Job Description

At Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, we are proud to be recognised as one of the safest and highest-performing maternity and neonatal services in the country. Supporting over 10,500 births each year, we provide care that is compassionate, clinically excellent, and centred on women and families. We are now seeking a Deputy Director of Midwifery, Women's and Neonatal Services to bring inspirational and transformational leadership to our team. This is a pivotal role shaping strategy, culture and clinical excellence across maternity, gynaecology and neonatal services--keeping the life journey of the woman central to all decisions.



We are looking for a visible, experienced clinical leader with a deep understanding of the national maternity and neonatal landscape. You will be committed to safe, evidence-based care and confident in leading complex services through innovation and change. Your leadership will empower teams, strengthen governance, and build trust with women, families and communities. In return, you will join a Trust that is ambitious, inclusive and proud--where staff are supported to grow, collaborate and thrive. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a dynamic, high-performing service and shape the future of women's and neonatal care. If you are ready to bring your expertise, passion and vision to our outstanding team, we look forward to hearing from you.



The post holder will have operational accountability for workforce, service delivery, clinical quality and safety, financial control, and delivery of the Trust's strategy and corporate objectives. They will define objectives aligned to corporate goals, ensuring quality standards in Maternity, Gynaecology and Neonates are met, and addressing performance where required.



The Deputy Director of Midwifery and Nursing (DDoMN) is accountable for the delivery and performance of Midwifery, Gynaecology, and Neonatal nursing care within the division, ensuring compliance with care standards and regulatory requirements, including those set by the Care Quality Commission.



Working closely with the Divisional Director of Midwifery and Nursing, the DDoMN has lead responsibility for governance across Maternity, Gynaecology and Neonates. This includes oversight of infection control, health and safety, risk management, and managing serious incidents and complaints, ensuring actions are implemented and learning is embedded.



The post holder will ensure effective workforce planning, using national tools and policies, and advise the Trust Board on safe midwifery and nursing staffing levels. They will also lead on clinical standards, benchmarking, governance, and audit to ensure high-quality care across sites.



The DDoMN will deputise for the Divisional Director at Trust-wide committees and LMNS pillar meetings.

Please note:

Some roles may require weekend shifts at multiple sites.



Our Trust is one of England's top-performing and safest trusts. We operate two main acute hospital sites--Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital--along with award-winning clinics across North West London.



Our nearly 7,500 staff care for a diverse population of 1.5m, providing full clinical services including maternity, A&E and children's services, plus specialist HIV and sexual health care. The CQC rates us Good in safety, effectiveness, care and responsiveness, and Outstanding in leadership and resource use.



We continually invest in our facilities, including a 30m expansion of critical care at Chelsea and an 80m Ambulatory Diagnostic Centre at West Mid.



We are delivering sustainable healthcare through our Green Plan. In line with Greener NHS ambitions, we aim for net zero carbon emissions by 2045. Achieving this requires collective effort. We encourage staff to reduce their impact on carbon, waste and pollution wherever possible. Every action counts to create a healthier, more sustainable future.



We are committed to equal opportunities and believe diversity drives innovation and excellence. We welcome applications from the global majority, veterans and underrepresented communities, valuing the perspectives they bring.



If you haven't heard from us within 3 weeks of the closing date, your application was likely unsuccessful. Employment is subject to a six-month probation. Some roles may require weekend shifts at multiple sites.



Clinical Responsibilities



Provide expert advice on issues related to midwifery and nursing and strategic leadership and guidance for gynaecology and neonates.

Demonstrate expert knowledge by being visible, accessible and using clinical skills within the workplace as appropriate.

Work with the Divisional Director of Midwifery and Nursing, General Manager, and lead the Consultant Midwives, and Senior Clinical Lecturer in evidence based midwifery and Lead Nurses to ensure a consistent and high quality approach reflective of local regional and national recommendations to midwifery and nursing across the services, through collaborative working and the development of shared procedures and guidelines, supervising the auditing of practice and development of action plans

Lead the setting of standards for both clinical and non-clinical performance in collaboration with the Consultant midwives and Midwifery and Nursing Matrons .

Lead the continuous quality improvement programmes in place working collaboratively with the Divisional Director of Midwifery and Nursing in the delivery of the Care Quality Commission standards

Keep informed of national and Trust policies, especially those affecting service delivery and patient care, disseminating the information as appropriate

Responsible for ensuring the team implement a robust escalation policy to ensure service users are safe and have a positive experience across all pathways of care.



Professional and Leadership



Support the implementation of a culture of civility and cultural safety for the entire workforce and service users, including issues related to anti-racism, homophobia, transphobia, disability rights, sexism and other areas of discrimination engendering a positive safety culture across the division and wider Trust

Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of national, regional and local professional issues

To work in accordance with the NMC Code of Professional Conduct: standards for conduct, performance and ethics

Provide line management and development to the Consultant Midwives, Senior Clinical Lecturer for Evidence Based Midwifery, Lead Nurses and Matrons on the site whilst providing cross cover to the other site when required.

Provide overall leadership for the midwives, gynaecology teams and neonatal teams

Provide professional leadership and development to the Lead Midwife/Nurse for the Kensington Wing.

Provide professional and managerial leadership, by being a highly visible and authoritative presence ensuring the provision of high quality, responsive maternity services with the needs of the woman and her family placed at the centre of care.

Support and facilitate the development of midwifery research.

