Midwife (Band 5)NHS

Job summary

Are you a newly qualified or early career Midwife looking for the right environment to build your confidence, develop your skills and make a meaningful difference to women, babies and families?

At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, you'll join a supportive and welcoming maternity team dedicated to delivering safe, personalised and compassionate care across both hospital and community settings. As a Preceptorship Midwife, you will be supported through a structured development programme designed to help you grow your clinical expertise, strengthen your decision-making skills and progress towards a Band 6 role.

This is an opportunity to experience the full spectrum of maternity care, supporting women throughout pregnancy, labour, birth and the postnatal period. You'll work alongside experienced midwives, obstetricians, neonatal teams and a wide range of healthcare professionals who are committed to helping you succeed.

Based across Musgrove Park Hospital and Yeovil District Hospital, you'll be part of a forward-thinking maternity service that values kindness, respect and teamwork, while putting women and families at the centre of everything it does.

If you're passionate about delivering outstanding maternity care and ready to take the next step in your midwifery career, we'd love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

As a Preceptorship Midwife, you will:

• Provide safe, effective and compassionate care to women and their babies throughout the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal journey.
• Deliver personalised, woman-centred care that supports informed choice and positive birth experiences.
• Develop your confidence and competence through a structured preceptorship programme and regular support from experienced colleagues.
• Promote and facilitate physiological birth while recognising and escalating concerns appropriately.
• Work across community and acute maternity services, gaining valuable experience in a variety of clinical settings.
• Participate in the maternity on-call rota and contribute to the delivery of a responsive 24-hour service.
• Work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team to achieve the best possible outcomes for women and babies.
• Support student midwives and colleagues, contributing to a positive learning environment.
• Participate in service improvement, patient safety initiatives, audits and quality improvement activities.

Job description

This role offers a comprehensive introduction to autonomous midwifery practice within a large, integrated maternity service. You will care for women with a wide range of needs, working across community and hospital environments while being supported to develop your clinical knowledge, skills and professional judgement.

You will assess, plan, deliver and evaluate care for women and babies, ensuring care is evidence-based, individualised and delivered in line with professional standards. You'll play an important role in advocating for women, empowering them to make informed decisions and ensuring their voices remain central to their care.

Working closely with your preceptor and the wider multidisciplinary team, you will steadily build experience in caring for both straightforward and more complex maternity needs. You'll be supported to recognise complications, respond appropriately in emergency situations and contribute to the safe delivery of high-quality maternity services.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about maternity care, committed to continuous learning and able to build trusting relationships with women, families and colleagues. You will demonstrate excellent communication skills, compassion, professionalism and a willingness to work flexibly across the maternity service.

Why Join Somerset NHS Foundation Trust?

At Somerset, we understand that the transition from student to registered midwife is one of the most important stages of your career. That's why we've created a supportive preceptorship experience that gives you the time, guidance and encouragement you need to thrive.

You'll benefit from:

• A structured and supportive preceptorship programme.
• Dedicated professional development and learning opportunities.
• Support from experienced midwives and multidisciplinary colleagues.
• Opportunities to contribute to service improvement, research awareness and quality initiatives.
• A culture built on kindness, respect and teamwork.

About us

At Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, we're committed to supporting our employees with a range of benefits designed to enhance your professional and personal life. We offer:

• Flexible working options to help you balance work and life
• NHS pension scheme for long-term financial security
• Generous annual leave allowance to recharge and relax
• A strong focus on career development to help you grow and achieve your potential

Additionally, you'll gain access to our Blue Light Card, unlocking exclusive discounts on shopping, dining, and leisure activities, as well as NHS-specific perks to support you both inside and outside of work.

We are proud to foster a diverse, skilled, and inclusive workforce, and we encourage applications from all backgrounds.

Why Somerset? Somerset offers the perfect blend of idyllic countryside, outstanding areas of natural beauty, and breathtaking coastlines, with vibrant cities like Bristol, Bath, and Exeter just a short drive away - and only two hours to London.

The region is home to excellent educational facilities, and with affordable housing compared to other parts of the country, it's a great place to build both your career and your future.

Somerset truly has it all - the peaceful countryside and cosmopolitan city life, with something for everyone to enjoy.