Head of Midwifery – Perinatal Quality, Safety & Assurance

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.

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.

Closing Date: 5 August 2026