In over 30 years as a midwife Jess has worked across all aspects of maternity services covering clinical, managerial and regulation roles.  Jess has experience in local, regional and national health strategy, and has authored chapters in ‘Mayes Midwifery’ (2017) and Myles ‘Professional Studies for Midwifery Education and Practice’ (2019) as well as articles for journal publications.

As a member of the RCN Midwifery Forum Steering Committee Jess represents the RCN on the Council of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Jess is a coach, mentor and sponsor and has a particular interest in enabling others to reach their full potential.

During the past 6 years Jess has experienced the challenges of translating policy into practice by leading on the development of a new national model for clinical supervision and support for midwives, (A-EQUIP) she also developed a platform for support, recruitment and retention for midwives working in London (Capital Midwife) and supported the delivery of national ambitions for maternity services across the NHS in England.

Jess has been in the role of Deputy Chief Midwifery Officer for England (Leadership and Professional matters) since November 2019 where she plays an integral role in supporting the delivery of the national ambitions of Better Births and the NHS long term plan and securing the highest quality of maternity services for mothers and their babies whilst supporting the Chief Midwifery Officer’s vision for England to be one of the safest countries in the world to give birth.

Twitter: @jessreadmidwife