East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

Specialist Practitioner Infant Feeding

The closing date is 11 February 2026

Job summary

up to 12 months fixed term contract (secondment opportunities available)

Are you passionate about supporting families in their infant feeding journey and driving excellence in public health practice? We are seeking a dynamic and experiencedSpecialist Practitioner in Infant Feeding to lead and develop high-quality infant feeding services across East Sussex.

In this pivotal role, you will:

  • Lead the Infant Feeding Team and act as the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) Lead, ensuring best practice standards are met.
  • Provide expert clinical advice and support to families, empowering them to achieve their feeding goals.
  • Deliver training and guidance to health professionals and multi-agency partners.
  • Drive strategic development and quality improvement across the Health Visiting service.
  • Collaborate with a wide range of professionals and agencies to promote inclusive, evidence-based care.

You will be a registered Nurse or Midwife with specialist qualifications in infant feeding, and have substantial experience in supporting complex feeding needs, managing teams, and delivering impactful training. A commitment to safeguarding, inclusivity, and continuous improvement is essential.

Join us in making a meaningful difference to the health and wellbeing of families across East Sussex.

Main duties of the job

  • Lead and manage the Infant Feeding Team, ensuring delivery of high-quality, evidence-based care across East Sussex.
  • Act as the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI) Lead, ensuring the service meets accreditation standards.
  • Provide specialist clinical support to families, including triaging complex referrals and developing care plans.
  • Deliver training and education to staff and multi-agency partners, promoting best practices in infant feeding.
  • Work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to improve outcomes for families.
  • Ensure compliance with safeguarding policies, managing and documenting concerns appropriately.
  • Oversee staff supervision, performance management, and professional development within the team.
  • Lead on strategic planning and service development, using data to evaluate and improve service effectiveness.
  • Represent the service at internal and external meetings, offering expert advice and guidance.
  • Maintain accurate records and contribute to audits, research, and quality improvement initiatives.

About us

A wide range of staff benefits are available to our staff including staff development, enrolment in the NHS pension scheme, auto-enrolment to our Temporary Workforce Service, access to onsite nurseries. staff restaurants and accommodation.

In addition to an internal Occupational Health department, all staff also have access to free psychological support through our confidential Employee Assistance Programme. Onsite parking is available from only £50 a year.

There has never been a better time to join East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, submit your application today.

Statement on the Use of AI

We value the individuality that each candidate brings to the application process. While we understand that AI tools are widely available, we strongly discourage applicants from using AI-generated content when applying for jobs with us. We believe that your application should reflect your true skills, experiences, and motivations, which are best conveyed through your own words and unique perspective.

Using AI for your application may not accurately represent your knowledge, skills, and experience and may result in a disconnect between your qualifications and our assessment of your application.

We encourage applicants to take the time to thoughtfully complete their applications; by doing so, you allow us to better understand your true potential and ensure a fair and transparent evaluation of your application. Over reliance on AI-generated content may diminish your chance of success.

Details

Date posted

05 February 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year per annum, pro rata

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

374-LB5111-B

Job locations

Hailsham Family Hub

Hailsham

BN27 2JZ


Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Registered Nurse or Midwife on the NMC register
  • Infant feeding course/ qualification
  • Evidence of continued professional development to Masters level or equivalent level of knowledge and experience

Desirable

  • IBCLC Qualification
  • BFI training course

Experience

Essential

  • Substantial clinical experience in assisting feeding parents and staff in all aspects of infant feeding, including complex feeding difficulties
  • Experience of comprehensively triaging and assess complex referrals for appropriate Infant feeding intervention, producing care planning as required
  • Evidence of participation in change management and innovative practice that involves research and/or audit.

Desirable

  • Experience of design and delivery of training programmes
  • Experience of involvement in clinical audit and action planning
  • Quality improvement project

Skills

Essential

  • Knowledge of current policy, guidance and evidence-based practice relation to infant feeding.
  • The ability to interpret and analyse information to evaluate performance against agreed targets and desired outcomes
  • Knowledge of Baby Friendly Initiative to lead implementation of the standards
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Registered Nurse or Midwife on the NMC register
  • Infant feeding course/ qualification
  • Evidence of continued professional development to Masters level or equivalent level of knowledge and experience

Desirable

  • IBCLC Qualification
  • BFI training course

Experience

Essential

  • Substantial clinical experience in assisting feeding parents and staff in all aspects of infant feeding, including complex feeding difficulties
  • Experience of comprehensively triaging and assess complex referrals for appropriate Infant feeding intervention, producing care planning as required
  • Evidence of participation in change management and innovative practice that involves research and/or audit.

Desirable

  • Experience of design and delivery of training programmes
  • Experience of involvement in clinical audit and action planning
  • Quality improvement project

Skills

Essential

  • Knowledge of current policy, guidance and evidence-based practice relation to infant feeding.
  • The ability to interpret and analyse information to evaluate performance against agreed targets and desired outcomes
  • Knowledge of Baby Friendly Initiative to lead implementation of the standards

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 (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

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 (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

Address

Hailsham Family Hub

Hailsham

BN27 2JZ


Employer's website

http://jobs.esht.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

Address

Hailsham Family Hub

Hailsham

BN27 2JZ


Employer's website

http://jobs.esht.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Operations Manager Public Health

Rebecca Cottrell

rebecca.cottrell@nhs.net

07786111325

Details

Date posted

05 February 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year per annum, pro rata

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

374-LB5111-B

Job locations

Hailsham Family Hub

Hailsham

BN27 2JZ


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)