Job profile
Job title: Payroll and Workforce Information Assistant
Responsible to: Payroll and Workforce Information Manager
Principal working contacts
- All Human Resources staff
- Finance Assistants/Officers
- Other staff within Corporate and Customer Services Directorate (eg Estates, Health and Safety, ICT)
- Managers and employees of the Care Inspectorate & SSSC
- Third party service providers
Job purpose
To assist in the provision of a payroll advisory and support service for the Care Inspectorate and Scottish Social Services Council.
Key responsibilities
- Process and maintain accurate pay and pension data, including but not limited to:
- All information required for the monthly payroll (eg post/hours changes, starter details, leaver details)
- Employee pensions (processing details, cessations and estimates).
- Act as the first point of contact for payroll and data queries, taking ownership of any issues and referring/escalating these where necessary. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Use of payroll systems
- Employee data and Management Information requests
- Payroll policies, processes or procedures.
- Annual leave and sickness
- Pay, pensions and expenses.
- Working with members of the accounting team, coordinate monthly payroll and pension processing activities.
- Liaise with third party providers where necessary (e.g. payroll services provider, pension scheme provider).
- Support the management information service. This will include presenting the information in a variety of formats (e.g. tables, charts, graphs) using various tools including Microsoft Excel and Power BI. Information provided will include but is not limited to:
- Benchmarking and workforce analysis
- Assurance Reports
- Establishment Control
- Absence
- Performance Review
- Equality Data
- Staff lists
- Process and maintain an up to date and accurate staff record in our payroll and related systems, including but not limited to:
- Core employee details (names, contact details, bank details, emergency contacts, etc)
- Contractual details (core employment details such as hours of work, post holdings, salaries, pensions)
- Attendance and absence details (work patterns, overtime, sickness, annual leave, special leave, flexi time)
- Equality and diversity information
- Other relevant employee information
- Assist with the gathering of information for benchmarking and workforce analysis.
- Assist with the production management information for reporting purposes.
- Assist with the development of and updates to payroll and related systems and processes including:
- Testing
- Design
- Data clean-up and data migration
- Training staff
- Development of guidance and procedure manuals
- Assist in the development of new processes and procedures, making full use of information technology where appropriate.
- Participate in working groups and attend associated meetings, as and when required.
- Undertake any other duties and/or responsibilities commensurate with the nature of the job
- Carry out your duties in accordance with our Health and Safety policies, procedures, guidance, practices and legislative requirements, taking reasonable care for your safety and that of others who may be affected by what you do or fail to do while at work.
People management
- Demonstrate commitment to the safety and security of the Care Inspectorate’s data, information systems and devices.
- Promote the health, safety and welfare of employees, with responsibility for ensuring that the Care Inspectorate health and safety policies, procedures and practice and legislative requirements are met across the team.
- Carry out your duties in accordance with our Health and Safety policies, procedures, guidance, practices and legislative requirements, taking reasonable care for your safety and that of others who may be affected by what you do or fail to do while at work
- Promote diversity, equality of opportunity, fairness, dignity and trust, ensuring that these principles are upheld across all areas of service delivery.
Relationship management
- Model corporate behaviour and demonstrate commitment to organisation values.
- Develop and maintain constructive and co-operative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders to ensure effective and efficient directorate support.
- Promote the principles of collaborative working throughout the organisation and in all working practices in accordance with the Partnership Agreements with the trade unions.
- Ensure effective working protocols in accordance with the Care Inspectorate’s Communications, Human Resources, Finance, IT and Operations function.
- Project a professional image for the Care Inspectorate when dealing with colleagues and external stakeholders.
- Demonstrate a commitment to the Care Inspectorate’s aims, vision and values and to the Care Inspectorate’s overall objective of improving care in Scotland.
Other duties
This job profile is a broad picture of the post at the date of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all possible duties, and it is recognised that jobs change and evolve over time. Consequently, the post holder will be required to carry out any other duties to the equivalent level that are necessary to fulfil the purpose of the job, and to respond positively to changing business needs.
