Role Summary
The Complex Needs Midwife provides expert clinical leadership and specialist support for women with complex needs, ensuring high-quality, compassionate care across hospital and community maternity services. A key aspect of this role is delivering direct clinical care through face-to-face appointments in hospital clinics, community hubs, and, where appropriate, in women’s homes. These clinics enable comprehensive assessment, care planning, and continuity for women requiring additional support.
The post holder will lead preventative strategies to improve health outcomes, champion initiatives addressing health inequalities, and ensure services meet the needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable women. They will provide mentorship and specialist advice to the multidisciplinary team, while developing training programmes to equip staff with the skills to deliver inclusive, evidence-based care. Central to the role is improving access and outcomes for women facing challenges such as substance misuse, mental health difficulties, neurodivergence, and communication barriers.
This role is a patient facing role with a high level of visibility to support both service users and staff alike.
About the Role
For more information on the Job Description and Responsibilities please click the link below.
More detail about the role
Key Responsibilities:
The post holder will deputise for the Complex Care Matron in their absence and will:
- Jointly lead the service for women who have vulnerabilities to include; drug and alcohol misuse, neurodivergence, learning disability, communication challenges, significant mental health concerns, homelessness and safeguarding concerns in pregnancy.
- Be highly visible to service users, offering face to face clinics both within the hospital and community areas to reach our most disadvantage families.
- As part of a small specialist team, provide occasional cross site cover in times of periods of high acuity, staff absence or annual leave.
- Represent the complex care service at Trust wide and external meetings
- Assist in developing robust quality assurance systems to monitor and evaluate complex care practice across the Trust.
- Provide advice and guidance to staff in maternity on all aspects of adult and child complex care needs, ensuring that staff understand their role and responsibilities in these areas.
- Work with all members of the complex needs and safeguarding team to participate in national and local initiatives to protect children and adults from harm and ensure that changes in legislation, learning, information and ideas are disseminated Trust wide.
- Assist the Trust in ensuring that service delivery is equitable and accessible to our most disadvantaged families.
- Co-ordinate holistic care to women and families affected by complex care and safeguarding issues.
- Lead complex needs related audits.
- Undertake project work under the direction of the Named Midwife for Safeguarding and Complex Needs Matron or Senior Maternity Leadership Team.
- Facilitate good standards of record keeping, report and statement writing.
- Liaise with Trust’s Legal Team and Devon County Council Legal Services Team to facilitate the Trust’s compliance with legal orders and provide support to staff when making statements or attending court.
- In order to build upon the achievements of the service thus far, an emphasis is placed upon a team ethos of mutual support and joint decision-making through collaborative effort. The post holder will be expected to work as part of the team to cover the workload.
- Maintain clinical midwifery skills in line with best practice to deliver a safe and effective service.
- There is an on-call element to the role.
Working Pattern: 15 hours per week
Interview Date: Thursday 25th June 2026
For further information please contact: Nikki Soper. Named Midwife for Safeguarding and Complex Care Matron. nicola.soper@nhs.net
This is an internal vacancy for Royal Devon employees, therefore Bank workers are currently not eligible to apply for this vacancy.
As an inclusive employer, the Royal Devon values diversity and is committed to creating a culture of inclusivity where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential. We believe in fostering a sense of belonging and actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, cultures, and abilities. We recognise the advantages of having a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve.
Preference will be given to staff with ‘Priority’ and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon.
The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust reserves the right to close vacancy when sufficient applications have been received.
The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was established in April 2022, bringing together the expertise of both the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust.
About Us
Stretching across Northern, Eastern and Mid Devon, we have a workforce of over 15,000 staff, making us the largest employer in Devon. Our core services, which we provide to more than 615,000 people, cover more than 2,000 square miles across Devon, while some of our specialist services cover the whole of the peninsula, extending our reach as far as Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
We deliver a wide range of emergency, specialist and general medical services through North Devon District Hospital and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (Wonford). Alongside our two acute hospitals, we provide integrated health and social care services across a variety of settings, including community inpatient hospitals, outpatient clinics, and within people’s own homes. We also offer primary care services, a range of specialist community services, and Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARC).
Our state-of-the-art equipment, leading technologies and strong links to local universities put us at the forefront of research and innovations, enabling us to provide world-class care to our local communities.
Our values are at the heart of everything we do, click here to find out more
It has never been a more exciting time to join the Royal Devon, as you will help to shape our services as we continue along our integration journey.
Benefits
Looking after you is important to us.
We strive to help our staff create a healthy work-life balance through flexible working schemes and our family friendly policies.
If you are starting out in the NHS, you’ll start with 27 days paid annual leave (plus bank holidays), rising to 33 days plus bank holidays.
You will benefit from access to our own comprehensive occupational health services, including counselling, onsite wellbeing activities and groups.
We will work together to maintain a culture that develops and supports you and your team.
This might include funding for a care certificate, a degree or leadership qualifications. Or it might include days off to study, engage in CPD or rotational placements to help you hone your skills. Wherever you are heading in the NHS, we will help you get there.
Salary is not the only financial benefit
You will have access to an extensive range of staff discounts on shopping, fitness and leisure options and you can spread the cost of technology and home appliance purchases from major retailers. You will also have access to other benefits including:
- National discount services such as the Blue Light Card and Health Service Discounts.
- Salary sacrifice options including our OFSTED rated outstanding nursery onsite at Exeter
- Car lease schemes.
- The NHS Pension scheme (one of the most generous and comprehensive in the UK).
- Cycle to work scheme
These are just a few of the benefits available – if the role is something you are interested in, we would love to hear from you.
