Lead Matron – Maternity Services: Sponsorship Available

University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust

Job summary

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us.

Please see below for detailed job description of the role.

Main duties of the job

We are seeking an exceptional and inspirational maternity leader to join our senior leadership team as Lead Matron for Maternity Services at Southampton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced senior midwifery leader who is passionate about delivering outstanding care, improving outcomes for women, birthing people, babies and families, and leading high-performing multidisciplinary teams.

Serving a diverse population and providing a full range of specialist and tertiary maternity services, our maternity unit delivers approximately 5000 births annually and is committed to excellence, innovation and continuous improvement.

As Lead Matron, you will play a pivotal role in providing visible, compassionate and inclusive leadership across Maternity Services, ensuring the highest standards of safety, quality, patient experience and staff wellbeing.

The successful candidate will be actively involved in operational leadership and will be a key influencer to ensure the provision of evidence-based midwifery care for service users and families.

Working in close partnership with the Director of Midwifery, Senior Midwifery Leadership Team and Maternity Operational Team, this individual will contribute to the development of the framework for the maternity strategy and lead on the operational implementation of the maternity strategic vision both at UHS and within the wider LMNS across SHIP.

Person Specification

Qualifications, knowledge and experience

Essential

  • 1st Level registered nurse/ODP on relevant part of the NMC/HPC Register
  • First degree or equivalent
  • First degree or equivalent
  • Master’s or equivalent education
  • Specialist qualification
  • Leadership training
  • Management training
  • Extensive experience in acute healthcare in clinical leadership/management position
  • Evidence of advanced leadership qualities
  • Formal and informal teaching experience
  • Staff and resource management experience
  • Experience of introducing change to clinical environment
  • Report writing skills and experience
  • Budget management experience

Desirable

  • Understanding of specialist area
  • Extensive knowledge of National and Local NHS and N&M agenda
  • Project management skills

Trust Values and Behaviours

Essential

  • Patients First
  • Always Improving
  • Working Together

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).

Closing Date: 30 August 2026

To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.