Lead on the formulation of establishments, underpinned by national workforce planning tools

Develop and implement annual workforce plan which integrates with the local delivery plan

Act as a senior member of the Divisional Management Team ensuring midwifery and Nursing input into strategic and operational decisions.

Keep up to date with current developments in midwifery and nursing, ensure evidence based practice, and lead the implementation of the midwifery and nursing recommendations.

Keep abreast of national recommendations and guidance with regards to maternity, neonates and gynaecology.

Act as a catalyst for change, leading the development of policy, practice and staff in the delivery of all aspects of nursing and midwifery care.

Develop systems in order to learn from and implement changes to practice arising from complaints clinical risks, litigation and medication errors.

Lead the Consultant midwives, Senior Clinical Lecturer, Lead Nurse for Gynaecology and Neonates and Midwifery Matrons, Lead nurses for Gynaecology and Neonates and the Infection Control team to proactively reduce hospital acquired infection

Engender a culture of respectful relationships at all levels and with all members of the MDT

Ensure registered practitioners are aware of, and comply with, the Nursing and Midwifery Code of Professional Conduct

Develop new skills and knowledge pertaining to midwifery and nursing as required

Take responsibility for self-development through the appraisal system and work towards completing agreed personal development planLead on the delivery of the Trust's Nursing and Midwifery Strategy .

Lead innovation in midwifery and nursing practice using an evidence based approach to meet the needs of all staff and patients

Be an effective role model and able to represent the division organisationally and professionally

Provide strong leadership to the areas with respect to the management of professional issues.

Ensure that appropriate action is taken to address issues of staff discipline, grievance, poor performance and sickness, up to and including dismissal.

As a Trust Senior leader to carry out investigations of staff management issues in other areas of the Trust as requested.



Quality and Governance



To be jointly accountable, with the Divisional Director of Midwifery and Nursing, for patient safety, clinical effectiveness, patient experience and risk management within midwifery, gynaecology and neonatal nursing.

Leading and manage the resolution of maternity, gynaecology and neonatal complaints, conflicts and issues from patients, staff, suppliers, other internal and external service providers and partner organisations in a timely and appropriate manner in line with Trust policy, procedures and service delivery values and priorities

Lead investigations (or delegate) and the response to clinical and serious incidents, ensuring robust systems are developed and implemented to inform and improve practice.

Lead on Divisional learning from incidents, complaints and patient feedback in maternity, Gynaecology and Neonates from lead nurses, matrons and ward staff to identify and agree completion of action plans

To identify Divisional risks to place on the risk register and monitor and update until agreed outcomes are met.

Ensure there is effective reporting and assurance mechanisms via the Divisional governance board to Trust sub-committees.

Provide and deliver reports to Committees and Boards both internally and externally to the Trust.

Ensure compliance with CQC and other regulatory standards and manage inspections and the actions from these across maternity, gynaecology and neonates

To lead and advise staff in how they gather, analyse, interpret and present relevant data and information.

Lead on the Divisional Quality priorities and improvement to ensure these are implemented, embedded and audited.

To lead and use research enquiry to plan, implement and evaluate concepts and strategies leading to improvement.

To ensure the appropriate contribution of nursing to the Electronic Patient Record and other relevant data systems.



Performance Management and Service Development



To lead, in collaboration with the Divisional senior leaders, in establishing financial controls and monitoring systems in relation to midwifery and nursing budgets, in particular, for temporary staffing use and expenditure (bank and agency), and recruitment and retention among professionals including nurses/midwives and therapists

Be accountable for identifying and delivering the CIP plan in your services on an annual basis.

Ensure robust systems are in place to ensure the booking of bank and agency staff is appropriate and that the reliance on temporary staff is reduced

Responsible for staffing strategies in order to:

Reduce vacancies

Increase retention

Decrease sickness and absence

Decrease staff turnover

Promote career development



Ensure Human Resources Policies and Procedures are followed

Respond appropriately to major incidents, internal disasters and other significant events impacting on the care of women, birthing people and patients.

Ensure that nursing and midwifery practices comply with Trust guidelines, policy and procedures.

Communicate effectively at all times and maintain a harmonious working environment.

Supervise the provision of adequate staff cover by monitoring duty rosters and re-deploy staff as required to provide safe and effective care to all patients.

Lead the effective management of performance of staff

Lead and advise on the recruitment, selection and appointment of new staff as required to maintain midwifery and nursing establishments

Recognise and assess risks making recommendations and leading change to reduce these risks

Lead and participate in investigations into complaints, clinical incidents and medication and blood transfusion incidents as they occur, lead improvements to practice as a result of these investigations. .

Work proactively with management staff to minimise risk and ensure compliance with Health and Safety legislation

Liaise with the Patient Advisory and Liaison Service and identify areas for patient and public involvement

Lead the patient involvement strategy for the services, ensuring opportunities to learn about service user experience are sought and opportunities to improve the experience of service users are taken through co-produced pieces of work with service user groups such as the maternity and neonatal voices partnership.

Ensure that appropriate systems are in place to collect data for quality analysis

Take the lead on staffing retention issues and the development of innovative strategies across the services .

Supervise the quality of midwifery and nursing documentation and safe keeping of patient records in compliance with the Data Protection Act

Deputise for the Divisional Director of Midwifery and Nursing in their absence as required.



Please see attached job description and person specification to this advert for further details.