About this role
Job summary
Head of Midwifery - Perinatal Quality, Safety & Assurance
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an exceptional senior midwifery leader to join our maternity leadership team.
This key role provides strategic and operational leadership for quality, safety, governance, risk and assurance across maternity services. Working closely with the Director of Midwifery, Deputy Chief Nurse, multidisciplinary teams and service users, you will lead continuous improvement and ensure the delivery of safe, personalised and equitable care for women, babies and families.
You will oversee maternity governance and assurance processes, promote learning from incidents and investigations, and drive the delivery of national and local maternity safety priorities. A central part of the role is ensuring that the voices of women, families and staff shape service improvement and that learning results in meaningful, sustainable change.
We are looking for a compassionate, credible and visible leader with significant senior midwifery experience, a strong track record in quality improvement and patient safety, excellent communication and influencing skills, and a passion for improving outcomes and experiences for women, babies and families.
Main duties of the job
You will:
Provide leadership for maternity quality, safety and governance. Lead maternity assurance, risk management and compliance programmes. Drive quality improvement and patient safety initiatives. Support learning from incidents, complaints, reviews and investigations. Lead assurance reporting to Trust committees and senior leadership teams. Work in partnership with women, families and the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP). Support implementation of national maternity strategies, standards and recommendations. You will have:
Current registration as a Midwife with the NMC. Significant experience in a senior midwifery leadership role. Expertise in clinical governance, quality improvement and patient safety. Experience of leading organisational change and service improvement. Strong analytical, communication and leadership skills. A commitment to compassionate leadership and staff development.
About us
Come Nurse with us...
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest teaching Trusts in the country. It comprises Addenbrooke's Hospital and the Rosie Hospital. We provide accessible high-quality healthcare for the local people of Cambridge and regional and national specialist services. It's a great place to nurse, work and live.
You will work on a vibrant hospital campus with a friendly community feel; we have excellent facilities to practise your skills and abilities to support your career pathway and development. Our values of Together - Safe, Kind, Excellent support the delivery of outstanding care. We have a fully electronic patient record system that is improving health-care quality; this is transforming services, improving patient safety and clinical outcomes.
Why choose Cambridge University Hospitals?
o Our values and reputation for outstanding careo Opportunities to experience a range of specialitieso Career and development opportunitieso Preceptorship and mentoring programmes delivered by a dedicated clinical education support teamo Research experience and opportunitieso Lovely location and quality of lifeo Excellent schools/colleges and transport links (road, rail and air)
Job description Job responsibilities
Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.
Due to Home Office immigration rules, a full time permanent vacancy cannot be filled by individuals on a Student visa. Therefore, please be advised that if you are a Student visa holder, we will not be able to offer you a full time permanent contract unless you have:- applied for a Graduate visa- or you will have successfully completed your course and have applied for a Graduate visa before the anticipated start date of your employment
For NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough based roles, all applicants from NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who have identified that they are at risk of redundancy will be prioritised over those not at risk. However, interviews cannot be guaranteed.
This vacancy will close at midnight on 05 Aug 2026
Interviews are due to be held on 26 Aug 2026
Benefits to you
At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.
On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only caf, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.
CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.
Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.
We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.
Person Specification
Qualifications and training Essential
oRegistered Midwife with current NMC registration. oMaster's degree or equivalent level of senior specialist knowledge and experience oEvidence of recent and relevant continuing professional development. oPSIRF training or evidence of equivalent patient safety investigation / response training. oFormal leadership / management qualification. oQuality improvement, governance, risk management or patient safety training relevant to senior perinatal leadership. oLeadership or management development relevant to a senior Band 8b role.
Desirable
oHuman Factors / SEIPS training. oDigital Safety Officer training oCoaching, mentoring or teaching qualification. oProject or programme management qualification. oResearch, audit or clinical academic training.
Experience Essential
oSignificant senior experience in maternity / perinatal governance, quality, patient safety or assurance. oExperience of leading governance, risk, incident response and improvement functions in a complex healthcare setting. oExperience of writing and presenting high-quality Board-level, committee-level or external assurance reports. oExperience of MIS Scheme, CQC or NHS England maternity assurance requirements. oExperience of managing complex incidents, complaints, claims, inquests, PMRT, MNSI or external reviews. oExperience of leading multidisciplinary improvement programmes and translating recommendations into measurable actions.
Desirable
oExperience in a tertiary, teaching hospital or complex perinatal service. oExperience of working across maternity and neonatal services. oExperience working with ICB, NHS England regional teams or other system partners. oExperience supporting a CQC inspection or external regulatory response. oExperience leading thematic reviews or deep dives.
Knowledge Essential
oAdvanced knowledge of NHS governance, quality assurance, clinical risk management and patient safety frameworks. oDetailed knowledge of current maternity and neonatal safety policy, national standards and regulatory expectations. oUnderstanding of PSIRF, Duty of Candour, Human Factors and systems-based learning. oUnderstanding of CQC Single Assessment Framework and perinatal regulatory requirements. oIn depth understanding of MIS, SBLCB, PMRT, MNSI and PQSM. oUnderstanding of equality, inclusion, health inequalities and culturally safe perinatal care.
Desirable
oKnowledge of digital quality dashboards, data visualisation and safety intelligence systems. oKnowledge of research, innovation and academic partnership opportunities in a teaching hospital setting. oKnowledge of workforce, finance and operational drivers affecting perinatal services.
Skills and Abilities Essential
oAble to analyse and interpret highly complex, sensitive or contentious information and present clear recommendations. oAble to provide credible professional advice, assurance and constructive challenge to senior leaders oExcellent written communication, including Board-level papers, briefings, action plans and assurance reports. oExcellent verbal presentation, negotiation, influencing and facilitation skills. oAble to chair complex meetings, manage competing views and support effective decision-making. oAble to lead change, manage ambiguity and deliver priorities under pressure. oAble to translate national requirements into practical local actions and measurable outcomes. oAble to work across professional, organisational and system boundaries. oAct as delegated person for Director of midwifery at internal and external Quality and Safety Forums and meetings, when requested.
Desirable
oAdvanced data analysis or dashboard development skills. oExperience applying structured improvement methodology such as PDSA, Lean or Model for Improvement. oExperience of coaching teams through complex change or safety improvement.
Personal Qualities Essential
oVisible, compassionate and inclusive leader. oProfessionally credible, emotionally intelligent and able to act with integrity. oCommitted to improving safety, experience, equity and outcomes for women, birthing people, babies and families. oAble to remain calm, balanced and effective in highly pressured or sensitive situations. oAble to constructively challenge while maintaining respectful relationships. Committed to openness, learning, staff support and a just and restorative culture. Demonstrates behaviours aligned to CUH values: Together - Safe, Kind, Excellent.
Desirable
oExperience acting as a senior role model across organisational boundaries. oEvidence of influencing culture change in a complex clinical service.
Additional Requirements Essential
oTo work on site 80% oAbility to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service. oAbility to participate in senior escalation, operational or on-call arrangements as required. oAbility to travel across Trust sites and attend regional / system meetings as required. oEnhanced DBS and occupational health clearance are appropriate to the role. oCommitment to maintaining NMC registration and meeting revalidation requirements.
Desirable
oAbility to contribute to regional or national maternity / neonatal safety workstreams.
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 Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address Cambridge University Hospitals - Addenbrookes
Hills Road
Cambridge
CB2 0QQ
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.cuh.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)