We are one of the largest maternity units in the midlands, delivering approximately 8,400 births per annum to a diverse population, with a team of over 400 midwives, 34 Consultants and a multi-professional team of anaesthetists, sonographers and Neonatal staff.

Led by our Director of Midwifery Carla Jones-Charles, we have two specialist Maternity and Gynaecology centres located at Heartlands and Good Hope Hospital. With Heartlands headed up by Ella Vitue, Head of Midwifery and we now have an opportunity for a Head of Midwifery for Good Hope.

Leading the team of over 200 midwives, nursery nurses and support workers. You will guide and champion patient safety to ensure UHB is seen as the safest maternity service in the country. As an exceptional leader with in-depth knowledge of governance, assurance mechanisms and operational management you will inspire confidence and innovation amongst our incredible workforce -- who together, ensure the women and staff are safe, cared for and listened too.

Main duties of the job

You will actively and proactively engage with all teams across the Trust, creating the conditions for everyone to feel included and support the development and evolution of our services. You will work autonomously and provide compassionate leadership, with a commitment to a flexible, visible and responsive approach.

We understand this will be an exciting challenge and we have a lot to do....

We recognise that you will need support from all areas. You can be assured this will be there for you. We have a fantastic team and you will be supported in the role by Carla, Director of Midwifery, by UHB's Chief Nurse Margaret Garbett and Divisional Managing Director- Katy Hogan. As a collective we will deliver high quality responsive maternity care.

We would welcome you to contact us in confidence to discuss this role and gain a further insight into UHB. You can do this Helen Cant -- Talent Manager for UHB on 07989 959008 or helen.cant@uhb.nhs.uk.

About us

We are recognised as one of the leading NHS Foundation Trusts in the UK. Our vision is to Build Healthier Lives, and we recognise that we need incredible staff to do this.

Our commitment to our staff is to create the best place for them to work, and we are dedicated to:

Investing in the health and wellbeing of our staff, including a commitment of offering flexible working where we can Offer our staff a wide variety of training and development opportunities, to support their personal and career development objectives.

UHB is committed to ensuring that our staff are treated fairly and feel that they belong, by creating a kind and inclusive environment. This is about equity of opportunity removing all barriers, including discrimination and ensuring each individual member of staff reach their true potential, achieve their ambitions and thrive in their work. This is more than words. We are taking action. Our commitment to an inclusive culture is embedded at all levels of the organisation where every voice is heard, driven by our diverse and active staff networks, and at Board level by the Fairness Taskforce led by our CEO. We nurture a culture which empowers staff to challenge discriminatory behaviours and to enable people to bring their 'whole self' to a kinder, more connected and bold place to work.

University Hospitals Birmingham is a Smoke-Free premises hospital.

Job description

Job responsibilities

*Please Note : For a detailed job description for this vacancy, please see attached Job Description*

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• *Current registration as a registered Midwife on the NMC register
• *First degree in Nursing or health related subject or equivalent
• *Master's degree in a health related subject or equivalent demonstrable experience
• *Leaders / Management qualification and/or experience
• *Implemented and lead on practice related changes
• *Strong evidence of continuing professional development

Desirable

• *Evidence of executive/leadership development
• *Recognised Leadership Course

Experience

Essential

• *Sound knowledge and experience of all aspects of midwifery practice
• *Sound knowledge of current national drives, national maternity agenda, assurance around maternity quality and safety
• *Excellent evidence based theoretical knowledge with the ability to apply theory to practice
• *Knowledge of issues around safeguarding children and adults
• *Knowledge and experience of implementing UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative Standards and Accreditation
• *Knowledge of (and experience of involvement in) clinical governance and risk management processes
• *Knowledge of strategic developments in midwifery, locally and nationally
• *Knowledge and experience of equality, diversity an human rights in line with national policy
• *Understanding of midwifery A-equip model and restorative clinical midwifery supervision
• *Have a wider knowledge of the NHS and the current local and national political agenda

