Job summary
The Digital Midwife provides clinical leadership to ensure maternity services are fully represented within the Maternity Electronic Patient Record (EPR) programme. Acting as the link between maternity teams and the digital programme, the postholder supports the design, implementation, optimisation, and adoption of the EPR, ensuring clinical workflows, documentation, safety requirements, and reporting needs are accurately reflected.

Working closely with clinical, operational, and digital colleagues, the role translates maternity requirements into effective digital solutions, supporting process redesign, system configuration, testing, training, and user engagement. The Digital Midwife champions digital transformation, promotes best practice, and identifies opportunities to improve patient safety, data quality, information sharing, and service efficiency.

The postholder also contributes to clinical safety assurance, ensuring maternity risks are assessed and mitigated throughout implementation. Following go-live, they will support optimisation, benefits realisation, and continuous improvement activities, helping maternity services maximise the value of the Trust's digital investment and deliver safe, high-quality, person-centred care.

Main duties of the job

• Work clinically with frontline teams in delivering direct patient care as a professional expert and role model in the use of clinical informatics
• Support the delivery of safe, clinical technology to promote safe, efficient and timely patient care and the Trust's Digital Strategy.
• Collaborate and assist the CXIO and Digital Matrons to deliver the best technology to support high quality and safe patient care.
• Identify and explore potential system developments which support staff in changing both clinical and administrative practices, underpinning the delivery of more effective and efficient patient care.
• Evaluate as fit for purpose the systems proposed for implementation, representing the views of healthcare professionals across the Trust when designing, testing, and implementing new systems.
• Act as a key resource to support change in the clinical environment; working alongside clinical colleagues, leading by example to understand challenges and motivate those who are reluctant to embrace digital technology and use strength based approaches to enhance the benefits innovation and new skills will bring.
• Use expert clinical and informatics knowledge to lead stakeholder groups to develop current process maps and recommend future ways of working.

About us
Bolton NHS Foundation Trust is one of the North West's busiest healthcare providers, delivering high-quality care at Royal Bolton Hospital and across 20+ community sites. Serving around 320,000 people in Bolton and Greater Manchester, the Trust employs over 6,000 staff and is rated 'Good' by the Care Quality Commission. Our services include emergency care, maternity, surgical specialties, and community health, all underpinned by our values: Vision, Openness, Integrity, Compassion, and Excellence.

What We Offer

• Professional Development - Training opportunities and ongoing learning.
• Supportive Culture - Collaborative team environment.
• Impactful Work - Help improve and implement digital tools and technologies to enhance patient care and staff efficiency.
• Variety & Challenge - EPR changes, clinical safety standards, clinical process mapping, and supporting technical projects.
• Commitment to Equality & Wellbeing - Thrive in an inclusive, respectful workplace that champions diversity and prioritises your health, and overall wellbeing.

Job responsibilities
Responsibility for Patient Care

• Work clinically with frontline teams in delivering direct patient care as a professional expert and role model in the use of clinical informatics
• Meeting the needs of patients/citizens and clinical staff by assisting in the provision of safe and appropriate innovations and technologies to support high quality and safe care.
• Act as an advocate in promoting and delivering the highest standards of care, ensuring all fundamentals are evidence based and relate to current policy.
• Support the delivery of safe, clinical technology to promote safe, efficient and timely patient care and the Trusts Digital and Clinical Strategy.
• Collaborate and assist the CXIO to deliver the best technology to support high quality and safe patient care.
• Identify and explore potential system developments which support staff in changing both clinical and administrative practices, underpinning the delivery of more effective and efficient patient care.
• Evaluate as fit for purpose the systems proposed for implementation, representing the views of healthcare professionals across the Trust when designing, testing, and implementing new systems.

