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About our roles
Our core roles
The Care Inspectorate employs 600 people from a diverse range of backgrounds, and they’re all amazing at what they do.
From inspection and improvement support specialists, to intelligence and digital specialists, and everyone in between – all are key to our work, championing high-quality care. Find a career that will empower you to develop, collaborate and make a difference. Together, we can change lives.
Read more about some of our roles and the work our teams do.
Our Scrutiny & Assurance teams provide independent assurance about the quality of care and support improvement and innovation. Their role ensures the safety, protection and wellbeing of vulnerable children, adults and older people.
The teams’ responsibilities are broad and include:
- Early learning and childcare services
- Children and young people’s services
- Adult services
- Registrations, variations and cancellations
- Complaints
- Inspection planning
- Justice
- Protection
- Enforcement
Roles within Scrutiny and Assurance include:
Overview of inspector role
What do our inspectors do?
As one of our inspectors, you’ll be central to our work and have a challenging and rewarding role in championing high-quality care.
You’ll be responsible for managing your own workload and lead on these actions for the registered care services you work with.
- Gathering and assessing intelligence and using your professional judgement to target scrutiny and improvement activities.
- Planning and carrying out scrutiny activities.
- Providing feedback to people experiencing care and service providers on the findings of scrutiny activities.
- Signposting good practice to support continuous improvement.
- Providing professional advice and guidance to support improvement and innovation.
- Providing briefings for senior managers relating to specific events which impact on regulated care services.
Here’s what Hillary, one of our inspectors, says about her job.
There’s never been a better time to join us
It’s our job to ensure care for everyone, everywhere in Scotland is as good as it can be. It’s a big job and we need your help!
This is an exciting time to join the Care Inspectorate. You will have the opportunity to be at the heart of change and help shape the future of care for everyone.
We’re looking for talented people to join us to make a difference. Specialists who understand how to put the needs and rights of children, young people, adults and older people in Scotland at the heart of delivering social care and how to lead improvement too.
Now is the perfect time to come and join us. We’ve recently changed our recruitment process and how we assess new people. We’re looking to attract inspectors from a broader range of professional backgrounds. So, if you are as passionate as us, and think a career in care could be right for you, read our FAQs here.
About you
As one of our inspectors, you’ll share our determination that care should work well for everyone, every time. You’ll be confident about what good quality care looks like and how to deliver it. Drawing on your resilience and adaptability, you’ll be able to work on your own initiative or as part of a team, managing competing priorities. You will apply your excellent analytical and writing skills to produce inspection reports that are clear, concise and focus on good outcomes for people. Establishing effective relationships is vital for success in the role and you’ll be confident working with a wide range of people and building effective networks with partners.
Based on your professional background, you’ll work in one of three specialist areas.
Adults services
As one of our adult inspectors, you’ll work in our inspection, complaints or registration teams, with services across the public, voluntary and private sectors.
You’ll work with people experiencing care, care service providers, managers and staff and be confident to support and advise on improvement. You’re likely to have experience delivering improvement in a service, partnership working, applying good practice guidance and be able to respond to and manage change.
We're customer focused and treat complaints in an open, fair and objective way. As a complaints inspector, you’ll be a good supportive listener who understands what is important to people and resolve complaints accurately and effectively.
Early learning and childcare (ELC) services
As one of our ELC inspectors, you’ll work in our inspection, complaints or registration teams, with services across the public and private sectors.
You’ll have recent experience supporting the delivery of high-quality care and learning for children and have significant knowledge of current developments and challenges within the sector. You’ll work with children and families experiencing ELC services and service providers, managers and staff and be confident to support and advise on improved outcomes for children. You’re likely to have experience delivering improvement in a service, partnership working, applying good practice guidance and be able to respond to and manage change.
Children and young people (CYP) services
As one of our CYP inspectors, you’ll work with services across the public, voluntary and private sectors.
You’ll have experience in assessment and critical analysis. You will listen carefully to children, young people and their families to understand what is important to them, how they are experiencing care and support and the difference services are making to their lives. You’ll work with care service providers, managers and staff and be confident to support and advise on improvement. You’re likely to have experience delivering improvement in a service, partnership working, applying good practice guidance and be able to respond to and manage change.
We are a proud Corporate Parent with an ambitious plan to take forward our work. We have a group of Young Inspection Volunteers (young people with lived experience of care) who support us with this and enhance and influence our work. Inspectors work alongside our Young Inspection Volunteers in lots of ways and there are exciting and innovative plans to develop this partnership approach further.
Our Strategy and Improvement teams focus on helping to improve outcomes for people who use care services in Scotland. They make sure that the voice of people using care, and their carers, is central to our work. They also support the wellbeing of our staff so that staff are equipped with the right skills and support and feel motivated and confident to excel in their role.
The teams’ responsibilities are broad and include:
- Communications
- Corporate Parenting
- Improvement support
- Information governance
- Intelligence
- Organisational and workforce development
- Policy
- Professional practice and standards
Our IT, Transformation and Digital teams deliver our internal IT services. They also develop our digital systems and business processes to support our scrutiny and assurance work.
