Matron, Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and compassionate leader to join our Maternity Services as Matron for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). This is a pivotal role that will drive our commitment to reducing health inequalities, improving outcomes for women, babies and families, and creating a truly inclusive culture for both those who use our services and our workforce. Working across County Durham and Darlington, you will lead the delivery of local, regional and national priorities to address inequalities in maternity care, ensuring that every woman, baby and family receives safe, personalised and equitable care. You will champion initiatives that improve outcomes for those most at risk of health inequalities, including families experiencing deprivation, complex social circumstances and those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, recognising the evidence of persistent disparities in maternal and neonatal outcomes. As a senior clinical leader, you will work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams and partner organisations to deliver innovative programmes that support prevention, personalised care, population health management and continuous quality improvement. You will play a key role in driving service transformation, using data and intelligence to identify inequalities, develop targeted interventions and ensure maternity services continue to meet the ambitions set out in national maternity strategies and quality standards.

Main duties of the job

This role focuses on reducing health inequalities and improving equity, inclusion, and outcomes within maternity services across County Durham and Darlington. The postholder will work collaboratively with service users, community organisations, commissioners, and multidisciplinary teams to ensure maternity services are inclusive, accessible, and responsive to the needs of diverse and marginalised communities.

Providing senior midwifery leadership in service development, quality improvement, staff education, audit, and implementation of national maternity transformation programmes, including Better Births.

Contributing to integrated working across health and social care systems, supporting Family Hubs, service redesign, and collaborative improvement projects to enhance care for women, babies, and families.

Overall, the role combines clinical leadership, public health, service improvement, partnership working, and advocacy to ensure maternity services are equitable, inclusive, safe, and person-centred.

About us

If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager.

You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks.

We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented.

Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents.

Over reliance on AI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances of success.

For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.

Details

• Date posted: 23 July 2026
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 8a
• Salary: £57,528 to £64,750 a year per annum, pro rata
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time
• Reference number: C9439-2627-925-1
• Job locations: Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust, Hollyhurst Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 6HX, United Kingdom, University Hospital Of North Durham, North Road, DURHAM, DH1 5TW, United Kingdom, Bishop Auckland General Hospital, Cockton Hill Road, BISHOP AUCKLAND, County Durham, DL14 6AD, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

Understand the local demographics and outcomes for the diverse demographics of all our users and workforce.

Establish key links in the community and work collaboratively with stakeholders and the Durham and Darlington MNVP representing the trust as the professional link / lead for the MNVP.

Assist in ensuring that the MNVP have an inclusive and representative group of service users ensuring members, where possible, are representative of women using local maternity services.

Raise awareness of key health and maternity issues within the community and work with CDDFT colleagues and external agencies to improve outcomes.

Review all clinical care pathways and highlight service gaps addressing the risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality for service users from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnics, LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and other diverse sexual and gender identities), disabled and marginalised backgrounds.

Utilise information technology for the benefit of care delivery to mothers and babies within this identified group.

Make recommendations for service development and demonstrate a commitment of learning from incidents, complaints, PALS and from feedback via the MNVP.

Drive inclusivity by actively encouraging service users from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnics, LGBTQ+ and marginalised communities to participate in the improvement of local maternity services through co-design and co-production.

Work with the senior midwifery team to assist in the implementation and operationalization of the Maternity Transformation Better Births agenda specifically focused on deprivation, health inequalities, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnics, LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and other diverse sexual and gender identities) and marginalised service users.

The postholder will have a remit in supporting the maternity unit to understand the experiences of marginalised staff groups and liaise with the senior teams and equality, diversity and inclusion team in the wider Trust to help develop strategies to improve this.

The postholder will surface patient experience issues relevant to health inequalities for childbearing women and birthing people. This will involve establishing effective and trusted channels of communication with childbearing women, pregnant people and their families.

Ensure midwives and support workers are aware of the services and pathways being developed and offered to offer families the best start in life.

Accessing local data and service user feedback to support development of an action plan for effective ongoing care of those who experience health inequalities to ensure safety, well-being and positive birth experience.

Liaise appropriately with services to ensure safe and effective care is provided to women at the right place, and at the right time. Act as an advocate for women, whilst safeguarding wider family and social group where appropriate.

Have an in depth understanding of barriers which may impact or inhibit women/birthing people from accessing timely and regular antenatal care.

Have a sound knowledge of safeguarding issues, domestic abuse, substance misuse, learning disability, female genital mutilation, cultural implications associated to members of the global majority communities, asylum seekers, mental health illness and housing issues.

Be a lead advocate for vulnerable families and ensure co-ordinated specialist support is delivered in conjunction with other Specialist Midwives.

Take part in debriefing for families and staff following events found to be emotionally or clinically challenging

Support a culture of consciousness to deliver financial balance and achievement of efficiencies.

Embed and maintain high clinical standards, audit compliance and to ensure the delivery of the public health agenda and associated KPIs is achieved.

Provide senior midwifery input into supporting the establishment of Family Hubs in County Durham and Darlington, to support key areas such as parent-infant mental health, development of Family Hubs to improve access to a wide range of integrated support services, breastfeeding support services and evidence-based parenting programmes.

Work with commissioners and partners on integrated pathways and ways of working across the system including the priorities in the Best Start in Life work plan and the Pre-Birth and Under Ones group.

Work with commissioners and bordering Trusts (and other partners) to support a review of the provision of maternity services in Easington and make recommendations for improvements, jointly with the Community Midwifery Matron for CDDFT.

In conjunction with the Community Midwifery Matron, support the NHS Stop Smoking Service within CDDFT, ensuring alignment with tobacco dependency in pregnancy agenda/strategic action plan.

Supporting the poverty agenda, e.g., increasing awareness of the Healthy Start Voucher schemes particularly for vulnerable families.

Act as the senior midwifery lead in the team for public health related issues and develop a training needs analysis and plan around health inequalities and diversity.

Work closely with the Harrogate 0-25 Transformation Manager on agreed service improvement priorities

Be a key member of the Best Start in Life Group and Family Hubs Programme Board

Lead on the touch point pathway for CDDFT in relation to Infant Feeding ensuring this is embed, and that UNICEF accreditation is maintained.

Represent the maternity service within corporate workforce equality, diversity and inclusion forums and support service in reviewing the people matters action plan, staff survey and feedback from local WDES and WRES agendas incorporating the current campaigns such as See Me First and Inspiring Inclusion @ #teamcddft. Campaign.