Director of communications jobs

Self Employed - Neonatal Lead

For Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, and Newham Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP)

Salary: £150 per day, with reimbursement of childcare and travel expenses (subject to policy)

Length of Contract: Fixed-Term Contract Until March 2026 (subject to extension)

Reports to: MNVP Project Manager – Healthwatch Newham

Hours per week: 3 days per week across three boroughs, Monday to Friday (flexible working hours)

Based at: Home based, with meetings within Barts Health NHS Trust and frequent travel in community

Review: There will be an initial review after two months to ensure mutual alignment with the contract.

Overview

Barts Health NHS Trust provides neonatal and maternity care for women and birthing people and their babies each year across Tower Hamlets, Newham, and Waltham Forest, providing all aspects of obstetrics and midwifery care in our labour ward, midwife-led birth centre and home birthing service.

TWN Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) listens to the experiences of women, birthing people and families, and brings together service users, staff and other stakeholders to plan, review and improve maternity and neonatal care. MNVPs ensure that service users’ voices are at the heart of decision-making in maternity and neonatal services by being embedded within the leadership of provider trusts and feeding into the Local Maternity and Neonatal System and Integrated Care Board. This influences improvements in the safety, quality, and experience of maternity and neonatal care. We work to ensure that every woman and birthing person on the maternity and neonatal pathway has a chance to have their voice heard. We do not speak for them.

We are recruiting a Neonatal Lead who brings the expertise of women/birthing people with lived experience of neonatal services at Barts Health NHS Trust into the heart of the development of every aspect of neonatal and maternity services at the trust.

The role of Neonatal Lead is key to providing inclusive and collaborative leadership and ways of working, ensuring that all women and birthing people and their families’ views are heard and acted on. This is an exciting opportunity to review, shape and improve services and make a real difference to women, birthing people and their families.

This is a paid, self-employed job requiring 3 days a week (worked flexibly where possible). Working with the MNVP is an opportunity to become part of a vibrant team, improving care for our service users and enabling voices and engagement with our community.

Healthwatch Newham (part of CB Plus), along with Healthwatch Tower Hamlets and Healthwatch Waltham Forest, has been commissioned by NHS North East London ICB since 2023 to manage the MNVP in Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, and Newham (TWN), including staff employment.

About the role:

We are looking for a TWN Maternity & Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) Neonatal Lead who:

● Is passionate about helping to develop and improve the experience of neonatal (and maternity) services for babies and their families who require neonatal care.

● Is keen to engage families and seldom listened-to groups to inform neonatal and maternity service development.

Please note this role is for someone with lived experience and is not suitable for clinical staff (although they are welcome to join the MNVP in their professional role).

This is a self-employed position on a fixed-term contract until March 2026. The successful candidate will not be entitled to employee benefits such as pension, sick pay, or holiday pay.

As a self-employed contractor, you are responsible for managing your own tax and National Insurance contributions. You will be required to invoice the organisation for your work, and payment will be made within 21 days of receipt of a monthly invoice.

This is a home-based role with flexible working hours. However, you will be expected to attend meetings within Barts Health NHS Trust and travel within the community as required.

Background to Role

The Healthier Lifestyle team at Age UK Croydon offers a range of inclusive and accessible activities and events across the borough of Croydon combining exercise, and social engagement in a variety of local settings.  These sessions help reduce isolation, improve independence, prevent falls, increase fitness levels and manage health conditions.  They also provide social engagement and interaction, information and support around living with dementia, a safe and welcoming space for all to engage and relax.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic Manager to lead our Healthier Lifestyle team which includes a team of 3 part-time Project Officers, one Dementia Support Officer, Dementia Project officer and a great team of volunteers. Addressing health inequalities and fulfilling our mission means that the Healthier Lifestyles service has opportunity to grow and expand. We want to reach younger older people to encourage “Act Now Age Well”

An important element of this role will be looking for opportunities to develop existing services and to introduce new services including some paid services. The Healthier Lifestyles Manager is a member of the Integrated Leadership team to support our One Organisation One team ethos for integrated working and holistic support for the older residents of Croydon.

Some duties will include (but are not limited to) –

• Oversee effective data recording for monitoring and reporting.
• Monitor outcomes and impact and prepare reports on the projects progress for Commissioners, Funders and AUKC Trustee Board
• Monitor and manage workload, organise schedules, ensuring that work is purposeful, targets are clear and support staff to reach their potential and feel valued.
• Support staff with regular supervision using the Age UK Croydon Empowerment Striving for Excellence, Innovation process
• Attend leadership team meetings, staff meetings and joint working parties and project groups as appropriate.
• Implement Age UK Croydon's Equality and Diversity Policy and ensure that equality and diversity principles are incorporated into the planning, delivery and monitoring of services.
• This list is not exhaustive. 

Closing date for applications: 9am, Tuesday, 15th July 2025

Interview Dates: Wednesday, 23rd July 202

The Learning & Development Lead collaborates with the Head of L&OD, the L&OD team and HR colleagues to implement our People Strategy and ensure operational excellence in managing the delivery of our L&D portfolio, policies and processes.
As a valued professional that understands Battersea the organisation and the challenges faced by our teams, they advance the reputation and impact of L&OD at Battersea as a centre of expertise that supports the ongoing development and enhancement of the skills, knowledge, behaviours and effectiveness of our workforce.
Working collaboratively with stakeholders, including senior leaders, to deliver, maintain and continuously improve development programmes and interventions that align with our organisational values and strategy, they ensure employees are equipped to deliver on our mission to deliver greater impact for dogs and cats everywhere.
As an inspirational leader and a specialist in organisational and workforce learning, they lead and manage the team to scope, develop, implement and evaluate high quality interventions that reflect best practice, incorporating current thinking and approaches.

What we can offer you:
In return for your commitment to our cause and to recognise the value of our employees, Battersea offers a range of benefits to support the wellbeing of our employees. These include:

• 28 days of annual leave (plus 8 days paid public holidays) per year.
• Discounted gym memberships and cycle to work schemes.
• Employee Assistance Programme and access to Wellbeing Resources.
• Generous pension contributions - up to 10% employer contribution.
• Free healthcare cash plan, where you can claim for a range of treatment including dental, optical, physiotherapy, chiropody and acupuncture every year.
• Annual interest-free season ticket loans.

We are also committed to providing learning and development to our employees. During your time with us, we provide support for your professional and career development, including access to digital and in-person training programmes, leadership and management training, mentoring and much more.

Our hybrid working model:
We operate a 50% onsite hybrid working model, with our office-based staff splitting their time between site based and home working. This enables our office-based staff to balance the benefits of home working with onsite collaboration and maintaining a connection to our cause.

Diversity and inclusion:
We are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive experience for all staff, volunteers and trustees and those hoping to join us. We operate an anonymised shortlisting process and actively seek to ensure our process is fair and equitable for all.

We understand the value of diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences to help us deliver even more for our dogs and cats, and we welcome applicants from all sections of the community.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we will ask about any adjustments you may need at application and/or interview stage, and if you are offered a role with us, we’ll talk to you about any workplace adjustments you may need to help you perform at your best.

More about us:
At Battersea, we aim to never turn away a dog or cat in need of help. We give each one lots of love, expert care and get to know their characters and quirks so we can find them a new home that’s just right for them. Join us and help us be here for every dog and cat, wherever they are, for as long as they need us.

Closing date: 17th July 2025
Interview date(s): W/c 28th July 2025

All applications must be submitted before the closing date advertised. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications is received.