The teams’ responsibilities include:
- IT service delivery
- Digital transformation
- Business change
The Corporate and Customer Services teams provide a range of core services which are central to our operations, and those of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), as part of a shared service agreement.
The teams’ responsibilities include:
- Business and customer support
- Contact centre
- Estates, health and safety
- Finance and corporate governance
- Human resources
- Legal
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Senior Improvement Adviser - AHP
Location: Any Care Inspectorate office
Salary: £48,453-£53,502
Hours: 35 hours per week
Contract: Permanent
About the role
We are looking for a colleague with a strong background in a variety of health and social work roles and a passion in quality improvement to join the new Health and Social Care Improvement Team (HSCIT) on a permanent basis.
Reporting to the AHP Consultant but working closely with the Care Inspectorate’s Chief Nurse, under the umbrella of Improvement Support and with close collaboration with Scrutiny and Assurance the post holder will provide specialist skills and knowledge in AHP with a focus on falls, frailty, rehabilitation and reablement.
You will work internally to strengthen the capability and confidence of inspectors across inspection, complaints, and registration teams, in specific topic areas, supporting their learning and development and keeping the evidence base of practice current and develop resources to support the health and wellbeing of people experiencing care for use both internally and externally.
You will build and develop strategic partnerships across the health and social care landscape to support the delivery of health and wellbeing improvement advice and quality improvement support.
About you
Educated to degree level in a relevant field, registered with the aligned professional body together with the NES Scottish Improvement Leader (ScIL) programme (or willingness to work towards), or an equivalent improvement qualification, you will have significant immediate influence in working across the health or social care sector. You will also work strategically across several organisations.
You will have significant specialist subject matter expertise and be able to combine it with an understanding of quality improvement theory/change management and its practical application in health and social care settings.
Current work delivery methods will be timely reviewed against the Covid-19 national position and public health guidance. Whenever face to face work activities recommence, the role may require extensive travel and involve some overnight stays and unsocial hours.
To apply
You’ll find more information in the:
For an informal chat please contact Heather Edwards, AHP Consultant on heather.edwards@careinspectorate.gov.scot
If you believe that you are a suitable candidate for this post, please download and complete an application form, (and equal opportunities form where you are an external applicant), and submit it by email to recruitment@careinspectorate.gov.scot by 8am on Monday 31 May 2021.
Interviews for this role are anticipated to take place on either 15 or 16 June through MS Teams.
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Organisational and Workforce Development (OWD) Adviser
Salary: £33,639-£37,167
Location: Flexible
Hours: 35 hours per week
Contract: Temporary post (12 months) to cover internal secondment
About the role
The Organisational and Workforce Development (OWD) Team are focused on supporting colleagues in their role to make a difference in the quality of care for Scotland. The team’s purpose is to work collaboratively to develop our organisation and its workforce to be the best and to do that with energy, drive and determination.
The OWD Team provides a wide range of support for developing our staff and the wider organisational culture.
This is a temporary opportunity to join our OWD team. The role holder will report to the Organisation and Workforce Development (OWD) Manager, supporting the delivery of OWD improvement projects and learning and development activities, as well as developing and consulting on people management policies.
About you
The ideal candidate will be CIPD qualified, with significant experience of supporting the delivery of projects and strategies covering a broad range of people-related issues, encompassing OD, HR and learning and development. In addition you will be able to demonstrate an understanding of key external developments and trends in OD/HR/L&D and the opportunities these offer to the organisation.
The role holder will be a strong communicator with excellent interpersonal and IT skills, together with the ability to manage conflicting priorities and work to tight deadlines. Previous experience in a similar post would be ideal.
To apply
You’ll find more information in the:
For an informal chat about the role please contact Kirstine Rankin, OWD Manager on kirstine.rankin@careinspectorate.gov.scot
If you believe that you are a suitable candidate for this post, please download and complete an application form, (and equal opportunities form where you are an external applicant) and submit it by email to recruitment@careinspectorate.gov.scot no later than 8am on Monday 31 May 2021.
The interviews will take place in the week commencing 7 June 2021.
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Inspector (early learning and childcare)
Join us and make a difference – for you, for everyone
It’s our job to ensure care for everyone, everywhere in Scotland is as good as it can be. If you are as passionate about high-quality care and learning as we are, and you’re experienced in the field, we’d love to hear from you. We are looking for talented people to join us in making a difference.
About you
You’ll have recent experience of supporting the delivery of high-quality care and learning for children and you will have significant knowledge of current developments and challenges within the sector. With your expertise in ELC, including school age childcare and childminding, you’ll share our determination that care services should work well for children – every time.
We’re currently recruiting for vacancies in our inspection teams. We welcome applications from candidates across mainland Scotland, particularly Aberdeenshire areas, along with applications from applicants who are fluent in the Gaelic language or willing to develop their skills in this area.
