Job Overview
We are recruiting a Director of Midwifery and Neonatal Services to provide strong strategic and exceptional clinical leadership to our Midwifery and Neonatal services.
Our maternity services were rated as Outstanding in 2024 by the Care Quality Commission. We are looking for a leader who can build on this outstanding service to further improve outcomes and experience for women, birthing people, babies and families.
Across the NHS, maternity services are evolving in response to national priorities including improving safety and outcomes, addressing inequalities in care, strengthening personalised care, and ensuring a sustainable workforce.
The health and wellbeing of our staff is paramount to provide safe and compassionate care. We are looking for a visible, compassionate and values-driven leader who will continue to strengthen a culture of inclusive, high-performing teams.
This is a very exciting time for our services. The Trust is shaping the future model of maternity services, including reviewing the development of an elective maternity centre. You will play a pivotal role in this next phase of transformation.
Any development will complement the existing services of the Bath Birthing Centre and maternity units in Trowbridge, Frome, Paulton & Chippenham, supporting approx. 4500 births per year across all services. Our Neonatal Unit (level 2) is situated in a state of the art, low carbon building , providing a therapeutic environment for babies, their families & our staff.
Main duties of the job
In this integral role, you will report directly to the Chief Nursing Officer, providing assurance to the Trust Board and BSW Hospitals Joint Committee on the quality, safety and performance of maternity and neonatal services at a pivotal time for maternity care nationally. You will act as the senior professional voice for midwifery and neonatal services, ensuring safe, effective and responsive care for all.
You will work across the Directors of Midwifery across BSW Hospitals Group, the Integrated Care System and key partners, including the Local Maternity and Neonatal System and regional networks, to lead transformation of services, working in collaboration with the LMNS and the Neonatal network whilst developing meaningful relationships with our service users, our colleagues, Maternity Voices Partnership Plus and voluntary sector organisations.
You will play a key role in translating insights from women, families, staff and partners into meaningful, measurable improvement, ensuring equity of access, outcomes and experience across the population we serve.
You will be supported to develop and reach your potential which translates to you accessing the plethora of opportunities that build your professional and personal portfolio.
Interviews for this role will take pace the week commencing 22nd June 2026.
Working for our organisation
We are proud to be part of BSW Hospitals Group - a formal partnership between the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. With a combined workforce of over 17, 600 colleagues, and budget of 1.6 billion the Group is united by a common purpose to deliver the best possible care to over 1 million people.
We are creating a health and care system that works with the people we care for, reducing the differences people currently face in access, experience and outcomes, improving the experience of our colleagues and tackling shared challenges like sustainability and finances. Every improvement we make across our Group will be guided by what creates the greatest benefit for our colleagues, our patients, our communities and our partners.
By working together, we make a real difference for our patients, each other, and our community. Every role matters in delivering the exceptional, person‑centred care we’re proud of.
We’re committed to a compassionate, inclusive culture where kindness is championed, differences are valued, and diversity makes us stronger.
We want to support you to thrive, taking your career to its full potential. We prioritise staff wellbeing – and yes, we even have a pool!
Discover what it’s like to live and work in Bath, explore our RUH staff benefits, and learn how we’re building healthcare for the future through the Dyson Cancer Centre and our commitment to research.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
Please see attached job description and person specification for further details about this opportunity.
Person specification
Qualifications And Training
Essential criteria
- Registered Midwife with current NMC registration
Knowledge and experience
Essential criteria
- Contemporaneous experience of leading maternity and neonatal services for a provider organisation
- Evidence of advanced leadership and development, commensurate with executive or very senior leadership roles
- Significant experience of professional leadership and accountability across maternity and neonatal services, including local, national and regional networks
- Ability to provide Board level assurance on perinatal safety, quality and experience
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working as a Director of Midwifery or equivalent
Please note - Due to recent changes in UK immigration and visa rules applicants who do not currently have the right to work in the UK may not be considered unless an alternative right to work solution can be provided. Candidates requiring sponsorship (or will need sponsorship at the end of a current visa e.g. those with graduate visa's) should review the eligibility criteria on the gov.uk website before applying: Prove your right to work to an employer: Overview - GOV.UK
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
- Director of Midwifery and Neonates Job Description (PDF, 345.9KB)
- Director of Midwifery and Neonates Candidate Pack (PDF, 457.3KB)
- Join the RUH (PDF, 1.3MB)
Further details / informal visits contact
Name Toni Lynch / Jason Lugg Job title Chief Nursing Officer Email address antonia.lynch4@nhs.net Telephone number 07903655324 Additional information
We actively encourage you to have a discussion if you have questions or if you are interested to hear more, please do contact, Toni Lynch, Chief Nursing Officer (leaving at the end of June) on 07903655324 or Jason Lugg, commencing as Chief Nursing Officer on 1 July 2026