Person specification
Attributes |
Essential |
Desirable |
Experience |
|
Experience of collaborative/ partnership working.
|
Education, qualifications and training |
|
3 Higher Grades or equivalent. HNC or equivalent. |
Skills and knowledge |
|
Understanding of project management
|
Key performance outcomes |
Essential |
Desirable |
Leading others |
|
Demonstrates experience of delivering change and improvement at an operational level. |
Management of resources |
|
|
Effective communication |
|
Good public speaking skills with ability to represent the Care Inspectorate at conferences, events.
|
Impact and influence |
|
Ability to take account of wider political and organisational sensitivities to deliver strategic objectives. |
Objective decision making |
|
|
Person specification
Job title: Service Manager Early Learning and Childcare
Attributes
Experience
Essential:
- Experience of managing and delivering scrutiny and assurance activity.
- Experience of managing scrutiny and assurance teams operationally.
- Direct experience of supporting improvement and building capacity through self-evaluation.
- Highly skilled and experienced in the ‘art of inspection’.
- Experience of planning scrutiny and assurance programmes, including those delivered in partnership with others.
- Significant experience in social work/social care in children’s services.
- Experience of stakeholder engagement at both a strategic and operational level, particularly during the inspection process, delivering feedback and dealing with challenges to the inspection processes and findings.
- Experience in quality assurance, self-evaluation, performance management and the recruitment, training, development and support of staff.
- Significant experience operational scrutiny activity and professional regulatory practice within the health and social care, or other relevant sectors.
- Demonstrable evidence of embedding sustainable transformational change.
Desirable:
- Direct experience of developing and applying quality frameworks to support self-evaluation, scrutiny and improvement.
Education, qualifications and training
Essential:
- Educated to degree level or equivalent.
- Appropriate professional qualification.
- Commitment to own CPD.
- A qualification in quality management/ scrutiny and improvement such as EFQM and PSIF.
Skills and knowledge
Essential:
- The ability to provide leadership and direction to a diverse, multi-disciplinary team of professional staff.
- Demonstrate significant knowledge and direct first hand experience of inspection/regulation of care in a children’s setting.
- Demonstrate significant skills and knowledge of quality assuring inspection processes and reports.
- Demonstrate commitment to the principles of the Public Service Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and the principles of better regulation.
- Be adept at challenging traditional thinking in a positive and constructive way.
- Excellent communicator, both verbally and in written form.
- Politically astute.
- Ability to translate plans into action.
- Excellent negotiation and influencing skills.
- Demonstrate broad knowledge of working with inspection/regulation of care.
- Knowledge of trends and changes within social work and social care with an understanding of Equality and Diversity issues.
- IT literate, using the most effective methods to communicate and manage information.
Desirable:
- Knowledge and understanding of health/social care practice, theory, policy and research.
- Demonstrate understanding of corporate social responsibility, whereby social and environmental concerns are voluntarily integrated to business operations and stakeholder interaction.
- Understanding of, and ability to demonstrate, the management of complex projects.
Key performance outcomes
Leading others
Essential:
- Ability to provide credible and authentic professional leadership, with a clear sense of purpose and direction to effectively lead a key professional function within the Care Inspectorate.
- Ability to effectively deploy staff and other resources to achieve performance objectives.
- Ensure that staff working in inspection in respect of children’s services conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of integrity, probity and openness through the implementation of robust corporate governance.
- Demonstrate ability to provide leadership and strategic management direction for multi disciplinary, professional teams and bring together groups from different disciplines/bodies.
Management of resources
Essential:
- Ability to bring together the overall work of a multi-disciplinary team of staff.
- Ability to manage resources in achievement of the Care Inspectorate’s objectives.
- Ability to bring together the overall work of a team of staff, determining the “tone” for a significant area of the organisation’s work and promoting a corporate vision.
- Ability to manage resources in achievement of the Care Inspectorate’s objectives.
Desirable:
- Ability to drive continuous improvement and manage business planning and performance processes.
Effective communication
Essential:
- Articulate and positive communicator both in verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to engage, influence and lead the development of a wide range of key stakeholder relationships, both internally and externally.
Desirable:
- The ability to build and guide key stakeholder strategies and manage relationships to secure or improve delivery of key programme or service outputs.
Impact and influence
Essential:
- Evidence of building positive relationships, engaging and collaborating effectively with others internally and externally.
