Expert clinical practice

• Exercise a high level of autonomous professional judgement in complex, uncertain or novel clinical circumstances, including situations in which established pathways or protocols do not fully address the woman’s needs.
• Provide expert advice concerning clinical decision-making, referral, escalation and transfer of care, balancing safety, informed choice, individual circumstances and the available evidence.
• Undertake a visible and planned clinical contribution of up to 50% of the role, agreed through annual objectives with the Director of Midwifery and responsive to service priorities.
• Provide expert clinical support to women and families whose needs span clinical, psychological, social and cultural factors.
• Support midwives to develop confidence in autonomous decision-making and in working to the full extent of their professional scope

• Act as the clinical expert in equitable midwifery practice, demonstrating deep knowledge of how clinical decisions, assessment processes and care pathways affect women experiencing poorer outcomes.

• Maintain current clinical knowledge and act as a trusted adviser to specialist midwives and the wider team on complex clinical scenarios through an equity lens.

• Model reflexive practice that challenges assumptions and biases in how care is delivered.

• Coach colleagues to recognise and mitigate unintended inequities in their practice, supporting culturally responsive and person-centred care.

• Provide expert consultancy to the multidisciplinary team on the clinical implications of service redesign for women and families experiencing multiple and intersecting factors associated with poorer access, experience or outcomes

Professional leadership and consultancy

• Provide visionary clinical leadership that shapes the evolution of maternity services to meet the varied needs of women.

• Work collaboratively across professional and organisational boundaries to lead service redesign, challenge traditional models of care delivery and create conditions for innovation and improvement.

• Work in partnership with the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership and other community and service-user groups to co-produce, test and evaluate service improvements.
• Ensure that feedback from women and families is triangulated with safety, outcome and workforce information and translated into demonstrable learning and change.
• Support the ethical and appropriately consented use of lived experience and patient stories in education, improvement and assurance.
• Ensure that the service communicates back to women, families and communities how their contribution has influenced decisions and improvement

• Actively scan the horizon for emerging evidence, best practice and innovation in midwifery and maternal health, engaging with local and national networks to inform strategic direction.

• Partner with colleagues across the service, regionally and nationally to develop leadership and change capability, fostering a culture in which continuous improvement and equity-informed practice are embedded.

• Contribute to strategic planning of maternity services, engaging with the relevant Integrated Care Board, Operational Delivery Network, NHS England and other relevant bodies.

• Deputise for the Director of Midwifery as required and contribute to the midwifery manager on-call rota.

• Has no permanent direct reports but may lead programmes and project teams

Education, learning and workforce development

• Develop effective partnerships with higher education institutions and contribute to the design, delivery and evaluation of pre-registration, post-registration and advanced-practice learning relevant to maternity care.
• Act as an expert clinical role model, working alongside midwives, maternity support workers, medical colleagues and learners in practice.
• Lead or contribute to interprofessional learning that develops clinical judgement, human factors, compassionate leadership, culturally responsive care and autonomous practice.
• Work with women, families and the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership to incorporate lived experience and patient stories safely and meaningfully into learning.
• Evaluate the impact of education on professional practice, service delivery and outcomes

• Contribute to training so that the midwifery, maternity support worker and wider multidisciplinary team workforce develops and maintains the clinical and non-technical skills required to deliver safe, equitable, evidence-based care.

• Work collaboratively with the Maternity Governance team to ensure learning from cases is shared through the education programme.

• Act as an improvement coach to clinical teams, reducing barriers to improvement and connecting teams with quality improvement expertise, tools and resources.

• Enable frontline staff to access support to transform practice, working in partnership with the Trust Quality Improvement and Transformation team.

• Foster a learning culture in which staff feel empowered and enabled to innovate and make changes at clinical practice level.

Research, innovation, audit and evaluation

• Lead or commission audit and evaluation of priority areas of midwifery practice, using findings to recommend, implement and monitor improvement.
• Lead or provide expert input to the development, review and evaluation of evidence-based guidelines and pathways.
• Analyse clinical, experience and workforce information, identify variation and trends, and present the implications and recommended actions to relevant governance and leadership forums.
• Evaluate whether service changes have achieved their intended effects and whether improvements are equitable and sustained.
• Disseminate learning and effective practice within the Trust and through appropriate regional and national professional networks

• Identify gaps and quality improvement priorities through interrogation of local data and engagement with maternity and neonatal teams.

• Foster a research-informed culture, connecting clinical staff with the Trust Research and Innovation team so the service participates in relevant trials and studies.

• Champion the use of data, particularly disaggregated perinatal audit data, to understand quality and equity of care across the service.

• Contribute to the evidence base for equitable maternity practice, engaging with national networks including MBRRACE-UK, Birthrights and the Maternity and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme.

• Participate in approved research and development activities aimed at increasing knowledge and improving care in line with Trust objectives.