Are you passionate about supporting infant feeding? An exciting opportunity has arisen for a motivated individual to join the Specialist Infant Feeding Service as a Lactation Consultant. The Specialist Infant Feeding Service is part of Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust's (KCHFT) Heath Visiting Service and provides specialist support for families experiencing complex feeding challenges.

Main duties of the job

Lactation Consultants play a key role in the delivery of the Specialist Infant Feeding Service, overseeing the triage and allocation of referrals received by the service to ensure they are managed effectively and efficiently within their locality. Lactation Consultants also provide day-to-day line management of Breastfeeding Assistant Practitioners who deliver packages of care to support breastfeeding babies and their families.

The Specialist Infant Feeding Service has recently expanded its team and moved to a locality model. We are looking for individuals to work within our West and East Kent Teams based at the Specialist Team Hub in Maidstone where there is an expectation to travel to our specialist clinics within Kent. We will consider different kinds of flexible working to support you achieve a work-life balance and welcome applications from those requesting part-time hours.

Being passionate about supporting breastfeeding families is our priority - we are willing to support the right individual to achieve the essential qualifications as part of a developmental role if required.

Additional Working Pattern: Full time/flexible

About us

One of the largest community NHS trusts in the UK, KCHFT are rated 'outstanding' by the CQC. We've got a passion for delivering high standards of care to patients and deliver excellent services to improve the health of our communities. To do this we need outstanding people who share our values Compassionate Aspirational Responsive Excellent

We're committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, which leads to better patient care and a happier workforce. So, all our colleagues have equal access to career opportunities.

We've signed up to be a real UK living wage employer. From September 2022, the minimum salary we'll pay is �10.90 per hour (excluding apprentices). The real Living Wage is the only UK wage rate voluntarily paid by 7,000+ UK businesses who believe their staff deserve a fair wage. Committing to the real UK Living Wage is one way we're delivering our pledge to be the best employer

Flexibility is another way we do this. In the NHS, we're reminded every day how important life is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want you to be able to work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement without having to sacrifice time for personal interests or family commitments. We'll support you to work flexibly in a way that will suits us both

Looking for professional development? We can support that too! Our career pathways will help you achieve your aspirations

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job responsibilities

The job description and person specification gives you all the information you need about this role. Please look carefully at the criteria in the person specification and tell us what you have done that shows you meet this.

Still have questions? The recruiting manager would love to hear from you, their contact details can be found in the job advert.

We can get a lot of applications for some roles so to be in with the best chance of being shortlisted please make sure you apply as soon as possible. A vacancy may close early if there is a lot of interest in the job.

If you need an application form in an alternative format please let our recruitment team know so they can help you with this.

All information you supply on your application should, to the best of your knowledge, be true and accurate. Interviews are due to take place on the 29th June 2023.

Find out more about the community difference here.

Good luck! We cant wait to meet you and welcome you to #teamKCHFT, #cometocommunity

Although vaccination against COVID-19 is not mandatory, we are strongly encouraging colleagues in clinical and non-clinical roles who have direct or social contact with patients to be fully vaccinated. In this way we will be doing all we can to ensure your safety and that of your colleagues and the patients we serve.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Health or health science degree and evidence of relevant post graduate development at Level 6
• Lactation Consultant registered with the International Board of Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC)
• UNICEF BFI Breastfeeding and Relationship Building Course

Desirable

• Management or supervisory qualification or experience of study

Experience

Essential

• Minimum of 3 years' experience in area of practice
• Practical experience in managing health related projects/complex caseloads
• Supervising and training experience (mentor / educator / supervisor)

Desirable

• Experience of leading and managing teams
• Experience with the use of Microsoft Office and a variety of IT packages (E-Pay / E-roster/ AT-P/ CIS)

Knowledge

Essential

• Ability to demonstrate a good level of specialist infant feeding knowledge including UNICEF BFI.
• Understanding of National Service Frameworks and NICE guidance to relevant to care setting and its application across health care services
• Evidence of continued relevant professional development and implementation in practice within the last 12 months

Skills

Essential

• Understanding of training needs in relation to post
• Ability to manage time effectively, priorities and work under pressure to meet deadlines
• Ability to work effectively with a variety of people at all organisational levels across different sectors including areas of social deprivation
• Ability to communicate complex, sensitive information to individuals and groups
• Strong influencing and negotiating skills

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Ability to motivate and organise others to ensure best practice.
• Ability to manage and lead change
• Ability to work under pressure

Ability to manage

Essential

• Able to support the implementation of local and national agendas for health
• Ability to prioritise care delivery in a professional manner, taking into account Trust policies and procedures.
• Ability to manage own time effectively

Employer details

Employer name

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Molehill Copse Clinic ME15 7NB

Maidstone

ME15 7NB

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

846-5309343-JG