Our jobs
We are hiring for the below vacancies:
Work with us
Who we are and what we do
As the scrutiny and improvement body for social care and social work in Scotland, we exist to ensure services are of the highest quality and meet people’s needs.
The Care Inspectorate is a dynamic and rewarding place to work. Our staff are passionate, talented and knowledgeable with experience from a range of different backgrounds. We share a common commitment to high-quality care and we make a real difference to people’s lives.
If you want to make a difference and champion high-quality care that meets the needs, rights and choices of people across Scotland, join us at the Care Inspectorate.
Whatever role you have, your experience and contributions are valued, and you will be a vital part of our unique and influential organisation.
Our values are at the heart of our organisation and guide everything we do. You can find more about our values in our Strategic Workforce Plan.
Our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
We want future employees to understand and recognise the importance we give to equality, diversity and inclusion and we would like to attract candidates who can demonstrate this commitment too.
Please read our Equality, diversity and inclusion statement of intent.
We want to increase the diversity of our workforce. We especially welcome applications from people with disabilities, people with care experience, people from a minority ethnic background, young people, men (we currently have 79% female workforce) and people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans community. We want a workforce that reflects the wider Scottish population that we serve.
As a human rights organisation, we recognise that protected characteristic groups face multiple barriers in the employment sector. We take evidence-based positive action steps to ensure our workforce (including volunteers) is diverse, inclusive and respects human rights. This aligns with the Equality Act 2010.
We invite protected characteristic groups to explore any recruitment challenges and connect with us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to arrange a meeting.
Disability confident - guaranteed interview scheme
The Care Inspectorate has achieved Disability Confident Level 2 status (The Employer Award). We are continuing to take steps to help disabled people to fulfil their potential. 
In practical terms this means, if a candidate has a disability and meets our essential criteria for a job, they are eligible through the guaranteed interview scheme and would automatically be shortlisted for interview. It also means that we will plan for, and make reasonable adjustments to, the assessment and interview process – for example, small things such as allowing candidates to complete a written test using a computer or by giving more time can make a substantial difference to how well a candidate can perform at interview. We will also make sure that people involved in the interviewing process understand the Disability Confident commitment and know how to offer and make adjustments.
By offering an interview to an applicant who declares they have a disability may not mean that all disabled people are entitled to an interview. They must meet the minimum criteria for a job as defined by the by the Care Inspectorate. It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for a job. In certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal, and high-peak times, the Care Inspectorate may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. In these circumstances recruiting managers, may select the disabled candidates who best meet the minimum criteria for the job rather than all of those that meet the minimum criteria, as they would do for non-disabled applicants.
Our action plan will be collaborated on and shared to ensure we commit to the level 2 status. Further information about the Disability Confident Award and what this means is available on their website.
If you have a disability and require a reasonable adjustment(s) to apply for a job with us, please reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to arrange a discussion. For support with the interview process and/or during employment, please note this on your application form.
Care experienced - guaranteed interview scheme
We recognise care experience as someone who has been formally looked after by a local authority, in the family home (with support from social services or a social worker), in kinship care with family, friends or relatives (including informal kinship care), foster care, residential or secure care or legally adopted.
We want to encourage applications from individuals who are care experienced, enabling access to employment, education, experiences, and volunteering opportunities.
We are committed to offering care experienced candidates an automatic interview if they meet the essential criteria detailed in the job profile. It could also mean that we will plan for, and make reasonable adjustments to, the assessment and interview process, for example, allowing candidates to see the interview questions in advance of the interview, or by asking questions in a different way. These small adjustments can make a substantial difference to how well a care experienced candidate can perform at interview, for instance help with travelling to interview, adjusting timing and format of interview. We will also make sure that people involved in the interviewing process understand our commitment to care experienced people and know how to support the adjustments, not only at the recruitment stage but during employment too.