- Demonstrate personal resilience, being able to work flexibly under to deliver tangible results.
- Demonstrates ability to influence at all levels.
- Ability to promote, lead and implement strategies and change programmes to improve the development and quality of services.
- Evidence of building positive relationships, engaging and collaborating effectively with others internally and externally.
- Demonstrates personal resilience, being able to work flexibly under pressure with stamina and tenacity to deliver results.
Desirable:
- A proven track record of promoting, leading and implementing strategies and change programmes to improve the development and quality of services
- Ability to take account of wider political and organisational sensitivities to deliver strategic objectives.
Objective decision making
Essential:
- The ability to assist the Chief Inspector Early Learning and Childcare Services to set, in consultation with others, the overall agenda, long term objectives and performance standards for the Directorate.
- Demonstrate analytical and systematic approach to problem solving.
- Ability to make appropriate and realistic judgments, based on relevant, up to date and verifiable information.
- The ability to take responsibility for difficult decisions and to remain resilient against possible criticism.
Please note – these are key performance outcomes to be used to recruit into the role. Successful applicants will be assessed against all the performance indicators used in the Performance Development Review System once established in the role.
Person specification
Job title: Transactions Assistant
Attributes
Experience
Essential
- Previous administrative experience.
- Operating within a busy environment.
- Experience of communicating with the general public by telephone, letter and email.
- Experience of working effectively to meet deadlines and achieve objectives.
- Experience of managing and prioritising own workload.
Desirable
- Experience of working with finance software.
- Experience of working with internal and external contacts at all levels.
- Demonstrate a successful track record within a similar role.
- Advanced knowledge of all Microsoft Office applications.
Education, qualifications and training
Essential
- Educated to Standard Grade level or equivalent (SCQF level 4/5).
Skills and knowledge
Essential
- Thorough knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Word.
- Understanding of financial controls and financial environment.
- Use of office systems and procedures.
- Concise and clear oral and written skills.
- Excellent customer services skills.
- Demonstrate an appreciation of the importance of attention to detail.
- Effective organisational skills and time management, able to meet deadlines.
- Effective administrative skills.
- Excellent numeracy and communication skills.
- Prioritise own workload under broad guidance.
Desirable
- Ability to understand the limits of their knowledge and experience and when decisions need to be referred to others.
- Database administration.
- Advanced knowledge of all Microsoft Office applications.
Key performance outcomes
Effective communication
Essential
- Portrays a positive image of the Care Inspectorate/SSSC when communicating both inside the organisation and externally.
- Selects appropriate communication, style and methods depending on the needs and abilities of the audience.
- Listens actively to people, questions and checks understanding.
Planning and organisation
Essential
- Uses a systematic approach to make efficient use of time and manage workload.
- Recognises the need to be flexible in order to meet changing priorities.
- Prioritises work effectively to meet deadlines and objectives.
Flexibility
Essential
- Demonstrates a flexible, positive approach to work.
- Listens to feedback and ideas from people and will take appropriate and considered action.
- Adapts well to change, adjusting priorities as required.
- Understands where a flexible approach is required.
Team working
Essential
- Remains tolerant and fair towards others, values diversity and is non-discriminatory in their actions.
- Values and makes use of the skills, knowledge and experience of others.
- Works co-operatively and supportively with others.
Personal accountability and responsibility
Essential
- Takes responsibility for decisions and actions taken.
- Maintains a high standard of work and actively seeks out continuous improvement.
- Demonstrates initiative within own area of expertise.
- Takes responsibility for identifying and addressing areas of personal and professional development.
Please note – these are key performance outcomes to be used to recruit into the role. Successful applicants will be assessed against all the performance indicators used in the Performance Development Review System once established in the role.
Person specification
Job title: Executive Personal Assistant (PA)
Attributes
Experience
Essential:
- Extensivesecretarial/business support
- Experience of interpreting the business conducted at meetings and producing accurateminutestoreflectdiscussionand
- Experienceofproviding secretarial/business support at senior management level.
- Experienceofpreparingbasicreportsfor submission to senior members of staff.
Desirable:
- Ability to develop and produce correspondence and emails on behalf of senior executives.
Education, qualifications and training
Essential:
- Educated to Standard Grade level or equivalent.
