Job summary
- Main area
- Maternity Management
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8d
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 432-HR420-26
- Employer
- East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Colchester/ Ipswich
- Town
- Colchester
- Salary
- £94,356 - £108,814 Per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 02/07/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 31/07/2026
Employer heading
Deputy Director of Midwifery
NHS AfC: Band 8d
We are one of the largest NHS organisation in England. Our scale provides exciting opportunities for development, innovation, research, education and training.
Talk to us about our range of flexible working opportunities, apprenticeships and staff benefits
Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is at the heart of all we do; and it forms part of ESNEFT’s core activities. The Trust operates and relies on everyone treating each other with dignity and respect, to receive equitable and fair treatment in the implementation of Policies, Procedures and in its Practices, to foster positive work relationships, and finally to act with integrity as a professional within ESNEFT as well as a representative of the NHS as a whole. The EDI Agenda reflects the Trust values such as Optimistic, Appreciative and Kind. In line with the NHS Long Term Plan, People Plan, People Promise and a Model Employer intrinsic in the Equality Diversity and Inclusion Agenda, we consistently strive to improve, to take the learning into Action for a better ESNEFT.
If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge then we are keen to hear from you.
Job overview
Are you an experienced and compassionate midwifery leader looking for your next challenge?
We have an exciting opportunity for an exceptional Deputy Director of Midwifery to join East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, one of the largest NHS organisations in the region, providing maternity services across East Suffolk and North Essex.
Our maternity services span two acute hospital sites in Ipswich and Colchester, a highly regarded standalone Birthing Unit in Clacton, and community midwifery teams delivering care across a diverse geographical area. Together, we are committed to providing safe, personalised and equitable care for women, pregnant people, babies and families.
Reporting directly to the Director of Midwifery, you will be a key member of the senior leadership team, working in partnership with clinical, operational and corporate colleagues to shape the future of maternity services. You will provide visible, compassionate leadership, driving improvements in quality, safety, experience and outcomes while ensuring national priorities and local ambitions are translated into meaningful change for the communities we serve.
We are looking for an inspirational senior midwifery leader with a strong track record of delivering improvement in complex healthcare environments.
If you are a kind, inclusive and ambitious leader who shares our commitment to providing safe, high-quality maternity care, we would be delighted to hear from you!
Main duties of the job
· The delivery of safe, effective, personalised and equitable maternity services across East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust.
· The continuous improvement of clinical quality, patient safety, outcomes and experience for women, babies and families accessing maternity services.
· The implementation of national maternity policy, professional standards, regulatory requirements and organisational priorities, including the Baroness Amos report recommendations, Maternity Incentive Scheme requirements and relevant NHS England safety initiatives.
· The professional leadership, development and wellbeing of midwives, nurses and maternity support staff working within maternity services.
· The development and delivery of a sustainable, skilled and compassionate maternity workforce through effective workforce planning, recruitment, retention, succession planning and leadership development.
· Ensuring robust systems of governance, risk management, patient safety, quality assurance and regulatory compliance are embedded across maternity services.
Working for our organisation
We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients’ own homes.
We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff.
We pride ourselves on supporting our staff. We offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options.
Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services.
Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients.
We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic. This digital transformation will bring what’s widely regarded as the world’s best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.
If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge, then we want to hear from you.
Find out about living and working here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Registered Midwife with current Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) registration.
- Master's degree or equivalent level of knowledge and experience gained through significant senior leadership roles within maternity services
- Evidence of ongoing professional development and commitment to maintaining professional competence.
- Evidence of leadership and management development relevant to a senior healthcare leadership role.
Desirable criteria
- Postgraduate qualification in leadership, management, quality improvement, healthcare management or a related field.
- Coaching, leadership or organisational development qualification.
- Formal quality improvement, patient safety or improvement science training.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Significant senior leadership experience within maternity services in an acute healthcare setting.
- Demonstrable experience of leading large-scale service transformation and change programmes.
- Proven experience of providing strategic and professional leadership across complex healthcare services.
- Experience of leading quality improvement, patient safety and governance programmes resulting in measurable improvements in outcomes and experience.
- Significant experience of workforce planning, workforce development and organisational change management., and providing governance advice to clinicians and other senior managers
- Experience of managing complex budgets and delivering financial and operational objectives
- Experience of developing effective partnerships across organisational and professional boundaries.
- Experience of interpreting and implementing national policy, regulatory requirements and professional standards.
- Experience of presenting complex information and providing assurance to senior committees, Boards or external stakeholders
- Experience of leading and supporting services through periods of operational pressure, service escalation or organisational change.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working across Integrated Care Systems and provider collaboratives.
- Experience of leading regional or national maternity programmes or initiatives.
- Experience of developing successful business cases and service investment proposals.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Amanda Price-Davey
- Job title
- Director of Midwifery
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
To arrange an informal visit or to request further information, please contact Anna Lamburne, [email protected], mobile: 07922 420402.
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