By offering an interview to an applicant who declares they are care experienced may not mean that all care experienced applicants are entitled to an interview. They must meet the minimum criteria for a job as defined by the Care Inspectorate. It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all care experienced people who meet the minimum criteria for a job. In certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal, and high-peak times, the Care Inspectorate may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both care experienced people and non-care experienced people. In these circumstances recruiting managers, may select the care experienced candidates who best meet the minimum criteria for the job rather than all of those that meet the minimum criteria, as they would do for non-care experienced applicants.
Support can be provided where a care experienced candidate has given consent. Individuals can choose to disclose whether they are care experienced or not; and choose to accept additional support or not at any stage of recruitment and or employment. Where support is requested, we are able to deliver tailored support in an appropriate way.
If you are care experienced and need support prior to applying or with the application process, please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. For support with the interview process and/or during employment, please note this on your application form.
Minority ethnic communities
We are committed to initiatives to create organisational and cultural change around race equality and to foster an environment which encourages diversity, including anti-racism in the workplace. The Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations (CEMVO) Scotland and a number of staff networks (including our race equality in employment group) have helped develop our race equality in employment plan.
We are keen to receive applications from people from minority ethnic communities. If any support is needed with our application and interview process, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Young people
We encourage applications from all ages and want a workforce that reflects the wider population that we serve. We especially welcome applications from young people to align with our commitment to the Young Persons Guarantee in providing opportunities for young individuals to secure employment or training. We recognise by diversifying the age demographic within our workforce this will contribute to building a stronger, more resilient workforce for the future and acknowledge our vital role in creating opportunities for Young People as they prepare for and take their first steps into the world of work.
We are committed to supporting the Young Person's Guarantee and work closely with Skills Development Scotland to offer modern apprenticeships.
If you need assistance with applications or interviews, feel free to reach out to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Awards and charters
We are proud to have achieved a number of awards and accreditations of recognition and accomplishment. We believe that the work undertaken and time invested in attaining these awards and accreditations grows and embeds and inclusive culture within the Care Inspectorate. These also represent our commitment to embracing best practices and our responsibility to keeping our skills and knowledge up-to-date.
You can click here to view all of our awards and charters.
More than just a job
We’ve got a lot to offer and you’ll be joining a great team where you’ll be able to contribute right from the start.
We’re passionate about our work and making a difference
Our expert workforce champions high-quality care and we work collaboratively with other organisations and the care sector to share good practice and support and spread improvement and innovation across Scotland. We also use the evidence and intelligence we gather to help shape and influence local and national policy and practice.
We value and listen to our staff so we can learn together
We work hard to make sure everyone feels involved and appreciated, with a sense of belonging. Learning and improvement are at the heart of what we do. We go out of our way to listen to all of our staff and act on what they say, so we can learn and improve together.
We invest in our staff to make sure you can give your best
We know that to perform at our best we need great people. So, we provide training and support you to be the best you can be and provide opportunities to learn, develop and share your skills and experience with others. You can also participate in our coaching programme which offers access to one off or blocks of coaching with a coach of your choice.
If you’re registered with a professional body, we provide support for continuing professional development (CPD) and
re-validation. Everyone participates in regular supervision through our LEAD (learn, experience, achieve and development) performance and development process.
If you join us as an inspector, we will also offer you an accredited and highly respected professional qualification through our scrutiny and improvement practice development award.
We’ll make sure you fit right in
You will be warmly welcomed and have access to a range of activities including induction to your team, the organisation and your role. We offer a friendly and supportive place to work, where our values underpin the work we do and how we work together. Find out more about our induction process here.
We work hard to create a healthy working environment where your wellbeing is supported
We encourage a healthy work-life balance. We have a number of policies in place that support flexible working and time off when you need it, such as flexi-time, flexible hours, home/hybrid working, carers leave and special leave. The vast majority of our people work flexibly and value how this supports their work-life balance. We also offer access to a wide range of wellbeing initiatives, including specialist webinars, videos, podcasts, counselling, a listening service and access to the unmind app.
