About this role
Job summary
We are seeking an experienced, enthusiastic and dynamic midwife to join our leadership team as a Labour Ward Coordinator within one of London's leading maternity services.
This is a rewarding opportunity to play a key role in coordinating our busy Labour Ward and obstetric theatres, ensuring the delivery of safe, compassionate and high-quality care for women, babies and their families. As a visible clinical leader, you will oversee the day-to-day operational management of the service, support patient flow, and work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to maintain excellent standards of care in a complex and fast-paced environment.
You will be responsible for providing leadership and support to midwives, doctors and maternity support workers, fostering a positive and inclusive culture where staff feel valued and empowered to deliver their best. In addition to your clinical leadership responsibilities, you will contribute to workforce development, governance, quality improvement and service transformation initiatives.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for a highly motivated registered midwife with substantial experience in acute maternity care, excellent communication and leadership skills, and the ability to make sound decisions under pressure. You will be passionate about improving women's experiences, supporting colleagues and driving high standards of care.
In return, UCLH offers a supportive and forward-thinking working environment, commitment to staff wellbeing, excellent professional development opportunities and the chance to be part of a world-class maternity service at the forefront of innovation and excellence in maternity care
As a Band 7 Labour Ward Coordinator, you will provide visible clinical and operational leadership within our busy maternity service, coordinating activity across Labour Ward, obstetric theatres and maternity triage to ensure the safe and effective delivery of care. You will oversee patient flow, staffing and resource allocation, making timely decisions and escalating concerns appropriately to support positive outcomes for women and babies.
Working closely with the multidisciplinary team, you will support and develop midwives and maternity support workers, promoting a culture of compassion, learning and continuous improvement. You will contribute to service development, quality improvement, clinical governance and workforce initiatives, including staff support, recruitment, rostering and wellbeing.
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.
We are looking for an experienced and motivated midwife with excellent leadership, communication and organisational skills, who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is committed to delivering high-quality, woman-centred care. The successful candidate will demonstrate sound clinical judgement, resilience under pressure and a passion for improving both patient and staff experience.
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
Registered Midwife Educated to degree level or working towards a Master's degree Relevant neonatal qualification or demonstrable neonatal experience
Desirable
Leadership or management qualification Practice Education, PMA or equivalent relevant qualification
Experience Essential
Substantial post-registration midwifery experience, including significant experience within a labour ward setting Demonstrable operational management experience within an acute hospital setting Substantial experience of teaching, supporting and mentoring junior staff and students Experience of undertaking the role of Shift Coordinator SSSA or equivalent
Desirable
Experience of participating in or undertaking audit, research, service evaluation or quality improvement
Communication Essential
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate clearly and effectively at all levels Ability to work collaboratively and effectively within multidisciplinary teams Ability to build effective relationships and meaningfully engage with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders Excellent negotiation, influencing and conflict-resolution skills Ability to communicate sensitively, professionally and appropriately in complex and challenging situations Ability to constructively challenge clinical decisions and practice where necessary, advocating for the safety and best interests of women, babies and families Demonstrable understanding of maternity clinical governance, including risk management, incident reporting, learning from incidents, audit and quality improvement
Personal and People Development Essential
Ability to lead and manage a large and diverse staffing group, including complex staffing, performance and workforce issues Demonstrable organisational, planning and workforce management skills Ability to make timely, safe and effective decisions under pressure and in complex clinical situations Demonstrable up-to-date knowledge of professional, clinical and workforce issues affecting nursing and midwifery practice Excellent time-management skills, with the ability to manage competing and complex demands Ability to adapt priorities effectively in response to changing clinical acuity, staffing levels and operational pressures Ability to effectively manage, support and develop a range of staff groups within a busy clinical environment Ability to act as a visible, credible and compassionate clinical leader within the labour ward Ability to develop and maintain effective professional networks both within the organisation and with external partners and professional groups
Responsibilities towards promoting Equality Diversity and Inclusion Essential
Demonstrable understanding of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion principles, with the ability to promote an inclusive, respectful and equitable environment for women, babies, families and colleagues, and to recognise and appropriately challenge discrimination and inequality
Specific Requirements Essential
Ability to work flexibly to meet the clinical and operational demands of the labour ward, including weekends and periods of increased activity Ability to adapt to changing workload, clinical acuity and staffing requirements to support the safe and effective running of the unit IT literate, with the ability to use electronic patient records, maternity information systems and relevant workforce and administrative systems
Desirable
Ability to work 37.5 hours per week in accordance with service requirements
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)