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Job summary

Main area
Maternity
Grade
Band 8d
Contract
Permanent
Hours
  • Full time
  • Flexible working
37.5 hours per week
Job ref
344-2526WCY
Employer
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Trustwide
Town
Canterbury
Salary
£91,342 - £105,337 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
14/12/2025 23:59

Employer heading

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust logo

Deputy Director of Midwifery

Band 8d

Job overview

We are seeking an inspiring, visible Deputy Director of Midwifery to help lead a dynamic, progressive maternity and gynaecology service. This senior role requires a confident clinical leader with deep knowledge of the national maternity and neonatal landscape, a commitment to evidence-based practice, and the ability to drive improvement across complex services. Working alongside the Director of Midwifery, you will shape the future of care for women, birthing people and families, ensuring safe, high-quality pathways across acute and community settings. You will lead innovation, champion inclusion, promote a culture of civility and professional excellence, and support our teams to deliver outstanding experiences. As part of one of England’s largest hospital trusts, you will contribute to strategic planning, service redesign and improvement programmes, ensuring our maternity, neonatal and gynaecology services continue to move forward with compassion, ambition and integrity.

Main duties of the job

Reporting to the Director of Midwifery, you will hold operational responsibility for workforce, clinical quality, financial stewardship and delivery of Trust-wide objectives. You will lead governance across maternity and gynaecology, oversee incident management, strengthen learning systems and ensure compliance with CQC and regulatory standards. The role includes driving continuous quality improvement, embedding evidence-based practice, reducing variation and supporting safe staffing through robust workforce planning. You will provide visible leadership to midwives, gynaecology nurses and neonatal teams, manage senior staff, and support performance, recruitment, retention and culture initiatives. You will contribute to strategic planning, lead service transformation, ensure effective reporting to divisional and Trust committees, and deputise at internal and external meetings. On-call responsibilities will be required, and you will act as a key leader in building safe, compassionate, high-performing services.

Working for our organisation

We are one of the largest hospital trusts in England, with five hospitals and community clinics serving a local population of around 800,000 people. Our vision is 'great healthcare from great people'. Everything we do is guided by our values: 'People feel cared for, safe, respected and confident that we are making a difference’. We have a new way of working at East Kent Hospitals, called 'We care'. It's about empowering frontline staff to lead improvements day-to-day. We're looking for compassionate people to be part of our improvement journey for the patients, families and carers we care for every day.


Please note that if you require a Certificate of Sponsorship to work in the UK you must declare this on your application form, even if you currently have a certificate of sponsorship or a work permit for another role and are already working in the country. Please note we are only able to sponsor candidates on a Skilled Worker Visa applying for roles Band 5 and above.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please scroll down to access the full Job Description and Person Specification located in ‘Documents to download’. If you have further queries please don’t hesitate to contact the line manager using the contact details below.

Person specification

Qualifications and Training

Essential criteria
  • Registered Midwife
  • Educated to degree level in relevant subject area
  • Recognised management qualification or equivalent experience
Desirable criteria
  • Registered Nurse
  • Master's degree in a relevant subject area with evidence of further development following completion of MSc level study
  • Professional Midwifery Advisor

Clinical skills and experience

Essential criteria
  • Extensive Senior NHS management experience, with evidence of strong, positive and inclusive leadership behaviours
  • Experience of working and delivering trust wide professional objectives, budgetary management and workforce development
  • Experience of risk management and Quality assurance
  • Substantial evidence of leading and delivering successful change and initiating developments
  • Complaints handling
  • Extensive experience in managing multi professional groups
  • Experience of managing complex services
  • Management of budgets
  • Change management and team growth and building
  • Experience in skill mix and establishment reviews

Governance

Essential criteria
  • Knowledge of quality, standard setting, and research based nursing and midwifery practice
  • Knowledge of clinical governance and risk management processes, safeguarding and infection control

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria
  • Self-awareness
  • Cultural awareness and intelligence
  • Commitment to team working
  • Creative, lateral thinker and motivated
  • Ability to lead and develop a large team
  • Skilled at communicating and working with group of patients and users
  • Organisation, management and strategic planning skills
  • Negotiating skills
  • Team building skills
  • Excellent verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills. Able to communicate complex or sensitive information clearly and sensitively with a wide range of patients, in situations where there may be barriers to understanding (for example, families with language barriers, anxiety or under high distress).

Employer certification / accreditation badges

NHS Pastoral Care Quality AwardThe Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion is the leading employer network covering all aspects of equality and inclusion in the workplace.Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyMenopause Friendly EmployerAge positiveInvestors in People: GoldDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - BronzeImproving working livesMindful employer.  Being positive about mental health.Disability confident employerThe Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei) is the UK's leading employer network covering all aspects of equality and inclusion issues in the workplace.Prince's Trust - Proud to support the Prince's trust - Youth can do itStep into healthHappy to Talk Flexible WorkingArmed Forces Covenant

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

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Jo Andrews
Job title
EA to Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer
Email address
[email protected]