As we open up our offices again, you’ll be able to work from home and the office, as part of our hybrid working model.
Total rewards package
We offer an excellent total rewards package – it is a comprehensive and strategic approach to employee compensation and benefits, that aligns with the Care Inspectorates’ aims. It encompasses various elements that will contribute to your overall employee experience, including compensation, benefits, work-life balance, and development.
Please see our total rewards package.
Our offices
We have offices all over Scotland.
Sign up to our enewsletter and select ‘vacancies’ as a topic of interest to stay updated with our vacancies.
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About us
The Care Inspectorate is a scrutiny body which supports improvement. That means we look at the quality of care in Scotland to ensure it meets high standards. Where we find that improvement is needed, we support services to make positive changes.
Our vision is that everyone experiences safe, high-quality care that meets their needs, rights and choices.
Our 600 staff work across Scotland, specialising in health and social care, early learning and childcare, social work, children’s services, and community justice.
Meet our Board and our senior leadership team.
We inspect individual care services
We register more than 11,000 registered care services in Scotland and our inspectors visit every one. Higher-risk services are inspected more often. Our inspectors talk to people using the service, staff and managers. We want to make sure that people experience high-quality care, and that care services are making a positive impact on people’s lives, based on their needs, rights and choices.
We give care services grades when we inspect them, and look at key areas like care and support, physical environment, quality of staffing, and quality of management and leadership. Each area of each care service is assessed on a scale from 1 to 6, where 1 in unsatisfactory and 6 is excellent. After every inspection, we publish an inspection report showing our findings, which is helpful if you are using service or thinking of doing so.
We inspect how care is provided across areas
We work with other scrutiny and improvement bodies to look at how local authorities, community planning partnerships and health and social care partnerships are delivering a range of services in their communities across Scotland. These inspections look at how well services are working together to support positive experiences and outcomes for people. This helps partnerships understand what is working well, and what needs to improve. You can read our joint inspection reports here.
Supporting improvement and driving up standards
Our job is not just to inspect care, but help the quality improve where needed. This means we work with services and support them, offering advice, guidance and sharing good practice to help care reach the highest standards. You can find lots of advice for care professionals on our dedicated website, The Hub.
We want everyone to experience high-quality care that meets their individual needs. Scotland’s Health and Social Care Standards describe what people should expect from care. The Standards are what we refer to when we are assessing how well care is performing.
What if things are not good enough?
If we find that care isn’t good enough, we take action. We can make recommendations for improvement and issue requirements for change and check these have happened. If a care service doesn’t improve, we can carry out enforcement action including, as a last resort, closing it down subject to the decision of a sheriff.
If you think a care service isn’t good enough you can share your concern or make a complaint to us. Find out more about concerns and complaints here.
The Scottish Regulators’ Strategic Code of Practice
The Care Inspectorate is required by the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 to follow the Scottish Regulators’ Strategic Code. The Code is issued by the Scottish Ministers and sets out the approaches we should take in dealing with those we regulate. We comply with the requirements of the Code in all that we do, ensuring that we always prioritise the safety, health and wellbeing of vulnerable people over commercial or business interests.
Care services in Scotland must be registered with the Care Inspectorate and a broad range of the individuals who work in those services must be registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). You can find more information about the SSSC on their website.
Our Executive Team
Our Executive Team is responsible for the management and strategic leadership of the Care Inspectorate.
Jackie Irvine, Chief Executive
Jackie qualified in Scotland before starting her career in London, moving back to Scotland in 1991.
Jackie has been a Chief Social Work Officer for over 10 years and comes to the Care Inspectorate from her current post as Service Director, Children and Families and Justice Services within the City of Edinburgh Council.
Jackie has over 30 years’ experience of working in the public sector and has also managed community health services for children.
Edith Macintosh, Executive Director of Strategy and Improvement
Edith was appointed as Executive Director of Strategy and Improvement in August 2020 after acting in the role as an interim from December 2018.
