Senior Midwifery Practitioner - Infant Feeding Lead

Job Overview

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

Job Title: Senior Midwifery Practitioner - Infant Feeding Lead

Contract Type: Permanent

Please be advised that this vacancy may close earlier than stated if we receive a large number of applications.

Main duties of the job

Our Maternity Service at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) are delighted to be recruiting a full time band 7 midwife to our Infant Feeding Team.

Do you have a passion for providing evidence-based feeding support within a multi-disciplinary team? Are you keen to offer appropriate advice and management of feeding issues where interventions may support an effective feeding journey for our families?

Do you have a calm approach while being visible and providing professionally strong role-modelling?

If so, we would love to speak with you to understand how you would be the best fit for this well-regarded service.

UHS offers fantastic training and development giving you the best possible opportunities to achieve the career you want. Development of our staff is central to the delivery of high quality, safe and effective care.

We can offer opportunities to develop within a supportive environment, and our staff survey results reflect our commitment to facilitate your career progression.

Working for our organisation

As one of the largest acute teaching Trusts in England, we offer learning and development opportunities to help you achieve the career you aspire to. UHS is rated ‘Good’ by the CQC and in the latest national NHS Staff Survey, we were in the top 10 acute trusts for staff engagement and for staff recommending the hospital as a place to work or receive care.

We support flexible working and will consider requests taking into account the needs of the service. UHS employees are able to access a range of NHS discounts, are entitled to a minimum of 35 days paid holiday (pro rata), and we offer a generous pension scheme.

Southampton is an attractive place to live and work situated on the south coast, with an international airport and direct trains to London. The New Forest National Park and beaches of the Jurassic coast are also right on our doorstep. The city offers living costs 30% lower than London and 17 schools rated outstanding by Ofsted.

We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. However, personalising your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

What you will do:

• Lead the planning, implementation, maintenance, and evaluation of agreed standards for infant feeding.
• Provide leadership and collaboration to meet the vision for achieving and then maintaining full UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative BFI accreditation.
• Provide leadership support and direction to the Infant Feeding Service ensuring that the team is able to work effectively supporting our families both in and out of the hospital setting.
• Participate in and support regular audits.
• Support and encourage quality and service improvements led by both evidence and service user feedback.
• Champion the public health benefits of breastfeeding, leading initiatives to increase breastfeeding continuation rates in alignment with BFI standards.
• Provide specialist clinical support and expert advice on infant feeding, working collaboratively with the wider workforce to deliver individualised, evidence-based care and support to families.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive training strategy to ensure all members of the multidisciplinary team receive appropriate foundational education and regular updates in infant feeding practices.
• Ensure personalised support to empower informed feeding choices and promote positive outcomes.
• Contribute to the delivery of high-quality training programmes and workshops for both healthcare professionals and service users, supporting a culture of continuous learning and improvement.
• Lead the implementation of evidence-based practice changes, ensuring care remains individualised and responsive to emerging themes through robust, local governance processes.
• Collaborate with local services and partners to promote and support breastfeeding, contributing to improved public health outcomes across the community.
  
  

You Will Be Expected To Demonstrate

• Competency and skills acquisition within the band 7 midwife role

Being a strong advocate of effective and evidence based feeding practices

The ability to perform and train staff to maintain an effective frenulotomy service

Ability to communicate effectively and compassionately

Ability to work under own initiative and prioritise workload

Good interpersonal skills

Enjoying working collaboratively with our families and supporting their decisions.

For an overview of the position, please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification document. This includes a detailed breakdown of the key responsibilities, role expectations, and the qualifications we are looking for.

Person specification

Qualifications, Knowledge And Experience

Essential criteria

• Registered Midwife on relevant part of the NMC register
• Significant clinical experience
• Evidence of continual professional development
• Associate/mentorship qualification or equivalent experience
• Relevant and recent clinical experience or with the ability to demonstrate significant experience in midwifery practice and responsibility for managing a clinical team
• Expert clinical skills relevant to speciality and achievement of all midwifery competencies
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Experience of writing protocols, guidelines and integrated care pathways
• High dependency course
• Team leadership role
• Evidence of audit
• Examination of the newborn qualification
• Understanding of local and national NHS initiatives
  
  

Trust Values and Behaviours

Essential criteria

• Patients First
• Always Improving
• Working Together