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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 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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Corporate parenting
Corporate Parents are public bodies with legal duties and responsibilities towards care experienced children and young people. Part 9 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act, 2014 relates to Corporate Parenting. This applies to every child who is looked after by a local authority, and every young person under the age of 26, who was looked after on their 16th birthday.
Our organisation is one of a list of 24 corporate parents mentioned in the Act.
A person is care experienced if they have ever been looked after by a local authority; whether that be in foster care, kinship care, residential care, secure care, or if they have been subject to compulsory measures of supervision at home. Children and young people who are care experienced have among the poorest outcomes of all children and young people in Scotland. It is our job as corporate parents to try and improve this.
In 2020, we took the decision to refer to care experienced young people as “our children and young people”. This reflects our values, responsibilities and commitments as corporate parents.
As a corporate parent, we expect to carry out many of the roles any parent should. We have a duty to work with other corporate parents, to best meet our shared responsibilities, promote the wellbeing of our children and young people and keep them safe from harm.
Our Corporate Parenting Report (2017-2020)
Our corporate parenting group has made some significant achievements during the three-year cycle of our plan, which are discussed in our corporate parenting report (2017-2020). We also have a version of our corporate parenting report for children and young people.
Some of our key achievements and improvement include:
- The development of a complaints text service for children and young people and improved materials to inform children and young people on how they can make a complaint.
- Personal care planning guidance: our children and young people have personal plans. These give guidance to care services on how to meet their needs, wishes and choices. We met 120 of our children and young people to help them develop these to a high standard.
- Our young inspection volunteers support a range of our inspection activities. This short video provides a little insight into how they help us engage with children and young people meaningfully.
- We have worked with Who Cares? Scotland and our young inspection volunteers to develop and deliver training for all board members, executive group members and senior managers.
Our Corporate Parenting Plan (2021-2023)
Our Corporate Parenting Plan (2021-2023) has six high level commitments with four areas of focus and a set of detailed actions. We have also developed a version of our Corporate Parenting Plan for Children and Young People.
We pledge to listen to our children and young people, take action and do our best to improve their life chances. These are our six commitments. The action plan in our Corporate Parenting Plan (2021-2023) shows in detail how we will meet them:
- We will strive to meet the needs of our young people and promote their rights.
- We will listen to our young people and we will learn how their experiences of the ‘care system’ can best shape our approach to scrutiny, engagement and improvement to help improve the lives of others.
- We will continue to inspect different services and partnerships and report on how well they work together. We will help services share what works well and learn from what needs to improve, to help make sure that our young people get the right support at the right time.
- When one of our young people makes a complaint about the care they receive, we will take that complaint seriously and we will respond in a timely, thorough and proportionate way. We will always provide feedback to the person who made the complaint in a way that they will understand.
- We will improve opportunities for our young people to develop skills, experience, and confidence to achieve their personal, employment and career ambitions.
- We will work with other corporate parents to make sure that together we can do our best for our young people.
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Chief Inspector Support Assistant
Job title: Chief Inspector Support Assistant
Salary: £27,696 – £30,357
Hours: 35 hours per week
Location: Flexible (Any Care Inspectorate office) – with expectation of travel to Dundee Head Office for team working requirements
Contract: Temporary until 31 March 2026
About us
We are the national regulator and scrutiny body responsible for providing assurance and protection for people who experience care services, their families, carers and the wider public, as well as supporting delivery partners to improve the quality of care for people in Scotland. Our vision is that people across Scotland experience high quality care that meets their needs, rights and choices.
We are a scrutiny body that supports improvement. We inspect individual care services and we also work with other scrutiny bodies to inspect the social care and social work services people are experiencing in their local areas.
Our desire is 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.
About the role
We are recruiting for one Chief Inspector Support Assistant on a temporary contract to cover maternity leave up until 31 March 2026. This postholder will provide a PA role in supporting the Chief Inspector for Strategic Scrutiny and their Service Managers. Their work focuses on the scrutiny, assurance and improvement of services provided by local authority social work services and partnerships.
Their teams look at services for children and families, adults and older people and people involved with the justice system. They explore how adults’ and children’s rights are promoted and upheld, the extent to which they are enabled to exercise choice and control in how their support is provided, and the outcomes they experience.
Reporting to the Executive Support Officer, you will be part of a small team of Chief Inspector Support Assistants and part of the wider Executive and Committee Support team.
Duties will be varied and include prioritising correspondence, dealing with internal and external enquiries, composing responses to routine correspondence, managing diaries, making appointments, and arranging travel, accommodation, meetings, conference rooms, and hospitality for visitors as necessary.
Having excellent planning and organisational skills, you will be expected to co-ordinate the administrative process for Scottish Government briefings and adhering to strict deadline requirements.
The role will also include the preparation and circulation of agendas and paperwork for meetings, attendance at internal and external meetings, taking notes and action records, monitoring the shared mailbox and dealing with any tasks required, formatting documents for high level management meetings, maintaining staff list spreadsheets and assisting in the design and preparation of PowerPoint presentations as and when required.