Communications & Leadership Skills

• To acquire and maintain detailed knowledge of the clinical systems/applications and provide clinical expertise, advice and support to assist departmental managers and colleagues when appropriate.
• Provide clinical expertise in the development and delivery of training interventions through various methods and techniques, including groups and one-to-one training and training within the workplace which may involve setting up of temporary training areas within Clinical areas.
• Organise, Lead and deputy-chair the various Trustwide clinical system optimisation groups to agree, guide and inform the Informatics team regarding updates and changes to nursing or other clinical practice requirements.
• Establish and maintain effective communication with all parties in an empathetic and reassuring manner when communicating highly sensitive and complex information and advice.
• Act as a key resource to translate complex clinical requirements into technical specification.
• Act as a key resource to support change in the clinical environment; working alongside clinical colleagues, leading by example to understand challenges and motivate those who are reluctant to embrace digital technology and use strength based approaches to enhance the benefits innovation and new skills will bring.
• Support staff in becoming involved and developing their skills in quality improvement, clinical audit and research relating to the use of clinical systems and digital technology.
• Report to the Digital Teams on progress with defined projects and tasks highlighting any variance from the agreed plan, remedial action required and outcomes.
• Use expert clinical and informatics knowledge to lead stakeholder groups to develop current process maps and recommend future ways of working.
• Undertake and support the development of staff in line with Appraisals, Investors in People and other associated guidance.
• Act as an ambassador for Digital Services by developing and maintaining excellent working relationships with users across the organisation to deliver a high quality, standard IT culture to achieve local requirements and national targets.
• Lead in the development and maintenance of a culture of service provision and continuous improvement for own areas.
• Be responsible for proposing changes to policies, in line with legislation, Trust and NHS policies and guidelines across the Trust, where appropriate.
• Pro-actively lead in ensuring that Digital services delivered within the Trust reflect best practice with respect to organisational, NHS and legislative requirements and guidelines.
• Participate in Information Governance and security as required and ensure appropriate governance and security in own area.
• Ensure change management is applied in own areas and follows implemented policies and procedures.
• Ensure all documentation relating to own area is complete and fit for purpose and all releases relating to hardware, software and documentation is controlled.
• Ensure that there is a proactive and comprehensive approach to risk management and be responsible for service continuity for own area and participate in the Informatics service continuity planning.
• Provide clinical leadership to the relevant management, project and deployment teams during the preparation, training, implementation and go-live phases of Clinical systems deployment, as well as assisting with the provision of ongoing support to ensure a safe and smooth transition to new applications and business processes; this may be outside of normal office hours.
• Working collaboratively with clinical stakeholders securing engagement, and commitment to developing and delivering a digital way of working. This must span all healthcare professionals involved in patient care.
• Lead on the development of Clinical modules and care pathways within an EPR, from a clinical perspective.

Analytical & Judgemental Skills

• Advise and participate in the development and implementation of projects or programmes where required, to maintain a good understanding of departmental services and ensure the provision of integrated solutions and that user objectives are achieved. This should include consideration of the impact on Informatics BAU operational day to day work.
• Manage assigned projects or programmes, and support and co-ordinate the activities of Project or Programme Boards and Project or Programme Teams, when required, and making presentations, where required, to all levels of staff.
• Analyse and triangulate a wide range of data and work with the CXIO and other Clinical, Midwifery and Operational Leads and their teams to identify opportunities for implementing improvements.
• Utilise expert clinical skills to formulate, analyse and present information that may be complex in relation to service requirements to improve safety, efficiency and effectiveness, communicating this to managers/leaders and others across the Trust
• Carry out a gap analysis to compare current services and clinical practices with the clinical systems functionality, identifying any system shortfalls, whether the functionality is fit for purposes and changes needed to operational practices.