Edith qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1983 and worked across health and social care holding a variety of roles across Scotland predominantly in the NHS and latterly was service manager for Occupational Therapy services in the NHS in Perth and Kinross until 2009. From there she joined the Care Inspectorate (then Care Commission) in September 2009 as the Rehabilitation Consultant and provided leadership and improvement expertise for several national initiatives and publications to support providers and partnerships to improve health and wellbeing in the social care sector.
Edith was in her previous role as Head of Improvement Support since January 2017 and had strategic oversight for developing and strengthening the Care Inspectorate’s improvement support role across Scotland supported by a team of improvement advisors. She designed the CAPA improvement programme and was the programme lead. Edith’s great passion is to inspire people and services to improve, realise their full potential and to make a positive difference to the lives of others.
Follow Edith on Twitter @EAMacahp
Kevin Mitchell, Executive Director of Scrutiny and Assurance
Kevin was appointed Executive Director of the Care Inspectorate’s Scrutiny and Assurance Directorate in February 2016 and led the directorate’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He has lead responsibility for all the regulated care service inspections (children and adults) and the complaints and registration functions. He also has lead responsibility for the strategic scrutiny of services for children, justice and protection as well the joint inspections of integrated health and care services and services for adults.
Kevin joined the Care Inspectorate in 2011 from the then Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) having been involved in the programme of joint inspections of child protection from 2005. He was appointed Head of Analysis and Business Planning at the Care Inspectorate in March 2013 and Acting Deputy Director of Inspection (Children's Services & Criminal Justice) in January 2015.
Kevin was previously a senior detective officer in Lothian and Borders police and graduated MSc in Advanced Practice Child Protection from Edinburgh Napier University in June 2014.
Follow Kevin on Twitter @CIKevinMitchell
Jacqueline Mackenzie, Executive Director of Corporate and Customer Services
Jacqueline was appointed as Executive Director for Corporate and Customer Services in November 2020.
Jacqueline has a BA in Accountancy and Business Law from the University of Stirling and is a graduate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland with extensive experience of leadership and strategic management having held a variety of roles in both the public and private sectors.
She has excellent experience in financial and resource management, change management and team building. Jacqueline is skilled at understanding complex organisations and providing the leadership and influencing skills to motivate staff across functions and disciplines to work together to achieve the strategic goals.
Gordon Mackie, Executive Director of IT & Digital Transformation
Gordon was appointed as Executive Director of IT & Digital Transformation in July 2021 after acting in the role as interim from April 2020.
As an experienced IT & transformation leader with a wealth of experience and a sustained record of success across diverse sectors both in the public and commercial environments.
Gordon boasts a wealth of exposure within aligning technology to business strategies; leading specialist teams and delivering complex, full-cycle business change, transition and transformation projects. Adept at building and maintaining key relationships at all levels, including clients, stakeholders and suppliers; effectively translating requirements and overseeing all issues through to completion. Well versed in managing the end-to-end delivery of complex projects across conflicting programmes and proven ability to drive businesses forward. Experienced in engaging and communicating with relevant internal and external stakeholders, inclusive of C-Level management in all programmes of work. Both a team player and an independent thinker, with valuable problem solving and decision-making skills and the ability to coordinate with senior leaders to ensure needs are identified and fully addressed.
Our staff
Our workforce is highly skilled and experienced in all aspects of social care. Over 600 staff work across Scotland, inspecting thousands of services.
Our inspectors work in specialist national teams that allow best practice to be shared across the country. We also want to make sure that the people inspecting care services have frontline experience in the same sector.
We believe that people in Scotland should experience a better quality of life as a result of accessible, excellent services that are designed and delivered to reflect their individual needs and promote their rights.
