Job overview We have an exciting opportunity for a clinically sound midwife with a broad range of midwifery experience and exceptional clinical ability. As Maternity Inpatient Matron, you will be responsible for leading the Maternity Inpatient services at West Herts, which includes the Antenatal and Postnatal Wards, the Maternity Day Assessment Unit and the Infant Feeding Team.The postholder will provide dynamic, professional leadership and direction across the wards and department, ensuring the highest standards of clinical care are delivered. The postholder will be required to be an accessible and visible presence, who also has excellent communication and networking skills. Main duties of the job As the Maternity Inpatient Matron, you will be responsible for setting and monitoring clinical standards and will play a proactive role in quality improvement, whilst demonstrating an awareness of the impact of each clinical area’s activity, interacting with other areas to provide a seamless service.Within the role, the post holder will have a key responsibility to promote and encourage a working environment where staff feel psychologically safe within their roles and foster an open-door policy.The Maternity Inpatient Matron will promote cultural awareness within the division for both staff and service users, and actively seek feedback from both.The postholder must have the ability to travel across the three sites within the Trust. Working for our organisation There has never been a more exciting time to join West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust! Major redevelopment works are planned as part of the New Hospital Programme. These will be most dramatic at Watford General Hospital where up to 90% of buildings will be new.The trust has recently gained ‘teaching hospital’ status which reflects the dedicated work of many teams and individuals who have set the standard for delivering high quality training, learning and education at all levels of the workforce.We encourage and welcome people with disabilities. If you need help, please ask.We reserve the right to close this advert early due to the volume of applicants. Please apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.If you do not hear back within 3 weeks of your application, please assume you have been unsuccessful on this occasion. Detailed job description and main responsibilities Offer professional support and guidance to all registered staff within the division and offer general support to staff in other divisions.Support and empower Ward Managers to make effective decisions, identifying gaps in the service and developing actions for improvementEnsure the effective deployment of staff within the division to meet service demands. Advise the Head of Midwifery of deficiencies in staffing establishment and skill mix. Contribute to the formal monitoring of staffing levels.Work closely with the Ward Managers to ensure safe and economic deployment of staff across all areas.Support the Ward Managers and other Matrons to ensure a sufficient number of mentors, NVQ assessors and Practice Development Midwives are available for the training of students and Health Care Assistants/ Maternity Support Workers within the Division.Ensure management of duty rotas/annual leave and study leave to ensure adequate midwifery cover and appropriate skill mix.Ensure that the daily workload is assessed frequently. Oversee prioritisation and allocation of staff to provide adequate staff/client ratio and encourage high standards care and their babies for women.Work collaboratively with the staff in other clinical areas, ensuring the provision of joint responsibility and support, including (where possible) the promotion of joint handovers and sharing and supporting of workloads. Person specification Your application will be scored against the Job Description Essential criteria Score 0 = does not meet the person specification, 1 = reserved meets some person specification requirements, 2 = Meets all person specification requirements. We are a flexible working employerAt West Herts we recognise the importance of a good work life balance and the ability to work flexibly. We are delighted to offer a variety of flexible working options for all staff. Please check out our web page for more information.