Planning & Organisational Skills

• Contribute to ongoing development of digital innovation by putting forward expert clinical knowledge and views on opportunities for enhancement and future ways of working.
• Work autonomously to plan, prioritise and manage own workload, adjusting activities and responding quickly and appropriately to safely manage competing issues whilst adhering to deadlines, escalating if necessary to senior team or manager.
• Assist clinical and operational managers in the planning and application of recognised improvement methods to enable change.
• Assist with producing and publication of promotional materials, including articles, posters, intranet updates, exhibitions and presentations to support new or enhanced software/system requirements.
• Work with Project Managers, Clinical Leads, Service Improvement staff, Management Accountants, etc. to help identify projects that will realise benefits supported by Digital developments.
• Demonstrate a flexible approach in training provision recognising the 24/7 nature of clinical care and to effectively meet the demands for training within the Digital Programme.
• Deputise for the Digital Matron when required; this may include the transcription and dissemination of minutes/actions.
• Provide the CXIO and senior stakeholders with timely digital systems updates and reports regarding key performance indicators as identified in project targets, which in turn inform the Trust Senior Management, Executives, and various Boards on Clinical Business change activities.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience
• NMC/HCPC Relevant Professional Qualification
• Leadership qualification or equivalent experience
• Teaching / mentorship experience
• Completion of the essential and intermediate Digital Clinical Safety training

Desirable

• Masters Degree or equivalent experience
• Teaching qualification
• Project Management Qualification
• Digital Clinical Safety practitioner qualification

Experience
Essential

• Substantial clinical experience at a senior level in the relevant profession
• Experience of the use of technology and clinical IT solutions in the clinical environment
• Recent clinical practice
• Delivering presentations to large and small groups
• Teaching and mentoring in clinical practice
• Experience of leadership/management in a MDT role
• Patient safety and systems processes; including risk assessment and risk management and Incident Management
• Recent experience Implementing change, leading a quality improvement initiative/ project
• Experience working within a Clinical Informatics role
• Key member of a project team implementing a Heath IT System

Desirable

• Experience of testing of clinical software and applications prior to deployment
• Experience as a Clinical Safety Officer
• Knowledge and broad range of experience with risk management across clinical and technical IT fields including creation and maintenance of risk and issues logs

Skills
Essential

• Basic and enhanced clinical nursing/ Midwifery/ AHP competence
• Able to engage colleagues through leadership, passion and effective communication of Trust Digital Strategy and overarching principles
• Able to obtain and evaluate information including data analysis and audit skills to aid decision making
• Provide and receive highly complex and sensitive information.
• Strong and effective management skills, of yourself and others including organising, planning and delivering complex activities
• The ability to communicate contentious information to an audience that may not be receptive.
• Can articulate and engage others in a vision for digital as an enabler for improvements in clinical quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; written, oral and electronic
• Use of Microsoft Office 365
• Quality Improvement methodology
• Ability to engage and support staff in adopting new methods of working.
• Skilled negotiator, who is able to motivate and persuade if required, using tact and persuasive skills
• To be highly reflective and learn from experience

Desirable

• Ability to carry out a root cause analysis within Investigation processes
• Coaching
• Skilled in leading digital clinical safety work for projects
• Experience in informing National, Regional and organisational digital policy including governance structures and processes

Knowledge
Essential

• Knowledge of acute and community pathways across nursing, AHP and midwifery
• In depth knowledge of key national and local strategic priorities relating to safe and quality care delivery
• Knowledge and understanding of change processes
• Capabilities and understanding of clinical systems to support the translation and application of complex clinical information into digital technologies
• Knowledge of existing and emerging technologies applicable to health and clinical practice
• Understanding of the Digital requirements within the NHS, its related issues, main purpose and benefits
• Understanding of the IM&T requirements within the NHS, its related issues, main purpose and benefits
• Understanding of the impacts of healthcare IT systems on clinical practice and patient care
• Sound knowledge of a risk management process with ability to engage clinicians in the process and effective risk management

Desirable

• Knowledge of NHS Informatics and business requirements
• Knowledge of the DCB0160 and DCB0129 standards
• Leading on risk management and incident investigation in association to quality governance

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).