James Cook University has opened a Clinical Facilitator position in Reproductive and Neonatal Health in Townsville, and if you've spent the last five years in a maternity or neonatal unit, you're exactly who should be reading the position description. This is not a standard lecturer post. It's a clinical supervision job built for someone who can teach in real time while students are standing in a birthing suite or a special care nursery.

The role will be based in Townsville, Queensland. JCU uses clinical facilitators to link its nursing and midwifery students with the hospitals, health services and community clinics where learning actually happens. For reproductive and neonatal health, that means placement settings across antenatal clinics, labour and birth wards, postnatal services and neonatal assessment or special care units.

What the role actually involves

A clinical facilitator is a registered health professional who supervises students during clinical placement. The university supplies the curriculum and assessment framework; you supply the daily coaching, observation, debriefing and performance feedback that turns theory into safe practice.

In this specialty, your week might include:

• Helping a midwifery student complete antenatal palpation and fetal wellbeing checks under supervision.
• Reviewing a neonatal respiratory assessment with a nursing student who has never handled a newborn in a special care nursery.
• Liaising with midwives, child health nurses and obstetric staff to plan placement rosters.
• Assessing student performance against the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia standards.
• Documenting progress, writing feedback and attending university moderation meetings.

If you prefer ward-based teaching over lecturing from a podium, this is the clinical educator job that fits.

Why this role matters in northern Queensland

Townsville is the largest city in northern Queensland and a referral centre for maternity and neonatal care across a huge area. Families from remote and regional communities often arrive there for higher-level care. That makes the clinical facilitator role more urgent than a label alone suggests.

Australia records roughly 300,000 births each year. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's national mothers and babies reports consistently show that women in regional and remote areas face more travel and more variable access to care. Students who train well in these placements are more likely to stay and work in the region.

JCU has long positioned its health courses around northern Queensland's needs. A clinical facilitator in reproductive and neonatal health is one of the people who makes those placements viable.

Who should apply

Check the official position description on the JCU careers portal for the exact requirements. In roles like this, the usual baseline is fairly clear.

• Current registration as a midwife or nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, via the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.
• Recent clinical experience in reproductive, maternal, neonatal or child health.
• A postgraduate qualification in midwifery, neonatal care, clinical education or a related field, although substantial clinical experience can sometimes substitute.
• Current knowledge of the NMBA registration standards and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council's expectations for clinical placements.

If you've precepted graduates on the ward, coordinated student placements or completed a clinical supervision course, put that at the top of your application. Universities want evidence you can assess and support learners, not just work a shift.

How the hiring process works

University hiring can be slow, but clinical facilitator roles often move faster because the placement calendar doesn't wait. Expect a written application, a selection criteria statement, and an interview that includes scenario questions about supervising students in difficult clinical moments.

Do not send a generic resume. Write a one-page statement that maps each selection criterion to a specific clinical example. If the criterion asks about neonatal assessment, name the unit, the student and the outcome. That is what separates a credible clinical educator from someone with the same registration.

There is a smaller but important group of applicants who waste the interview by talking only about their clinical cases. Remember the job is educational. Show that you can debrief a student after a poor outcome, give feedback that changes practice, and document assessment decisions clearly.

How to apply without wasting your time

You can view the full listing and apply through the official JCU careers page or compare it with similar roles on the AcademicJobs listing.

Take these steps before you submit:

• Read the full position description. Highlight the selection criteria and check whether travel, term-based work or fractional hours are listed.
• Check your registration. Log in to your Ahpra account and confirm there are no conditions, notations or expiry dates that could delay an offer.
• Draft a one-page statement. Address each criterion with a named clinical example. Keep it under a page.
• Call the contact person. Ask about placement locations, travel expectations and the team you'll join.
• Submit early. Set a calendar reminder for two days before the closing date, not the night before.

If the closing date is already tight, still apply. Clinical facilitator panels would rather read a focused late application from an experienced midwife or neonatal nurse than an early generic one.

A message to university hiring leaders

This job will attract the same people every hospital in the region wants. Make the process fast. Tell candidates the timeline, the travel load and the classification. If a strong clinician has to chase a committee for four weeks, they'll take the health service educator role instead.

JCU has done the right thing by naming the specialty and the city in the job title. The next test is whether the process respects the people who apply.

This week, open the position description and write one page that maps your last three clinical placements to the selection criteria. If you can't do that, this role isn't for you yet. If you can, submit.