Newborn Hearing Screener in Stevenage

Main area Surgical Specialities Grade NHS AfC: Band 3 Contract Fixed term: 12 months (12 months) Hours Full time – 37.5 hours per week (7-3 and weekend working) Job ref 361-7554099

Employer East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site East and North Herts Teaching Trust Town Stevenage Salary £24,937 – £26,598 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 21/01/2026 23:59

Newborn Hearing Screener

NHS AfC: Band 3

Here at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust
Our mission is: Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities

Our vision to 2030 is: To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service

Our values – We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do. Our values are:

Include We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Newborn Hearing Screener who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

The post holder will work as a member of a team that screens the hearing of newborn babies within East and North Hertfordshire. To gather and accurately record clinical and test data relevant to the screening process.

This post involves direct handling of newborn babies and contact with their parents and continued communication with Healthcare Professionals.

At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.

Main duties of the job

The Newborn Hearing Screener will plan, organise and carry out day to day work tasks or activities.

To identify which baby requires screening on the Postnatal Ward, Special Care Baby Unit and in Community Clinics by communicating and assessing with midwifery, medical staff and child health.

To make judgments involving a range of facts or situations which require analysis or comparison in conjunction with protocols and procedures already in place.

To obtain informed consent from parents before any screen is carried out by explaining the process of the screen and involving the parents from the start.

To carry out the hearing screening of newborn babies within the maternity unit using specialised equipment, (full training will be provided). To accurately record clinical and test result data by data input.

To promote professional, welcoming and caring environment endorsing a family friendly approach.

You are required to complete the Health Care Level 3 Diploma, in the event of this being a fixed term post the Health care Level 3 Diploma does not need to be completed, as the post is only fixed for 12 months and the diploma requires the screener to be here for 24 months + to complete it

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To work as part of an established hospital-based team that provide newborn hearing screening 7 days a week, 365 days per year to all eligible newborn babies born in our area.
• To undertake training commensurate with the role and complete the Level 3 Diploma for Health Screeners qualification. This is a competence-based qualification which is assessed in the workplace which includes online training so must be IT competent; to undertake a period of face-to-face training and supervision and successfully pass an External Clinical Assessment (ECA) before working unsupervised
• To identify which babies, require screening by using the Smart4Hearing (S4H) database in addition to liaising with the ward staff.
• Ensure all parents of eligible babies are offered the newborn hearing screen in a timely fashion.
• To organise workload with colleagues to cover postnatal wards, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), ensuring as many babies as possible have completed screening prior to discharge from hospital.
• Ensure that a high-quality service is maintained to promote the principles of family friendly hearing services for children.
• Ensure that parents and carers are given clear and accurate information regarding NHSP.
• To explain the screening tests and possible outcomes to parents to obtain informed consent.
• Offer the automated otoacoustic emission (AOAE) and/or automated auditory brain response (AABR) screening test and gain verbal consent.
• Carry out the hearing screening of newborns in both inpatient and outpatient facilities, accurately recording clinical and test data.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of NHSP procedures and protocols relevant to the role of NHSP screener.
• To explain the results of the screening tests and their significance to parents.
• To refer babies to local audiology services in a timely manner using local processes and procedures.
• Always maintain confidentiality of the babies and their families.
• The postholder will sometimes need to work with anxious, distressed or emotional parents, to ensure babies and families retain their dignity, privacy and individuality at all times.
• Establish and maintain effective methods of communication to the parents, primary care teams, other NHSP teams where appropriate and audiology services where follow-up is indicated.
• Always ensure the safety and security of equipment and report any problems to the NHSP local manager at the earliest opportunity.
• Be aware of ‘Safeguarding’ issues and adhere to local procedures.

Person specification

Qualifications / Training

• GCSE A* to C (or equivalent) in English, Maths & IT
• Level 3 Diploma in Health Screening
• NVQ in a health and social care related subject at Level 2 or above
• Passed an OSCE in Newborn Hearing Screening within the last 3 years

Experience

• Demonstrate empathy for the needs and experience of the woman’s health
• Hospital or community experience in patient care
• Working with families

Skills

• Ability and confidence to handle newborn babies
• Ability to work individually and as part of a team
• Ability to carry out clinics independently
• Ability to multi task
• Demonstrates an adaptable and flexible approach towards their work
• Effective communication skills with multidisciplinary teams
• Intermediate IT Skills

Knowledge

• To be able to understand the process and methodology that is involved with the actual hearing screening test and its application

When you apply…

Please note we do not offer visa sponsorship for roles unless clearly stated in our adverts. This means even if you have the right to work currently but will require a new sponsorship to work for our Trust your application will not be considered.

Vacancies may close earlier than the advertised closing date where a high volume of applications are received. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out on the opportunity to join the Trust or develop your career with us.

While we recognise that AI can support in drafting an application, you are encouraged to clearly demonstrate your personal skills, experience and behaviours that align with the role, and this is usually best done in your own words. We reserve the right to review all applications for the use of AI tools and where this is inconsistent with our values and standards of behaviour your application may be rejected.

All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e‑mail address you have provided on your application form. Some servers automatically send e‑mails to your junk mail so please check as well as your inbox.

Secondments/Fixed term

Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re‑apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.

If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments.

Committed to our Community

East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under‑represented in various parts of our workforce.

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing resourcing.enh-tr@nhs.net

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

We are committed to being a carer‑friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.

King\’s Trust Support

If you’re aged between 16 and 30 years‑old, you can get FREE employability support from The King’s Trust. The King’s Trust will help build your CV and cover letter, offer advice and top tips for future interviews and support you with research about working in the NHS. Please contact Enquiries.H&SC@princes-trust.org.uk for support.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.