Infant Feeding, Team Leader

This is an existing position to lead theInfant Feeding Teamat Somerset NHS Foundation Trust.

As the Team leader you will be responsible for managing the Infant Feeding team to enable advancements within the Infant Feeding team to ensure ongoing accreditation under the UNICEF Baby Friendly scheme.

We are proud of theMaternity Serviceswe offer and if you are considering applying for this post and would like to find out more, please contact us, you are also welcome to arrange a visit with us to look around our Maternity Unit and our Services.

The post holder will have responsibility for providing leadership, development and implementation of infant feeding policy and practice within Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, in line with UNICEF requirements, to meet national and local breastfeeding targets and address health inequalities.

Ensuring that Somerset NHS Foundation Trust maintains accreditation with the UNICEF (UK) Baby Friendly standards, to embed sustained change within the Trust, and to develop a system of continuous improvement.

The post holder will have significant knowledge and experience in breastfeeding practice and management and will work as part of a county-wideBreastfeeding Development Teamtowards improving breastfeeding initiation and continuation rates, ensuring continuity of services fromAcutetoCommunitysettings, therefore you must be a car driver with a valid driving licence or have access to transport with appropriate business insurance in order to travel throughout the Trust, to meet the needs of the service.

To champion the UNICEF baby friendly standards and support the development of a culture that embraces breastfeeding as the preferred infant feeding choice through coordinating the efforts of staff and the health community within and beyond the Secondary Care Trust.

The post holder will be the team leader for the infant feeding team which includes managing rotas, appraisals and supporting the continued development of a specialist service.

Somerset NHS Trust provides acute services to a registered population of 333,510 living in the west side of the county of Somerset. The east side of the county with a registered population of 114,635 (based at Yeovil), 59,283 are served from Bath.

Somerset has the most beautiful scenery; from the peace and quiet of Exmoor National Park and the Exmoor Heritage Coast to the magnificence of Cheddar Gorge and the magic of the Wookey Hole Caves. Imagine being able to spend the end of your working day wondering along the coast at Weston-Super-Mare or going home to some of the most well-known towns and villages in the UK such as Burnham-on-Sea, Glastonbury, Taunton, Yeovil, Minehead, Portishead, Bruton and Dulverton.

Perhaps you enjoy music and would like to live and work just a stone’s throw away from the largest music festival the UK has to offer. The history of Cheddar cheese is practically etched into the caves of Cheddar Gorge, which still provides the backdrop of the maturing process for original cheddar cheese. The gorge itself is the largest in Britain.

To co-ordinate and develop the Infant Feeding services provided to women and their families.

Main contacts:

• Acute Trust Senior Managers, Matrons, Midwives
• Somerset Community Health Senior Managers, Infant Feeding Specialists, Health Visitors and School Health Nurses
• Clinical Commissioning Groups ~ Public Health Directorate / Senior Managers and Lead Officers
• Mothers, families and babies
• Primary Health Care Staff, General Practitioners
• Consultant Obstetricians
• Consultant neonatologists and the neonatal nursing team
• Paediatric department
• Pharmacy
• Surgery and inpatient wards
• Local Authority Early Years staff, Children Centre Managers and staff and Early Years support workers
• Regional Breastfeeding/Infant Feeding Co-ordinator
• Voluntary Sector and Community Groups

You will work closely with all teams within the Maternity Department as well as the IT and digital team, quality improvement, practice development, WREN and other ward areas working towards the baby friendly initiative..

• The post holder will be an experienced midwife and will be expected to continue with post registration, education and development to remain a confident midwife able to provide care for women either in the community or hospital environment.
• Lead the team to actively support women with breastfeeding in the community and postnatal ward
• Accurately monitor the success of further developments in the service.
• Act as a resource for staff in both a hospital and community setting.
• Maintain an active role in clinical governance initiatives.
• To monitor and assess staff/students during their clinical experience and participate in the appraisal of their performance.
• Be aware of current research/approaches to client care and demonstrate this in practice & encourage innovation in midwifery practice.

For full details on the role, please see the attached job Description.