integrated services. Interviews will take place on the 31.03.2025 Main duties of the job The service is looking for an experienced midwife to manage our busy consultant lead labour ward at UHND. Reporting to the Acute Matron and Head of Midwifery you will be working alongside a group of impressive clinical midwifery managers and matrons across both of our acute sites. The post holder will be responsible for management of labour ward inpatient services, including the support of specialist midwifery posts relating to the management area. You will be responsible for supporting the team in the achievement of excellent, safe, and efficient care. Your influence will have a positive impact on the quality-of-care provision within the maternity service. The post holder will provide innovative professional leadership, advice and guidance to midwifery staff in their area of responsibility, ensuring the professional contributions of midwives is maximised in order to achieve the Trusts business and strategic goals whilst ensuring professional standards are maintained. The post holder will work with a high level of autonomy in order to support and influence the service including implementation of national initiatives and appropriate models of care. About us If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes. We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented From April 1 2024 we are unable to offer sponsorship for healthcare roles that do not meet the minimum salary £23,200, If you are in the UK on a VISA please ensure you have no restrictions that would prevent you from taking this post. Pay award Pending Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents Date posted 17 February 2025 Pay scheme Agenda for change Band Band 7 Salary £43,742 to £50,056 a year per annum, pro rata Contract Permanent Working pattern Full-time Reference number C9439-25-0132 Job locations University Hospital Of North Durham North Road Durham DH1 5TW Job description Job responsibilities As Manager of our acute maternity labour ward you will be a senior post holder in our team at CDDFT and part of the first point of contact for many of our families attending maternity services. You will be required to be an inspirational leader and great line manager. This includes: Promote the Trusts core values of care, quality, respect, leadership and achievement by adherence to the behavioral competencies as detailed on the Trusts website/intranet site. Put delivery of high quality services at the forefront of what you do. Ensure that excellence in communication and engagement of staff, service users and stakeholders is at the center of everything you do. Critical to this is effective communications with the front line, listening and communicating messages from the front line up to the matrons and Head of Midwifery. Challenge the status quo and lead on the development of workforce plans that are cognisant of future developments, new ways of working and new technologies. Establish excellent working relationships with clinicians at all levels within the Care Group and across organisations to enable transformation and delivery on all areas of performance. Alongside the Clinical matrons, lead on the delivery of all aspects of performance within the Pregnancy Assessment Unit, including quality of services, patient experience, access, finance, governance, HR and organisational development. This extends beyond your direct area of influence to include leadership across other associated services and Care Groups. Lead and support transformation and integration of services using lean methodologies across pathways and services both internally and with external agencies eg. local authorities to achieve improved outcomes for patients and service users, increase productivity and reduce costs. Lead on and be proactive in ensuring that the health and well-being agenda is considered in the development of and evident in delivery of all services. Demonstrate a can do approach to problem solving and delivery of services. Ensure that robust governance is embedded in your area of responsibility. At all times demonstrate behaviors that are consistent with your role as unit manager. Interviews will take place on the 31.03.2025 Job description Job responsibilities As Manager of our acute maternity labour ward you will be a senior post holder in our team at CDDFT and part of the first point of contact for many of our families attending maternity services. You will be required to be an inspirational leader and great line manager. This includes: Promote the Trusts core values of care, quality, respect, leadership and achievement by adherence to the behavioral competencies as detailed on the Trusts website/intranet site. Put delivery of high quality services at the forefront of what you do. Ensure that excellence in communication and engagement of staff, service users and stakeholders is at the center of everything you do. Critical to this is effective communications with the front line, listening and communicating messages from the front line up to the matrons and Head of Midwifery. Challenge the status quo and lead on the development of workforce plans that are cognisant of future developments, new ways of working and new technologies. Establish excellent working relationships with clinicians at all levels within the Care Group and across organisations to enable transformation and delivery on all areas of performance. Alongside the Clinical matrons, lead on the delivery of all aspects of performance within the Pregnancy Assessment Unit, including quality of services, patient experience, access, finance, governance, HR and organisational development. This extends beyond your direct area of influence to include leadership across other associated services and Care Groups. Lead and support transformation and integration of services using lean methodologies across pathways and services both internally and with external agencies eg. local authorities to achieve improved outcomes for patients and service users, increase productivity and reduce costs. Lead on and be proactive in ensuring that the health and well-being agenda is considered in the development of and evident in delivery of all services. Demonstrate a can do approach to problem solving and delivery of services. Ensure that robust governance is embedded in your area of responsibility. At all times demonstrate behaviors that are consistent with your role as unit manager. Interviews will take place on the 31.03.2025 Person Specification Statutory Registration Essential UK Registered NMC Midwife with Current active PIN Special Skills & Knowledge Essential Able to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint programs. Leader with motivational and empowerment skills that demonstrates enthusiasm. Effective organisational skills. Confident decision maker. Good knowledge base of clinical information systems. Excellent communication skills and ability to provide written and verbal reports. Keen to develop themselves and others, open to new ideas and willing to share their experiences with others in order to support and develop them. Desirable Training in quality improvement methodology. Knowledge of and contribution to the Clinical Governance Framework. Previous experience of complaints handling and risk management. Qualifications Essential Registered midwife. Current NMC registration. Evidence of ongoing CPD. Teaching and assessing in clinical practice qualification. Desirable RCUK NLS accredited. NIPE. ALSO/PROMPT or similar. Training in Leadership and management. Previous experience as a labour ward manager. Educated to or undertaking masters level study. Experience Essential Substantial experience as a band 6 midwife or above. Recent intra-partum experience including complex intrapartum care. Experience of working in various areas of maternity services. Experienced at leading a team/service. Good interpersonal skills. Desirable Evidence of experience in research and audit. Experience of budget management. Evidence of change management. Evidence of management and leadership training. Experience of risk management skills. Person Specification Statutory Registration Essential UK Registered NMC Midwife with Current active PIN Special Skills & Knowledge Essential Able to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint programs. Leader with motivational and empowerment skills that demonstrates enthusiasm. Effective organisational skills. Confident decision maker. Good knowledge base of clinical information systems. Excellent communication skills and ability to provide written and verbal reports. Keen to develop themselves and others, open to new ideas and willing to share their experiences with others in order to support and develop them. Desirable Training in quality improvement methodology. Knowledge of and contribution to the Clinical Governance Framework. Previous experience of complaints handling and risk management. Qualifications Essential Registered midwife. Current NMC registration. Evidence of ongoing CPD. Teaching and assessing in clinical practice qualification. Desirable RCUK NLS accredited. NIPE. ALSO/PROMPT or similar. Training in Leadership and management. Previous experience as a labour ward manager. Educated to or undertaking masters level study. Experience Essential Substantial experience as a band 6 midwife or above. Recent intra-partum experience including complex intrapartum care. Experience of working in various areas of maternity services. Experienced at leading a team/service. Good interpersonal skills. Desirable Evidence of experience in research and audit. Experience of budget management. Evidence of change management. Evidence of management and leadership training. Experience of risk management skills. 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. Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab). From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab). UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Additional information 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. Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab). From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab). UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Employer details Employer name County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust Address University Hospital Of North Durham North Road Durham DH1 5TW Employer's website https://www.cddft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)