About this role
Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Band 6 Midwife to join the Bracken Birth Centre team at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. This role offers the chance to provide safe, personalised and evidence-based care to women, birthing people and their babies throughout the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal journey.
Working both autonomously and as part of a multidisciplinary team, you will support positive birth experiences, promote informed choice, and deliver high-quality maternity care across community and acute settings. You will play a key role in supporting physiological birth, recognising and responding to complications and emergencies, and ensuring women and families receive compassionate, individualised care throughout their maternity journey.
You'll be an experienced registered midwife with strong clinical skills, a commitment to delivering outstanding care, and the confidence to work independently while contributing positively to a supportive team environment. You will act as a professional role model, helping to maintain patient safety and quality standards while contributing to service development through audit, learning and evidence-based practice.
The role also includes supervising and supporting students, newly qualified midwives and support staff, promoting collaborative working across the maternity pathway, and contributing to the delivery of a responsive, inclusive and compassionate service.
Main duties of the job
You'll provide holistic, individualised care to women, birthing people and their babies, supporting informed choice and promoting positive birth experiences. This includes:
Delivering high-quality antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care.Supporting physiological birth, waterbirth and personalised birth plans.Participating in the on-call rota, including attending home births.Undertaking clinical assessments, risk assessments and care planning.Recognising and responding appropriately to complications and emergencies.Providing safeguarding support, parent education and emotional support to families.Maintaining accurate clinical records and ensuring high standards of professional practice.Working collaboratively with obstetric, neonatal, infant feeding, safeguarding, community and primary care colleagues to provide seamless maternity care.
About us
At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:
Flexible working options to help you balance work and lifeNHS pension scheme for long-term financial securityGenerous annual leave allowance to recharge and relaxA strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potentialAdditionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.
We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.
Why Somerset? Somerset offers the perfect blend of idyllic countryside, outstanding areas of natural beauty, and breathtaking coastlines, with vibrant cities like Bristol, Bath, and Exeter just a short drive away - and only two hours to London.
The region is home to excellent educational facilities, and with affordable housing compared to other parts of the country, it's a great place to build both your career and your future.
Somerset truly has it all - the peaceful countryside and cosmopolitan city life, with something for everyone to enjoy.
Job description Job responsibilities
You will assess, plan, deliver and evaluate individualised care throughout the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal periods, undertaking risk assessments, escalating concerns appropriately, and maintaining accurate and timely records. You will advocate for women and families, provide emotional support during sensitive situations, and promote informed choice and continuity of care wherever possible.
Working collaboratively with obstetricians, neonatal teams, health visitors, GPs, maternity support workers, infant feeding teams and safeguarding services, you will help deliver seamless care across maternity pathways. You will contribute to patient safety initiatives, quality improvement projects, clinical governance, audits, incident reporting and the implementation of evidence-based care.
Within the Birth Centre, you will utilise your clinical expertise to provide calm, confident intrapartum care, supporting water birth, active labour and personalised birth preferences within a welcoming midwifery-led environment. You will be encouraged to maintain, develop and extend your clinical skills, including perineal suturing, cannulation, newborn resuscitation and obstetric emergency management.
You will manage a small caseload of women and birthing people, providing maternity care, safeguarding support and parent education, while also participating in the on-call rota and attending home births.
As a Band 6 Midwife, you will provide visible leadership within the team, supporting the development of students, newly qualified midwives and maternity support workers through supervision, teaching and assessment. You will contribute to the day-to-day running of the service and help foster a culture of learning, collaboration and continuous improvement.
We are looking for a flexible, enthusiastic and compassionate midwife with excellent communication skills, emotional resilience and a commitment to providing kind, respectful and personalised care to every family.
Join us and be part of a compassionate, innovative maternity service that values your skills, supports your development and prioritises your wellbeing.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
NMC registration Educated to Diploma/degree level or above Completed preceptorship development programme with a minimum of 1 year post qualification experience. Mentor/assessor training qualification UK driving licence and access to car
Desirable
Neonatal Life Support Neonatal and Infant Physical Examination qualification (NIPE) or working towards
Experience Essential
Can practice as an autonomous midwife in the acute and primary care setting Clinical skills and experience in venepuncture, cannulation, perineal suturing Experience of assist instrumental births Management of epidural anaesthesia Knowledge and ability to deal appropriately with high-risk cases Knowledge and experience to deal appropriately with obstetric emergencies in the absence of medical staff Ability to supervise learners
Desirable
Completed preceptorship Management of homebirth and water birth
Additional Criteria Essential
Approachable and flexible attitude to work Ability to work collaboratively with clinical teams and project managers Ability to display sound judgement and objectivity. Have an awareness of and commitment to, equality and diversity Regular exposure to unpredictable high levels of clinical activity Willing to work throughout the maternity service, in hospital and in the community Must be able to practice in all areas in accordance with the Midwives code of conduct Ability to communicate to groups of people including parenting skills and childbirth knowledge Ability to participate in the 24-hour service provision including participating in on call rota
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 Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Address Musgrove Park Hospital
Musgrove Road
Taunton
Somerset
TA1 5DA
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.somersetft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)