About this role
Job summary
We are pleased to offer an exciting opportunity to join one of the UK's largest Foundation Trusts, internationally recognised for its innovation and excellence in healthcare.If you are passionate about leading high-quality labour ward care and are ready to take the next step in your career, UCLH Maternity Services is the place for you. As a Labour Ward (LW) Manager, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the delivery of safe, responsive, and compassionate intrapartum care within a nationally recognised centre for excellence. You will be part of a motivated, forward-thinking multidisciplinary team, where your leadership will directly influence service development, staff wellbeing, and patient experience.We are looking for a skilled and experienced midwife to join our dynamic service as a Labour Ward Manager. This is an outstanding opportunity for an inspiring clinical leader with a passion for intrapartum care, service improvement, and workforce development to make a meaningful impact in a supportive and innovative setting.Key Attributes and Skillso Enthusiastic, resilient, and highly motivated leader.o Strong leadership, decision-making, and organisational skills in a fast-paced environment.o Expert knowledge and proven competence in intrapartum care and maternity safety standards.o Excellent communication skills, with the ability to build, inspire, and sustain positive multidisciplinary relationships.If you are ready to embrace this opportunity and lead excellence in labour ward care, we would love to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
As Labour Ward Manager, you will:
o Lead and coordinate the day-to-day operational running of the labour ward, ensuring safe, effective, and responsive care in a fast-paced environment, with clear oversight of patient flow, acuity, and staffing.o Provide expert clinical leadership and act as a visible role model, supporting and guiding the multidisciplinary team to deliver high-quality, evidence-based, woman-centred intrapartum care.o Ensure safe staffing and effective workforce management, including forward planning of rosters, real-time deployment, and optimising resources to maintain safety and quality at all times.o Foster a positive, inclusive and psychologically safe working environment, where staff feel supported, valued, and empowered to raise concerns, contribute ideas, and develop professionally.o Work collaboratively with obstetric, anaesthetic, neonatal and wider multidisciplinary teams, strengthening communication and teamwork to support coordinated, seamless care for women and families.o Champion safety, governance and quality improvement, taking an active role in audits, incident review, risk management, and implementation of national and local maternity safety initiatives.o Lead on staff development and education, including supervision, appraisal, and mentorship, ensuring a strong learning culture and supporting revalidation and continuous professional growth.o Drive service improvement and innovation, contributing to ongoing development of labour ward services, enhancing patient experience, and ensuring care aligns with best practice and national standards.o Promote compassionate, personalised care, ensuring women and families remain at the centre of all decision-making and that their voices are heard and valued in shaping services.This role is ideal for a confident, experienced midwife with strong leadership capability, excellent situational awareness, and the ability to make sound decisions under pressure, who is passionate about delivering safe, high-quality intrapartum care and supporting teams to thrive.
About us
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is one of the most complex NHS trusts in the UK, serving a large and diverse population. We provide academically led acute and specialist services, to people from the local area, from throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Our vision is to deliver top-quality patient care, excellent education, and world-class research.
We provide first-class acute and specialist services across eight sites:o University College Hospital (incorporating the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing)o National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgeryo Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitalso University College Hospital Grafton Way Buildingo Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicineo University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centreo The Hospital for Tropical Diseaseso University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street
We are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of many complex illnesses. UCLH specialises in women's health and the treatment of cancer, infection, neurological, gastrointestinal and oral disease. It has world class support services including critical care, imaging, nuclear medicine and pathology.
We are committed to sustainability and have pledged to become a carbon net zero health service, embedding sustainable practice throughout UCLH. We have set an ambitious target of net zero for our direct emissions by 2031 and indirect emissions by 2040.
Job description Job responsibilities
For the full Person Specification and more information regarding the main responsibilities of this role, please refer to the attached Job Description.
Come and be a part of the best NHS trust in England to work for, according to our staff*
* UCLH top trust to work at in England - In the most recent NHS staff survey UCLH had the highest percentage of staff who said they would recommend us as a place to work, out of all general acute or acute/community NHS trusts in England for the third year in a row.
UCLH recognises the benefits of flexible working for staff To find out more, visit: Flexible working.
To discover more about what makes UCLH a great place to work, visit: Why Choose UCLH?
Person Specification
Knowledge and Qualifications Essential
oRegistered midwife. oMentorship/SSSA qualification. oRecognised leadership training or equivalent experience.
Desirable
oMSc qualification or working towards a master's degree.
Experience Essential
oDemonstrates excellent clinical skills with a commitment to family-centred care. oAwareness and application of research-based practice. oProven managerial experience across all areas of midwifery care, including recruitment, development, and performance management. oExperience in prioritising workloads, working on own initiative, and managing team workloads effectively. oUnderstanding and engagement with clinical governance and quality issues (e.g., benchmarking). oExperience in developing mechanisms for financial control and cost-effectiveness.
Skills and Abilities Essential
oSound knowledge of current midwifery issues and their local and national relevance oIn-depth understanding of safeguarding, including the provision of staff support. oStrong skills in organisation, conflict resolution and negotiation, and complex problem-solving. oDemonstrates the ability to think creatively and develop innovative solutions.
Communication Essential
oActs as a key communication resource within the multidisciplinary team, ensuring effective information sharing and collaboration. oDemonstrates strong written and verbal communication skills. oDemonstrates strong interpersonal and non-verbal communication skills. oExcellent IT skills with experience using Microsoft Office Software (Excel, MS Teams, Word etc)
Personal and People Development Essential
oProvides supervision and support to staff, fostering a psychologically safe and inclusive working environment. oActively engages in knowledge sharing and contributes to continuous improvement across the organisation. oActively seeks, monitors, and evaluates feedback from staff and patients to inform service improvement.
Specific Requirements Essential
oAbility to work flexibly to support in the clinical area as required. oEmploys effective strategies to manage stress and work pressures in a professional manner.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details Employer name University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing, University College Hospital
25 Grafton Way
London
WC1E 6DB
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.uclh.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)