Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Perinatal Governance and Quality Lead
The closing date is 18 November 2026

Job summary
The post holder has a key role within the perinatal services in supporting the delivery of National and Regional safety and quality requirements including the provision of evidence and continuous monitoring of governance and quality improvements within the service.

Support perinatal services in meeting its statutory requirements and clinical governance objectives by overseeing assurance, monitoring and reporting on risk management processes, guidelines and policies, Care Quality Commission standards and regulations, regulatory initiatives and in particular lead on of compliance to National drivers and National maternity reports including Ockennden, Amos, maternity Incentives scheme and saving babies Lives etc

Main duties of the job
The post holder has a key role within the perinatal services in supporting the delivery of National and Regional safety and quality requirements including the provision of evidence and continuous monitoring of governance and quality improvements within the service.

• To act as the divisional lead within the Perinatal Service to ensure an integrated approach to patient safety and embedding a safety culture and early escalation of risks and issues.
• Support the Divisional Director of Midwifery and Divisional deputy Directors of Midwifery and nursing across the W+C Division to provide assurance that perinatal services meet its statutory requirements and clinical governance objectives by overseeing, monitoring and reporting on progress of national and local drivers.
• Drive sustainable improvement in learning and practice.
• Deliver improvements in quality and safety within maternity and neonatal services ensuring compliance with Trust, National / regional policies, guidelines and legislation.
• Collaborate with the senior leadership team to enable a positive safety culture within the division, working with clinical teams to agree and ensure the maintenance of high standards of practice and behaviours.

About us
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

Our services:

• Acute Care: Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
• Primary Care: Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
• Community Services: Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
• Specialist Regional Services: We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.

Details
Date posted: 10 November 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8a
Salary: £57,528 to £64,750 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 409-S8361588
Job locations: Mersey and West Lancashire NHS Trust, Warrington Road, Prescot, L35 5DR, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities
Please ensure you have read through the attached Job Description and Person Specification before submitting your application.
Advertising date: 10th November 2026
Closing date: 18th November 2026
Shortlisting date: 19th November 2026
Proposed Interview date: 26th November 2026
Please note, this post may close earlier than advertised if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Person Specification
Values (Essential): We are kind; We are open; We are inclusive

Qualifications

• Essential: Registered Midwife; Evidence of post registration education; Educated to degree level; Management/ Leadership qualification or equivalent
• Desirable: Masters' qualification or evidence of working towards

Knowledge

• Essential: An in-depth understanding of all aspects of evidence-based midwifery practice
• Ability to demonstrate knowledge of governance processes
• Able to demonstrate significant personal involvement in change management/ implementation of new systems
• Able to build rapport and credibility with senior clinical and managerial teams in the delivery of performance targets, service delivery and change programmes
• Ability to deliver objectives within an agreed timeframe
• Knowledge of CQC and MIS compliance
• Highly developed leadership and influencing skills with the ability to enthuse, motivate and involve individuals and teams
• Good understanding of quality improvement techniques, clinical audit, risk management and complaints
• Experience of improvement measurement systems and understanding of the role of measurement in performance improvement
• Ability to design and develop support programmes and engagement plans, evaluation and monitoring of plans
• Evidence of guideline, research and audit experience

Skills

• Essential: Ability to communicate effectively with staff at all levels in a sensitive manner
• Effective leadership skills
• Excellent communication skills, written, verbal and IT skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and able to engage and build effective relationships
• Presents concepts and ideas clearly so that others understand what is being communicated.
• Evidence of excellent report writing skills
• Excellent organisational and administrative skills
• Proven ability to negotiate, persuade, influence, motivate, support and gain the respect of other health care professionals
• Able to apply action learning and other methods to facilitate staff development
• Ability to prioritise work in the face of competing demands
• Able to work within a given resource and demonstrate imaginative and effective use of resources
• Ability to support reflective practice

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details
Employer name: Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Address: Mersey and West Lancashire NHS Trust, Warrington Road, Prescot, L35 5DR, United Kingdom
Employer's website: https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/

Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact: Divisional Director of Midwifery, Sue Orchard, sue.orchard@merseywestlancs.nhs.uk, 01514301734

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