Desirable

• *Experience of local or regional strategic working

Additional Criteria

Essential

• *Experience as Senior Midwife in an acute NHS environment
• *Evidence of working with Local Maternity Systems and Strategic Clinical Networks
• *Experience as a Matron/Clinical Midwifery Manager managing clinical teams
• *Evidence of delivering improvements in patient safety and patient experience
• *Experience of managing complex change and sustaining improvements
• *Proven experience of building effective partnerships and alliances both internal and external to the organisation
• *Experience of developing and implementing a midwifery strategy and governance process
• *Experience of leading on the Care Quality Commission inspection regime
• *Proven management experience and the ability to lead staff in achieving complex outcomes
• *Significant budget management experience
• *Experience of dealing with service users complaints investigating informal and formal complaints and writing response letters
• *Experience of performance managing staff
• *Experience of managing and implementing change
• *Experience of dealing with complex issues in a large organisation
• *Ability to contribute pro-actively to a multidisciplinary team
• *Excellent organisational and leadership skills
• *Proven record in initiating, evaluating and sustaining change
• *Excellent all-round midwifery skills
• *Good presentation skills
• *Full range of IT skills
• *Evidence of continuing professional development
• *Communicate effectively with all stakeholders involved in the care of pregnant women
• *Be an active member of the Maternity Voices Partnership and any other group where the post holder's input would contribute to maternity service improvements.
• *Give advice on best practice arising from current and relevant research and facilitate the change process for new initiatives.
• *Work with the clinical leads for obstetrics to ensure harmonious working relationships between staff groups.
• *Be a member of the National and Local Consultant Midwife Network
• *Be able to think critically and be visionary in approaches to midwifery care
• *Be analytical in thought with attention to detail and able to communicate to help solve problems in everyday maternity challenges
• *Act as a champion for maternity and midwifery building strong teams within the unit
• *Uses organisational & clinical skills regarding strategic planning for the Directorate.
• *Involved with and influences all changes to midwifery services maintaining a complete overview of the service development.
• *Participates with national developments, reviews, transformation and enquiries across maternity services, implementation of actions and is actively engaged with the consultant midwife network.
• *Provide clinical midwifery leadership, facilitating practitioners to improve their practice and maintain competence through clinical practice
• *Support midwives to feel confident in providing midwifery led care
• *To provide clinical leadership, giving advice and support to staff as required and acting as patients' advocate at all times.
• *Will be a credible clinician who is open and honest.
• *Act as a champion of best practice for all women receiving care within maternity services and promote the role of the midwife at local and national and level.
• *Lead colleagues in the improvement of standards of quality and to develop clinical practice and co-lead the development of clinical guidelines
• *Influences staff culture and attitudes and acts as a mentor and role model
• *Implements innovative practice and acts as a change agent for services and practice
• *Has the courage to initiate and persevere in delivering excellent woman and family centred care.
• *Act as a role model demonstrating clinical leadership and midwifery expertise.
• *Participate in the senior management on call rota.
• *Be knowledgeable and experienced in caring for women in all areas of the maternity unit and community settings.
• *Be knowledgeable in caring for women with both high and low risk clinical needs and in facilitating normality within labour and birth.
• *Maintain contemporary, evidence based professional knowledge and competence.
• *Be an effective change agent for members of the maternity staff.
• *Act as an advocate for women.
• *Ability to deal calmly and non-confrontationally with a range of personalities and situations
• *Able to challenge poor practice in an assertive non-aggressive manner
• *Have a non-judgemental attitude
• *Commitment to the provision of a quality and evidence-based service
• *Commitment to improving women's experience
• *Committed to improving the privacy and dignity of users of the service
• *Car driver with full driving license, or ability to travel independently between hospital sites or for necessary patient visits
• *Ability to work flexible hours and fulfil commitments of on-call
• *Ability to co-ordinate and liaise within a multidisciplinary team
• *Ability to achieve deadlines and work under pressure
• *Enthusiastic and motivated
• *Adaptable and flexible
• *Assertive and innovative

Desirable

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

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