Desirable:
- Hold a relevant qualification in administration, and/or secretarial studies e.g. HNC/D or equivalent.
Skills and knowledge
Essential:
- Excellent communication and negotiation
- Excellent organisational, planning and decision making skills.
- Ability to manage conflicting priorities and work to tight deadlines/plan and prioritise workloads.
- Experience of developing processes and procedures.
- Good working knowledge of IT packages including Microsoft Applications and database input.
- Ability to translate plans into action.
Key performance outcomes
Effective communication
Essential:
- Ability to prepare written communication to a high
- Ability to express ideas clearly and concisely and to adapt communication to suit different audiences.
- Ability to form constructive working relationships with people at all levels in the organisation.
- Regularly communicates with and ensures they are accessible to colleagues and key contacts.
- Ability to communicate decisions to colleagues and key contacts.
Objective decision making
Essential:
- Demonstrates ananalytical and systematic approach to problem solving.
- Encourages and supports decisions of colleagues and key contacts.
- Considers Care Inspectorate values in relation to the impact of their decisions.
- Considers the wider context in which the Care Inspectorate operates.
Desirable:
- Ability to expressand present complex information.
Planning and organising
Essential:
- Ability to react to changing priorities and manage conflicting demands.
- Ability to forward plan and prevent any operational difficulties.
- Uses a systematic approach to make efficient use of time and manage workload.
- Recognises the need to be flexible in order to meet changing priorities.
- Follows directions and procedures.
Flexibility
Essential:
- Demonstrates a flexible, positive approach to work.
- Listens to feedback and ideas from people and will take appropriate and considered action.
- Adapts well to change, adjusting priorities as required.
- Ability to apply skills flexibly as required.
Personal accountability and responsibility
Essential:
- Contributes to the development of operational processes and systems.
- Demonstrate initiative, drive and determination to complete tasks and achieve objectives.
- Improve the development and quality of services.
- Takes responsibility for decisions and actions taken.
- Maintains a high standard of work and actively seeks out continuous improvement.
- Demonstrates initiative within own area of expertise.
- Takes responsibility for identifying and addressing areas of personal and professional development.
Please note – these are key performance outcomes to be used to recruit into the role.
Person specification
Job title: Strategic Data Officer
Attributes
Experience
Essential:
- Working with large datasets
- Experience in some of the following
- Working with large datasets
- Statistical analysis and reporting
- Data management
- Identifying and resolving data quality issues
- Performance measurement and reporting
- Experience of working with external/internal contacts at all levels
Desirable:
- Experience of working within the social care sector.
- Experience of working with confidential and sensitive data.
- Knowledge of and experience in using the Care Inspectorate’s ICT systems (especially in a strategic context).
Education, qualifications and training
Essential:
- Educated to HNC level or equivalent.
Skills and knowledge
Essential:
- Competent and experienced in the use of MS office packages, particularly in the use of Excel and Word.
- Experienced in working with data to produce accurate, meaningful and well-presented tables and charts of data.
- Effective written and oral communicator.
- Well developed interpersonal skills.
- Good literacy skills.
- Understanding of data quality issues.
Desirable:
- Experience in the use of Excel functions such as lookup formulas and pivot tables.
- Experience of sampling and survey design.
Key performance outcomes
Effective communication
Essential:
- Articulate and positive communicator on a 1-1 basis and in larger groups of all levels both within and external to the organisation.
- Ability to express ideas clearly and concisely and to adapt communication to suit different audiences.
Impact and influence
Essential:
Ability to give realistic advice, based on relevant, up to date and verifiable information.
Evidence of building positive relationships, engaging and collaborating effectively with others internally and externally.
Improvement focus
Essential:
- Identifies gaps in performance and makes appropriate suggestions for improvements.
- Uses knowledge and experience to gather and consolidate information in order to make appropriate changes and improvements.
- The ability and willingness to learn new skills quickly.
Planning and organising
Essential:
- The ability to manage workloads under pressure to tight deadlines.
- The ability to work autonomously with the minimum of supervision
- Involves others where appropriate and optimises resources to achieve desired results.
- Regularly reviews joint goals and targets and reprioritises where necessary.
