Inspector (early learning and childcare services)
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 and in particular we would like to see 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 evaluate 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.
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: £46,116 - £54,441 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 (for those who have previously been inspectors with us in the last two years).
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. We are moving towards an expectation that all staff will work collaboratively, within and across teams, in person, for approximately 40% of their working week.
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. You’ll also find more information in the job profile and person specification.
If you’re ready to apply now, please click here to access our gateway questions and application form. Your application should be received no later than 08:00 on Monday 3 June 2024.
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 on Monday 24 - Tuesday 25 June 2024, and Stage 2 no earlier than Monday 8 July 2024 over a 2 week period.
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 Scrutiny & Assurance Directorate, and Strategy & 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 role of Inspector supports or conducts regulatory or strategic scrutiny activity by exercising ‘authorised person’ functions in terms of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act or secondary legislation made thereunder are ancillary to the Care Inspectorate’s primary authorised officer role and are defined as secondary authorised officers. This role supports or conducts regulatory or strategic scrutiny activity; however, the role purpose is broader than simply exercising the organisation’s inspection powers defined in the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and secondary legislation made thereunder.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Awards and charters
We are a Disability Confident employer committed to inclusion and diversity within our workplace.
The Disability Confident scheme helps employers recruit and retain great people, and to:
- challenge attitudes and increase understanding of disability
- draw from the widest possible pool of talent
- secure high-quality staff who are skilled, loyal and hard working
- improve employee morale and commitment by demonstrating fair treatment
It also helps identify those employers who are committed to inclusion and diversity in the workplace.
The scheme has 3 levels designed to support employers on their Disability Confident journey, these are:
- Disability Confident Committed (Level 1)
- Disability Confident Employer (Level 2)
- Disability Confident Leader (Level 3)
We actively encourage applications from people with a disability by offering an interview, where the candidate meets the minimum criteria for the job. The criteria can be found on the person specification for each vacancy we advertise.
We are members of Happy to Translate (HTT) - a national scheme which enables organisations to engage effectively with customers who speak little or no English.
Members are inclusive organisations that are committed to making their services available to all. Guidelines help members to embed an ethos of cultural awareness and sensitivity in every aspect of their communications so that customers are not marginalised as a result of language barriers.
HTT tools and processes equip staff with the skills and knowledge needed to communicate with those who speak little or no English.
Our LGBT Charter Group works with the LGBT Charter who support us as an inclusive employer.
We develop policies and procedures that engage with the LGBT community across Scotland. They tell us about the care services they experience.
Our purpose is to deliver the action plan from our Equality Outcomes and Mainstreaming Report. We are focused on promoting LGBT:
- Equality
- Diversity
- Inclusion
In 2018, we were awarded LGBT Youth Scotland’s Foundation Charter award.
The real Living Wage is an independently calculated rate based on the cost of living and is paid voluntarily by employers.
The rate is calculated annually by The Resolution Foundation on an analysis of the wage that employees need to earn in order to afford the basket of goods required for a decent standard of living. This basket of goods includes housing, childcare, transport and heating costs.
Living Wage Scotland was established in April 2014 with the aim of increasing the number of employers in Scotland who are recognised for paying their staff the real Living Wage. Hosted by The Poverty Alliance, Living Wage Scotland works in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation and is funded by the Scottish Government.
We recognise and are committed to the Living Wage. Being an accredited Living Wage employer demonstrates us as a responsible employer to our staff and networks.
We are committed to being a LGBTQ+ leader, creating an environment where all our employees can flourish and be free to be themselves.
Please find more information on Stonewall Diversity here.
We have been accredited by Investors in Young People (IiYP) – This is a National Award that recognises the important work that organisations do in assisting young people aged 5 to 25 gain employability skills and who assist them into the world of work.
The IiYP Award recognises and celebrates the important work that the Care Inspectorate has invested in to help young people prepare for future employment and assist them in making their career choice.
Investors in Young People is the only people management standard that focuses on an employer’s recruitment and retention of young people. We are committed to working closely with Skills Development Scotland to offer modern apprenticeship. This represents a true commitment as an employer to the training and development of young people.
The Plain English Campaign recognise organisations and individuals who have genuinely made an effort to present themselves using clear and concise English. Our organisation is committed to providing public information as clear as possible.
Our organisation is committed to providing an environment where people who are bereaved feel supported by the people around them.
Scotland’s first Bereavement Charter for Children and Adults was launched in April 2020. The Care Inspectorate are proud to have been involved alongside other organisations in the development of the Bereavement Charter.
It contains thirteen statements which describe what the best bereavement care and support should look like. It has been developed to support individuals and communities who struggle with the death of someone they know or someone in their community. The charters is designed to help us understand not only the importance of bereavement support, but what that support needs to look like and attempts to describe what good bereavement support can look like and what difference it can make. It is hoped that the Charter will help us as a nation become more effective at supporting people to grieve.
Please find more information about the Bereavement Charter here.
We are proud to announce that we are an Established Carers Positive organisation. We are committed to providing a working environment where carers are valued and supported. Carer Positive is funded by the Scottish Government award that is awarded to employers who can provide evidence that they meet criteria in five areas.
- Identification of carers
- Policy
- Workplace support
- Communication, awareness raising and training
- Peer support
Please find more information about Carer Positive here.
Committed to discussing alternative working patterns.
Please find more information about happy to talk flexible working here.
We are committed to working with partner organisations to connect 16-24 years olds with opportunities within our workforce.
The Young Person’s Guarantee aims to connect every 16 to 24 year old in Scotland to an opportunity. This could be a job, apprenticeship, further or higher education, training or volunteering. It could also be an enterprise opportunity.
We recognise our vital role in creating opportunities for Young People as they prepare for and take their first steps into the world of work.