About us
We are different because of our great benefits, our investment in learning and development, and the opportunity this role will give you to help shape high quality experiences in childcare across Scotland.
What you will be doing as an inspector
Making a difference through working with services delivering care and learning for children. You’ll listen carefully to children, and their families to understand what is important to them. You will evauate their experience of ELC, childminding or school aged childcare services. You will engage with care service providers, managers and staff and be confident in advising on improvement to support services to deliver improved outcomes for children.
Click here to watch a short video on what one of our inspectors has said about their role.
The skills you need
If you think this job is where you can make a real difference to children’s experiences, there are a few things you need. Whilst it’s important to have the basics, we will support you in developing your skillset as an inspector throughout your journey with us.
You’ll be confident about what good-quality care and learning looks like and how to deliver it across the ELC sector. You’ll be resilient and adaptable, can work on your own initiative or as part of a team, manage competing priorities, build effective networks with partners, and have strong communication skills. Equally, you’ll be good at analysing information and evidence, and you’ll have excellent writing skills to produce reports that are clear, concise, and focused on outcomes. You will have a sound and insightful understanding of the challenges facing the ELC sector and be an advocate for children recognising what is important to them.
We need you to have a relevant qualification (minimum SCQF Level 9) and be registered or eligible to register with a professional body like the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or General Teaching Council (GTC). Please see further information at the bottom of this advert on recent updates to the registration process for the SSSC.
All new entrants will start on the grade minimum for the role however we have a generous benefits package which is highlighted below.
Salary and benefits
- Salary: £46,569 - £54,975 plus excellent benefits.
- Network of offices across Scotland.
- Flexible Hours: 140 hours to be worked over a 4-week period.
- Up to 37 days annual leave (after 5 years’ service) + 6 fixed public holidays.
- Contract: Permanent, two-year secondment, or locum (where candidates have previously worked for us as inspectors).
We desire to achieve an effective and balanced way of working, that enables us to meet organisational needs and achieve a work-life balance that promotes wellbeing and collaboration opportunities. Our hybrid working policy gives you the flexibility to mix working from home with attendance at your base office and other work locations, spending no more than 60% of your working time working from home, measured over a 4-week period.
In addition to our excellent benefits package, we also pride ourselves on the values we hold, person-centred; fairness; respect; efficiency and integrity - all supported with a culture of care and kindness. We’re proud to be a progressive, supportive employer, and equality, diversity and inclusion are important to us.
This is an exciting time to join the Care Inspectorate, with an opportunity to be at the heart of change as we consider the impact of the ELC expansion and the future expansion of one year old care and the Scottish Government’s commitment to school aged childcare. Playing our part in delivering on the Promise to Scotland’s children and young people.
We’ve recently changed our recruitment process and how we assess new people and now is the perfect time to come and join us.
What next?
Click here to find out more on our careers site. You can also contact the recruitment team at recruitment@careinspectorate.gov.scot for further information.
If you’re ready to apply now, please click here to access our gateway questions and application form. access the application form. Your application should be received no later than Monday 3 March 2025 at 08:00.
The Care Inspectorate is committed to recruiting, retaining and developing a workforce that reflects the diverse communities that we serve. It is vital that we monitor and analyse diversity information so that we can identify how we can improve the way we meet the needs of our applicants and staff. To assist us to monitor the effectiveness of our equality and diversity practices, we would encourage you to complete the equalities monitoring form at the end of the application form.
We anticipate holding Stage 1 of our assessment process between Friday 14 - Monday 17 March, and Stage 2 no earlier than Monday 7 April 2025 over a 2 week period at one of our main offices.
If you successfully complete our selection process, we’ll either confirm you’re the preferred candidate for a suitable vacancy (based on your specialism and location) or you’ll be invited to join our talent pool for future vacancies that would be suitable for you.
Registration information and process
As an Inspector you will support the Assurance and Improvement Directorate to ensure that the Care Inspectorate meets its responsibilities as defined by the Public Services Reform Act 2010 and other relevant legislation.
The successful applicant must be registered with a professional body (this can be NMC, GTCS, NMC, HCPC, SSSC), within three months of appointment.
For SSSC registration, there is a specific registration category for Care Inspectorate Authorised Officers (AO). Regulated Care Inspectors who register with SSSC will do so as a Primary Authorised Officer under both types of work (Social Care and Children & Young People). Primary Authorised Officers will require to complete a Professional Development Award in Scrutiny and Improvement Practice within 5 years of initial registration.
Employees will be expected to maintain registration with the same professional body throughout their employment in the Care Inspectorate. This includes employees working in authorised officer roles who are recruited to the Care Inspectorate based on their registration with the NMC, GTCS, HCPC or other recognised professional body. It is a contractual requirement to maintain registration with the same professional body and employees should not transfer their registration to the SSSC from another recognised professional body, including the NMC, GTCS or HCPC.
Job profile
Person specification
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