- Recognises the need to be flexible in order to meet changing priorities.
Flexibility
Essential:
- Demonstrates a flexible, positive approach to work.
- Listens to feedback and ideas from people and takes appropriate and considered action.
- Adapts quickly in a fast-paced environment, adjusting priorities as required.
- Understand where a flexible approach is required.
Team working
Essential:
- Contributes to and supports the work and decisions of the team.
- Contributes to the shared vision and purpose and shares this effectively.
- Works collaboratively with a wide range of teams across the Care Inspectorate and external agencies.
Please note – these are key performance outcomes to be used to recruit into the role. Successful applicants will be assessed against all the performance indicators used in the Performance Development Review System once established in the role.
Job profile
Job title: Planning Coordinator
Responsible to: Planning Manager
Principal Working Contacts
- Head of Business Change
- Executive Director of IT, Transformation & Digital
- Chief Inspector (Strategic Scrutiny, Children’s, and Adults)
- Chief Inspector (Children’s Services)
- Chief Inspector (Adult Services)
- Executive Director of Scrutiny & Assurance
- Chief Inspector (Registration and Complaints)
- Executive Director of Strategy and Improvement
- Service Managers
- Planning Manager
- Inspectors / Strategic Inspectors
- Managers and employees of the Care Inspectorate
- External agencies/service providers/service users and carers
- Education Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland
Job purpose
To coordinate the delivery of national inspection planning across a wide range of social care services and services for children and adults to ensure that the care inspectorate makes the best use of its resources and performs effectively and efficiently as an independent scrutiny and improvement body.
Key responsibilities
Strategic management
- In conjunction with the Planning Manager, develop and manage systems and processes to support effective national inspection planning to meet corporate aims and objectives.
- In conjunction with the Planning Manager, develop and manage systems and processes to support effective and efficient deployment of resources for all the Care Inspectorate’s scrutiny and improvement functions.
- Maintain effective partnerships with Education Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland and other scrutiny and improvement partners to support effective and efficient joint inspection planning.
- Support the Planning Manager in formulating objectives, strategies, action plans and targets for inspection planning activity to ensure that these are achieved.
Operational management
- Support and coordinate the efficient and effective delivery of scrutiny and improvement planning activity.
- Support the management and maintenance of scrutiny plans for the current year and draft plans for subsequent years.
- Promote continuous improvement in all aspects of inspection and capacity planning.
- Support the Planning Manager with the preparation and presentation of reports for other senior managers.
- Plan, coordinate, and maintain regulated care and strategic inspection plans and provide information as required to Care Inspectorate colleagues and scrutiny partners.
- Deputise for the Planning Manager and undertake such other duties as may be required by the Planning Manager.
People management
- In conjunction with the Planning Manager, manage and coordinate the work of the Planning Assistants on a day-to day basis and ensure they are deployed effectively and efficiently to meet the aims, objectives, and target of the Care Inspectorate.
- Provide advice, guidance, and support to Planning Assistants through regular one-to-one supervision, performance development reviews and personal development plans to ensure continuous improvement in their work and to support their personal and professional development.
- Promote consistent, high quality practice amongst staff, and manage the performance and monitor standards and consistency of practice of all employees delivering inspection planning activity.
- Create and sustain a learning culture which promotes the development of employees to maximise their potential and contribution to meeting the organisation’s objectives.
- Carry out your duties in accordance with our Health and Safety policies, procedures, guidance, practices, and legislative requirements, taking reasonable care for your safety and that of others who may be affected by what you do or fail to do while at work.
Relationship management
- Develop strong professional relationships with managers and staff across the organisation ensuring effective collaborative and cross directorate working.
- Develop and maintain effective working relationships with partner scrutiny and improvement bodies and other key stakeholders.
- Demonstrate a commitment to the Care Inspectorate’s aims, vision, and values and to the Care Inspectorate’s overall objective of improving care in Scotland.
- Ensure effective communication of the Care Inspectorate’s work with people who use care services, carers, relatives, and advocates.
Other duties
This job may require some travel and may involve some overnight stays and unsocial hours.
This job description is a broad picture of the post at the date of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties, and it is recognised that jobs change and evolve over time. Consequently, the post holder will be required to carry out any other duties to the equivalent level that are necessary to fulfil the purpose of the job, and to respond positively to changing business needs.