Our values are:
1. Person-centered: we will put people at the heart of everything we do
2. Fairness: we will act fairly, be transparent and treat people equally
3. Respect: we will be respectful in all that we do
4. Integrity: we will be impartial and act to improve care for the people of Scotland
5. Efficiency: we will provide the best possible quality and public value from our work
6. Equality: we will promote and advance equality, diversity and inclusion in all our work and interactions
Our 11 offices are based throughout the country from the Borders right up to the Shetlands Isles. Find an office near you.
It is important to remember that all Care Inspectorate staff carry identification and you should ask to see this. If you are not sure of the person who has called or visited you, you should call us on 0345 600 9527 to confirm their identity.
Volunteering
Become a young inspection volunteer
We inspect care and social work services to make sure they are high quality and meet the needs of people who use them. We believe we can make care better by working with people who have personal experience of care.
Our involvement and equalities charter outlines how we involve people who use care services and informal carers in our work.
If you have personal experience of using a service or you have cared for someone close who has used a service, there are many ways you can get involved with us. You do not have to have any qualifications. You must be aged between 18-27 to apply.
Training dates
We are holding training on the followiung dates:
Week 1:
- Tuesday 13 August
- Wednesday 14 August
- Thursday 15 August
Week 2:
- Wednesday 21 August
- Thursday 22 August
Applicants must be available to attend all training dates.
How to apply
You can apply to become a young inspection volunteer by completing our application form:
- online (Microsoft Forms)
- by printing a paper copy (PDF) and posting it to Participation and Equalities Team, Compass House, 11 Riverside Drive, Dundee, DD1 4NY
- or we can support you to submit an application.
For more information you can download our information leaflet.
Hear what some of our young inspection volunteers said below.
If you would like to find out more about becoming a young inspection volunteer, need help to complete the application form or would like us to post you an application form - please email Julie Brown at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Our Board
The Chair and the members of our board set the strategic direction of the Care Inspectorate, taking into account legislation and policy guidance set by the Scottish Government. Each member of the Board brings a wealth of experience and wide-ranging skills, along with a passionate interest in social care. Read our Board members biographies below.
The Care Inspectorate has an Audit and Risk Committee which supports the Board in its responsibilities for issues of risk, control and governance and associated assurance through a process of constructive challenge. The Committee meetings are not held in public, but papers can be viewed here.
Our public Board meetings are held at least four times a year and members of the public are welcome to join us at these meetings.
You can download a copy of the papers from our Board meetings here. The minutes of Board and Committee meetings do not appear within the published papers until after they have been approved.
Our Board meeting dates for 2024/25 are:
- 9 May 2024
- 15 August 2024
- 14 November 2024
- 13 February 2025
- 27 March 2025
All meetings run from 10:30-13:00.
The meeting is open to members of the public to join, as observers only, via Microsoft Teams video-conference. In order to enable members of the public to join for the public business of the meeting, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than seven calendar days prior to the date of the meeting.
In this event, in providing your email address you are consenting for us to use your contact details to invite you to the Teams meeting for the duration of the Board proceedings that are being held in public.
Please note that members of the public and representatives of the press who attend a meeting of the Care Inspectorate Board will do so in an observer-only capacity, and may not participate in the meeting unless invited to do so by the Chair.
If you do not have a Microsoft Teams account, you can find instructions on how to join here. Papers for our Board meetings will normally be published seven days in advance of the date of the meeting and will be available to view here.
Minutes of meetings of the Audit and Risk Committee, being a sub-committee of the Board, can be found incorporated within the Board papers.
Read the Board’s Code of Conduct and the register of members interests 2024.
Biographies
Doug Moodie, Chair
Doug Moodie has Chaired the Board of the Care Inspectorate since 1 September 2022.
Doug has been a Chartered Certified Accountant since 1994, and a Management Consultant since 2012, working in senior roles and leading teams across a range of sectors. Doug brings experience from a variety of different businesses that he has established, which include early years childcare, property management and private equity.
Doug is currently a Chair of Falkirk Children’s Panel, Chair of Clackmannanshire Business Improvement District (BID), and Chair of Bfriend in South Ayrshire.