About you
You will have experience of providing business support to senior management in a fast-paced change environment. You are highly organised and able to plan and manage your time and workstreams efficiently and effectively. You understand that priorities and deadlines can change quickly, and you respond flexibly and effectively.
You will have a proactive approach and be confident in using your own initiative. Your attention to detail is meticulous and you have a clear commitment to maintaining high standards. You are a great team worker and able to build and maintain good working relationships.
You will have excellent word processing and IT skills with experience of Microsoft applications, including a good working knowledge of Excel. You will also have experience of diary management and taking detailed notes or minutes.
Next steps
You’ll find more information in the job profile and person specification.
If you would like more information or an informal chat about the role please contact recruitment team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., please include a contact telephone number and times that would be best to reach you in your email.
If you believe that you are a suitable candidate for this post, please complete the online application form by no later than by 08:00 on Monday 19 May 2025.
It is anticipated that interviews will take place on from 29 May 2025 at our Dundee office.
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Strategic Data Officer
Job title: Strategic Data Officer
Salary: £30,495 – £31,740
Location: Flexible (Any Care Inspectorate office)
Contract: Temporary until 31st July 2025
About us
We are the national regulator and scrutiny body responsible for providing assurance and protection for people who experience care services, their families, carers and the wider public, as well as supporting delivery partners to improve the quality of care for people in Scotland. Our vision is that people across Scotland experience high quality care that meets their needs, rights and choices.
We are a scrutiny body that supports improvement. We inspect individual care services and we also work with other scrutiny bodies to inspect the social care and social work services people are experiencing in their local areas.
Our desire is 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.
Starting salary
Please bear in mind that new entrants start on the grade minimum for the role. However, we have a generous benefits package which you will find on our website.
About the role
This is a national role and an exciting opportunity for a motivated and enthusiastic individual to use their current IT skills and develop new analytical and data skills to make a real difference for people experiencing care across Scotland. You will support the Intelligence team in delivering key analytical support to our strategic inspection programmes, working closely with a multi-disciplinary team of Care Inspectorate colleagues and those from external agencies.
You will support the Intelligence team in providing an analytical function throughout the inspection process through the improvement and maintenance of data collection tools and by identifying and summarising key inspection findings and preparing accurate statistical reports for a range of internal and external audiences.
About you
You should be educated to SCQF level 7.
The Intelligence Team will offer training and support for the specialist software and skills required for this role. However, you will need to be confident working with raw data and comfortable working with Microsoft Excel. The successful candidate will pay close attention to detail in order to clean and validate data and identify opportunities to improve data quality.
As well as having good literacy skills, you will have an aptitude for working with facts and figures to a high degree of accuracy. Excellent IT skills are a pre-requisite, enabling you to present complex information in a meaningful way.
You will be expected to work with colleagues across the Care Inspectorate and other external organisations, and so must have excellent interpersonal skills and be prepared to develop a sound understanding of the inspection data to respond effectively to the requirements of the role.
Next steps
You’ll find more information in the job profile and person specification.
For an informal discussion about the above posts, please contact Francesca Colaco by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
If you believe that your skills, experience and motivation make you a suitable candidate for this post, please complete the online application form by 08:00 on Monday 9 December 2024. CVs will not be accepted.
It is anticipated that interviews will be held Wednesday 18 December 2024 at our Dundee office.
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Personal Assistant to the Interim Executive Director of Transformation, ICT & Digital
Location: Dundee
Salary: £22,425 - £23,964
Contract: Temporary until 31 March 2022 – potential for extension
About the role
The Care Inspectorate is a scrutiny body that supports improvement in care. Our vision is that people across Scotland receive high quality care that meets their needs, rights and choices. We are a national organisation, employing in excess of 600 staff working across our network of offices and from home.
Reporting to the Executive Support Officer, you will be responsible for providing an efficient and effective confidential tailored support service to the interim Director of Transformation, ICT and Digital.
This role will include organising and preparing documents, preparation of meeting papers and taking minutes for specific directorate meetings together with composing routine correspondence, diary management and arranging travel and accommodation. In addition, you will be required to develop and administer a system for dealing with enquiries, recording, acknowledging receipt of and re-directing letters and monitoring progress of responses with limited direction.
You will be an excellent organiser and communicator with proactive and friendly inter-personal skills together with a multi-tasking ability and flexible approach, working well under pressure to meet tight deadlines.
You will have excellent word processing and IT skills with experience of Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and experience of diary management and minute taking.
You can find out more about the role in the person specification, job profile and job advert.
Next steps
If you believe that your expertise and motivation make you suitable for this post, please complete an application and return by email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 8am on Wednesday 14 April 2021. Interviews will be held by Teams video call on Wednesday 21 April 2021.
If you require any further information, or for an informal chat, please contact Claire Corbett (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) Please note that initially you will be required to work from home due to the current covid situation.
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