Job profile
Job title: Executive Personal Assistant (PA)
Responsible to: Executive and Committee Support Manager
Principle working contacts
- Chair and Board members
- Chief Executive
- Executive Directors
- Strategic Management Group
- Executive and Committee Support Manager
- Executive PA to the Chief Executive and PAs to Executive Directors
- Scottish Government and other external bodies and partners
Job purpose
- To provide high quality confidential PA support to the Executive Director of Corporate and Customer Services and the Chair of the Care Inspectorate Board
Key accountabilities
- Organise, plan and delegate work appropriately to ensure the provision of efficient and highly confidential PA support to the Executive Director of Corporate and Customer Services and the Chair.
- Check and prioritise all email correspondence and meeting invitations on behalf of the Executive Director and the Chair.
- Develop and administer a system for dealing with enquiries on behalf of the Executive Director and the Chair, including composing responses to routine correspondence.
- Maintain appropriate ways of working for supporting the Executive Director of Corporate and Customer Services, the Chair and Board members.
- Manage and co-ordinate the Executive Director’s and Chair’s diaries, making appointments and arranging meetings, events, booking venues, organising catering and hospitality for visitors as necessary.
- Make travel and accommodation arrangements for the Executive Director and the Chair.
- Prepare agendas and collate, check and distribute paperwork for meetings as required.
- Make seminar/conference and other visit arrangements.
- Maintain and ensure that all types of filing systems, registers and records are up to date, including review and updating of the Board’s Register of Interests.
- Attend meetings as required at our head office and at various locations across Scotland, in order to take notes/minutes and prepare action records.
- Assist the Executive and Committee Support Manager in administrative tasks related to Board and Committee meetings.
- Establish good working relationships in regular communication with other officers of the CareInspectorate, external partners and Scottish Government.
- Assist other members of the Executive and Committee Support team when required.
- Assist in the preparation of PowerPoint presentations/speeches as required.
- Provide PA support cover in the absence of the Executive PA to the Chief Executive.
- Carry out your duties in accordance with our Health and Safety policies, procedures, guidance, practices and legislative requirements, taking reasonable care for your safety and that of others who may be affected by what you do or fail to do while at work.
Relationship management
- Ensure productive and smooth working arrangements and protocols between staff delivering businesssupport and all other Care Inspectorate employees.
- Develop and maintain constructive and co-operative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders to ensure effective and efficient executive support.
- DemonstrateacommitmenttotheCareInspectorate’saims,vision and values and to the Care Inspectorate’s overall objective of improving care in Scotland.
- Ensure effective communication of the Care Inspectorate's work with people who use care services, carers, relatives and advocates.
Other duties
This job description is a broad picture of the post at the date of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all possible duties and it is recognised that jobs change and evolve over time. Consequently the post holder will be required to carry out any other duties to the equivalent level that are necessary to fulfil the purpose of the job, and to respond positively to changing business needs.
This job may also require some travel to other offices of the Care Inspectorate.
Subcategories
Inspector - Early Learning and Childcare (ELC)
The early learning and childcare expansion…
Role: Inspector - Early Learning and Childcare (ELC)
Location: Forth Valley, Borders, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh & Glasgow
Salary: £31,083 - £39,069 plus excellent benefits
Hours: 140 hours to be worked over a 4-week period
Contract: Permanent or 2-year secondment (would be considered)
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 as we are, and you’re experienced in your field, we’d love to hear from you.
About us
As a national scrutiny body that supports improvement. We inspect care services and partnerships across Scotland, report on the quality of care people experience, and support improvements in services to facilitate improvements in outcomes for people.
We inspect care services individually. We also work with other scrutiny bodies to inspect the social care and social work services people are experiencing in local areas.
We champion high-quality care whenever we encounter it across the thousands of inspections, we carry out each year, and we work closely with all care providers to support them to improve all the time. We collaborate with other organisations too, supporting improvement across public services. Our work plays a big role in reducing health and social inequalities between people and communities.
We are looking for talented people to join us in making a difference - specialists who understand how to put people’s needs, rights and choices at the heart of delivering social services – and how to lead improvement too. Our 600 staff work with services across the public, voluntary and private sectors. We have offices across Scotland and many of our staff work from home.
