
The Department of Public Health and Health Policy aims to improve and protect the health of people in Lothian as part of a whole system approach to public health in Scotland.
The post-holders will work within the Maternal and Infant Nutrition (MIN) service which is hosted within Public Health and Health Policy. The Maternal and Infant Nutrition team works with frontline staff across Neonatal, Maternity, Family Nursing and Health Visiting services to enhance their skills and knowledge around infant feeding.
The Maternal and Infant Nutrition Service is seeking an Infant Feeding Advisor to support community midwifery teams. The post holder will lead work relating to UNICEF Baby Friendly accreditation and the reduction of breastfeeding drop‑off rates at 6–8 weeks.
The successful candidate will work across NHS Lothian, primarily supporting community midwifery teams and third‑sector partners. They will also contribute to direct patient care through the breastfeeding support clinic.
The post is based at Musselburgh Primary Care Centre, with travel required to other sites to deliver training and to lead the breastfeeding support clinic at either the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh or St John’s Hospital.
The successful post holder will be required to work on 7.2 hours Monday to Thursday or shorter days over 5 days if preferred.
Our Nursing and Midwifery Strategic Plan sets out our Vision, Ambitions and Values that enable excellent care for our patients and service users. It also demonstrates what you can expect from our organisation and what you can aspire to in your own career development. A collaborative, person focused approach is at the very centre of everything we aspire to achieve, and necessary to deliver care that is high quality, compassionate, safe and effective. We continue to work towards having a diverse and inclusive culture for people who work for us and use our services. We want everyone to realise their full potential and make a positive contribution. We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and communities. We are committed to supporting the development of a nursing and midwifery workforce that is made up of diverse skills and experiences. We are interested in your passion for developing with us as a leader as well as demonstrating alignment with the values and ambitions set out in our Strategic Plan. We are committed to providing the strong foundations of clinical education with our Clinical Education and Training team, our education co-ordinators, robust induction programmes and preceptorship as well as working with you to build on your leadership strengths.
Recruitment process – We use a values and competency-based recruitment process that is linked to the ambitions set out in our Strategic Plan. Within NHS Lothian, Nursing and Midwifery interviews are linked to our Nursing & Midwifery Strategic Plan. We aim to offer an equitable experience and are sharing interview questions in advance. A selection of the interview questions can be found on our Careers site: How to Apply – NHS Lothian Careers
For further information on what is included in the role and what skills/experience are being looked for, click on the links at the bottom of the screen to the job description and person specification. If after reading this information you have any questions, please contact
NAME: Yvonne FairholmE-MAIL: Yvonne.fairholm@nhs.scot
Please note: we anticipate a high level of interest in this position and may close the vacancy early once a sufficient amount of applications are received. Therefore, please make sure you complete and submit your application at an early stage.
To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service. Further information on what NHS Scotland Boards are required to do to check this as well as what your responsibilities include can be found in the further information for this vacancy.
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Due to legislative changes from 1 April 2025, this post may require a different level of criminal records check done than is currently the case. If the post is assessed as a "regulated role", your appointment will be subject to joining the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. If there is any change to what is currently required, this will be confirmed by either the Hiring Manager or the Recruitment Team. For more details on these changes please visit: Disclosure Scotland Changes.
Please note: As this post is part-time, the salary will be pro-rata.
For further information and an informal discussion contact please contact:
Yvonne.Fairholm@nhs.scot
Sharon.Gilchrist@nhs.scot
NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.