Our jobs
We are hiring for the below vacancies:
Solicitor
Job title: Solicitor
Salary: £49,710 – £54,975
Location: Flexible (Any Care Inspectorate office)
Hours: 35 hours per week
Contract: Temporary Maternity Cover to 6 January 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 thatpromotes wellbeing and collaboration opportunities. We are moving towards an expectation that all staff will work collaboratively, within and across teams, in person, for approximately 40% of their working week.
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
Due to a period of maternity leave, reporting to the Head of Legal Services, you will have the opportunity to play an influential role in the regulation and improvement of care services. You will provide legal advice to operational staff within the Care Inspectorate. You will provide legal support for a wide range of team based corporate projects and contribute to the development of policy and guidance. You will also undertake some appearance work, representing the Care Inspectorate at court hearings and inquiries.
About you
The ideal candidate will be confident, articulate and have excellent communication skills. You will have at least 2 years’ post qualifying experience but could be an experienced solicitor interested in a challenging and varied post. You should have Sheriff Court experience, preferably in relation to statutory licensing or regulatory matters and you will hold, or be entitled to hold, a full Practising Certificate issued by the Law Society of Scotland.
Please note, if you don’t meet the full two years essential experience listed in the person specification of ‘relevant post qualifying experience, including recent Sheriff Court experience’ but still feel you meet the remaining essential criteria, then we would still consider an application from you.
To apply
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 Kenneth McClure, Head of Legal Services, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. – please note our offices are closed during the Christmas holidays.
If you believe that you are a suitable candidate for this post, please complete our online application form by 08:00 on Monday 6 January 2025.
We expect interviews to take place no sooner than 23 January 2025.
Transactions Assistant
Role: Transactions Assistant
Location: Flexible – Any Care Inspectorate office (Expectation to work from the Dundee office for your 40% office collaboration per week and for office-based tasks)
Hours: 35 hours per week
Salary: £27,696 - £30,357
Contract: Temporary to 31 March 2025
About us
We are the independent scrutiny and improvement support body for social care and social work services in Scotland. We provide assurance 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 for world-class social care and social work in Scotland, where everyone in every community experience high-quality care, support and learning, tailored to their rights, needs and wishes.
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. We are moving towards the expectation that all staff will work collaboratively, within and across teams, in person, for approximately 40% of their working week.
About the role
A temporary opportunity has arisen within the Care Inspectorate team that provides services to the Scottish Social Services Council.
As a member of the team, you will undertake a range of general administrative tasks to support the Transactions Manager. Duties will include processing invoices in the financial system, raising purchase orders, providing administrative support in collating banking, receipting income, receipting payments and services and responding to enquiries received.
About you
To succeed in this role, you will:
- Understand financial controls and financial environment
- Have excellent customer service skills and telephone manner
- Provide a range of administration and clerical support to a high standard including database administration
- Organise, process, record and file information and correspondence both electronically and manually
- Be accurate and show attention to detail
- Have a thorough knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel
- Maintain high standards of confidentiality
- Work flexibly as part of a team to support the organisation
Experience of using Oracle financial system and knowledge of debt recovery is desirable.
Next steps
You’ll find more information in the job profile and person specification.
For an informal chat about the role, please contact the Transactions Manager, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If you believe that your expertise and motivation, make you suitable for this post, please download and complete an application form and return by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by no later than 08.00 on Monday 15 July 2024. Please also complete the equal opportunities form and return this along with your application.
The interviews for this post will be no earlier than 23 July 2024.
Senior Intelligence Analyst
Role: Senior Intelligence Analyst
Contract: Temporary or secondment up to 31 July 2025
Salary: £49,227 - £54,441
Hours: 35 hours per week
Location: Flexible (any Care Inspectorate Office)
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. We are moving towards an expectation that all staff will work collaboratively, within and across teams, in person for for approximately 40% of their working week.
Starting salary
New entrants will start on the grade minimum for the role. However, we have a generous total rewards package, which you can find more about on our website.
About the role
This post within our established intelligence team plays a key role in developing and delivering our intelligence–led ways of working. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced and highly competent analyst to take on a national role, and an opportunity to use your talents to make a real difference to people using care services across Scotland.
The Senior Intelligence Analyst will be a technical specialist, who will lead and oversee the production of a variety of analytical products. They will manage aspects of the intelligence team’s day-to-day work and provide line-management support and development for a small team. They will be proactive in identifying opportunities to develop intelligence-led working both within the Care Inspectorate, and with the many external organisations with whom we collaborate.
About you
You will be educated to SCQF level 9 in a subject which includes a significant numerical component, you will ideally come from a background which includes statistical analysis, intelligence analysis, data science, operational research or business intelligence. You will be expected to work with colleagues at all levels in the Care Inspectorate therefore, in addition to your advanced technical and analytical capabilities, you must have excellent interpersonal skills, and be capable of conveying complex findings clearly both verbally and in writing.
Next steps
You will find more information in the job profile and person specification.
For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Ingrid Gilray, Intelligence and Analysis Manager by email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) in the first instance.
You can visit our website to see the benefits of working with us including information on our offices across Scotland.
If you believe that you are a suitable candidate for this post, please download and complete an application form and equal opportunities form and submit it by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 08:00 on Monday 2 September.
We expect interviews to take place no earlier than 12 September 2024.
Our customer service
The strategy and the associated internal and external customer service standards show how we will embed a customer focus across all of our work, including redesigning the way we engage with people and how we build internal and external relationships. The aims of the strategy are to ensure an inclusive approach to providing quality services to our customers and colleagues.
Internal Customer Service Standards
External Customer Service Standards
About Us
Inspector - Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) (0)
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.