About you
Whether early or established in your career, you will share our determination that care, social work and justice services should work well for people – every time. You’ll be confident about what good-quality care looks like and how to deliver it. You’ll be good at analysing information and evidence. You will have excellent writing skills for narrative inspection reports that are clear, concise and focused on outcomes. You will be confident in working with a wide range of people and at supporting and advising on improvement.
You’ll currently be working, or have significant experience in, social care, social work, health, children’s services, early learning, child protection, or community learning and development. You will be registered or eligible to register with a professional body like the SSSC, NMC or GTC.
About the role
Our care inspectors work with care services: childminders, nurseries, care homes, care at home, housing support and a host of other specialist services. A specialist in your field, you may have helped lead a service and have a strong track record in delivering quality. You’ll be adept at leading improvement and influencing others. You will work with people experiencing care, and care service providers, managers and staff.
Why join us?
We strive to be a great employer, knowing that competitive salary, leave and pension schemes are only part of that. We pride ourselves on the values we hold, person-centred; fairness; respect; efficiency and integrity - all supported with a culture of care and kindness.
We believe in collective leadership and innovation. You’ll have a lot of autonomy to manage your own work and use the professional skills you’ve honed during your career – but in new ways. Starting on day one, our learning and development support will help you become confident in the craft of scrutiny and in supporting improvement. Because a lot of your role is about sharing effective practice across Scotland, the impact you can have on experiences and outcomes for people is significant. You will draw on management and leadership skills you’ve developed in the past.
We’re proud to be a progressive, supportive employer – we’re happy to talk about flexible working with you and we’re members of the Disability Confident Scheme, aiming to make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace.
New appointments will normally be placed on the minimum grade for the role; a higher starting salary may be offered in exceptional circumstances only.
ELC expansion
The Scottish Government is committed to expanding the provision of funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) from 600 hours to 1140 hours per year by 2020. The expansion of ELC is aimed to support the reduction in the poverty-related attainment gap and improve long term outcomes for children and families.
Due to the ELC expansion programme we are looking for 7 further ELC Inspectors in addition to the “business as usual” Inspector campaign launched recently.
Principles and aims
The priority for the expansion to 1140 hours is to improve children's outcomes and close the poverty-related attainment gap. In addition, the expansion aims to support parents into work, study or training. The Scottish Government's four principles of the ELC expansion are: quality, flexibility, affordability, and accessibility.
The Scottish Government has stated that quality is 'at the heart' of the expansion and that achieving a high-quality ELC experience for children is a key objective.
Use and provision
A 2018 survey found that the main reason why parents use funded ELC is that they consider it beneficial for their child's learning and development. In addition, parents reported using the funded hours to either work, increase the number of hours they work, or look for work.
Funded ELC in Scotland is delivered by a wide range of providers including nurseries, crèches and playgroups, from across the public, private and third sectors. A small number of childminders also deliver funded ELC, but the Scottish Government hopes this number will increase under the expansion to 1140 hours.
Criteria to apply
- We require you to hold a relevant qualification (minimum SCQF Level 9), register with either the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) or any other relevant professional body and undertake PVG checks.
- You must also be prepared to do a Professional Development Award in Scrutiny and Improvement (Social Services) at SCQF level 10 with appropriate support from the organisation.
- You will have a minimum of three years recent and demonstrable management experience in a relevant field. You must also be willing to travel with overnight stays as required.
Before you apply
- Please contact the relevant body directly to resolve any queries you have regarding registration or eligible qualifications for registration (SSSC, NMC and so on) before submitting your application.
- For an informal chat about the job role, please contact (Who?) You or Kim Connolly, Team Manager on 07766133161
- For all other queries, please contact Human Resources at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
To apply
- If you are interested, please see the minimum criteria to apply as an Inspector and the specific guidance and directions to apply. Thereafter, click on the gateway questions link to apply.
- Your completed application form (campaign number C39 only forms) and equal opportunities form should be returned to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.no later than Monday, 14 October 2019 at 8.00am.
- We anticipate that selection days will take place in the week commencing Monday, 18 November 2019.