Matron Maternity Acute

Matron Acute Maternity Services will provide professional, clinical and

operational leadership across acute maternity services, ensuring the delivery

of safe, effective and compassionate care for women, babies and families. The

post holder will lead and support multidisciplinary teams, promote high

standards of clinical practice, and ensure compliance with national standards,

Trust policies and regulatory requirements. They will oversee service

performance, workforce planning, patient experience, risk management and

clinical governance activities, using data and audit findings to drive

continuous quality improvement. The Matron will work collaboratively with

senior leaders, clinicians and partner organisations to support service

development and transformation, ensuring that maternity services are

responsive, sustainable and focused on achieving excellent outcomes. The role

also includes managing resources effectively, supporting staff wellbeing and

development, leading investigations and learning from incidents, and acting as

a visible role model who promotes a positive culture of safety, accountability,

inclusion and excellence across the maternity workforce.

Matron Acute Maternity Services is a senior leadership position responsible for

the strategic, professional, clinical and operational management of acute

maternity services across County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

The role provides strong visible leadership to midwifery, nursing and support

staff, ensuring that women, babies and their families receive safe, effective,

personalised and compassionate care at all times. The post holder is

accountable for maintaining high standards of clinical quality, patient safety

and service performance while supporting the Trust's ambition to deliver

outstanding maternity care.

Matron will lead the day-to-day operational delivery of maternity services,

ensuring that services are responsive to patient demand, appropriately staffed

and able to meet national, regional and local performance standards. They will

work closely with the Director and Heads of Midwifery, senior clinicians,

operational teams and partner organisations to develop and implement strategies

that improve outcomes for women and babies, enhance patient experience and

support the long-term sustainability of maternity services.

A key

element of the role is providing professional leadership and support to

multidisciplinary teams, promoting a culture of excellence, learning and

continuous improvement. The Matron will be responsible for leading, motivating

and developing staff through effective workforce planning, recruitment,

retention, succession planning, performance management and education

initiatives. They will ensure staff have access to appropriate professional

development opportunities and that training compliance is maintained across all

areas of responsibility. The post holder will actively promote staff wellbeing,

equality, diversity and inclusion, creating an environment where staff feel

valued, supported and empowered to deliver high-quality care.

Matron will have significant responsibility for clinical governance and quality

assurance. This includes overseeing risk management processes, leading

investigations into incidents, complaints and concerns, ensuring implementation

of learning from reviews and supporting the development of robust action plans

to drive improvement. They will use audit findings, performance metrics,

patient feedback and national benchmarking data to identify opportunities for

service enhancement and ensure that quality standards are continually monitored

and improved. The post holder will work to ensure compliance with relevant

legislation, regulatory requirements, professional standards and national

maternity safety programmes.

If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager.

You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks.

We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented.

Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents.

Over reliance on

AI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances of

success.

For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.

Please note that we may close any vacancy early once a sufficient number of applications have been received.

Statutory Registration

Essential: - Registered Midwife NMC

Special Skills & Knowledge

Desirable: - Knowledge of Trust wide policies.

Qualifications

Desirable: - Working towards completion of masters degree.; - Eligible to be Professional Midwifery Advocate

Special Requirements

Experience

Desirable: - Experience of leading and driving clinical governance.