Naghat Ahmed
Naghat is a Law and Accountancy graduate. Her current role at Glasgow City Council includes corporate policy, programme and project management. She has previously worked on policy and strategy development, equality and diversity, change management, corporate governance and utilising project methodologies.
She previously worked in the Commission for Racial Equality and NHS24, specialising in equality and diversity. Naghat is a carer for relatives who have disabilities.
Since 2018 Naghat has also been a member of the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland and since September 2021 has been a non-executive member for Social Security Scotland.
Carole Wilkinson
Carole Wilkinson was appointed to the Chair of Healthcare Improvement Scotland in October 2018, for a term of four years and was appointed for a further four years from October 2022. She is a former Non-Executive member of NHS Education for Scotland and a former Chair of the Board of Scottish Children's Reporter Administration. She was also Chief Executive of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) from 2001-2009, establishing the organisation and overseeing the implementation of the regulation and registration of social services workers.
Before moving to the SSSC, Carole held the post of Director of Housing and Social Work for Falkirk Council and during her career has held a number of senior management posts in England and also spent a period in higher education teaching social workers and social care staff. She has also served on a number of Scottish Government working groups advising on workforce development matters and on future workforce needs and how health and social care staff could be supported to work and learn together.
Carole was elected Vice Chair of the NHS Chairs Group in May 2021 and took up the role of Chair of the NHS Chairs Group in August 2023.
Dr Bill Maxwell
Bill has extensive experience of developing quality improvement strategies for national education systems and leading public sector reform. After working as an educational psychologist, Bill joined the Scottish Education Inspectorate in 1994. Following a range of roles and a two-year secondment to the Scottish Government, Bill was appointed as HM Chief Inspector of Education for Wales in 2008.
He returned to Scotland as HM Chief Inspector of Education for Scotland in 2010 and shortly afterwards was appointed as Chief Executive to lead the creation of Education Scotland, a new public service improvement agency which brought the functions of an inspectorate together with a wider range of services to promote national improvement and the effective delivery of the Government’s major reform programmes in education. Bill retired from Education Scotland in 2017 and is now consulting on education quality assurance, including projects for the European Commission and the OECD in Europe and the Middle East.
Bill is a Board member of OSCR, the Scottish Charity Regulator, and a Director of the High School of Dundee.
Rognvald Johnson
Rognvald commenced his career working for The Royal Bank of Scotland, serving in a number of branches/departments, including the Bank’s Internal Audit Department, before retiring as Senior Manager for the Orkney Branches. After a spell working at Orkney College as Development Officer, he was engaged as Project Director, successfully developing and delivering a Business Improvement District in Kirkwall. Rognvald was appointed as a Non- Executive Director with NHS Orkney in July 2012 until June 2018, during which time he served as Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee, as well as Vice Chair of the Audit Committee. During the latter part of his term, Rognvald represented NHS Orkney on Orkney Integrated Joint Board, responsible for the provision of Health and Care in the County, also serving on its Audit Committee.
Rognvald is also a Director on the Board of Orkney Hyperbaric Trust, a Charity Registered in Scotland, and which provides decompression facilities, if required, to divers.
Rona Fraser
Rona has over 30 years of experience as a social worker and manager within the field of criminal justice social work. Her commitment to partnership working, the values of social work and public service remain as strong now as when she started working as a social worker. She was formerly the Senior Manager for Community Justice for the City of Edinburgh Council. She has a particular interest in cross-cutting issues such as domestic abuse, women in the criminal justice system and the development of trauma informed services and leadership and has had a key role in developing services in these areas. She has also had extensive experience of the risk assessment and management of offenders, including establishing the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements within Edinburgh, working closely with partners across key agencies.
In 2023, Rona was appointed as a member of the Scottish Advisory Panel on Offending Reduction.
Professor Paul Gray
Paul is an experienced senior executive leader at CEO level. He places a strong emphasis on ethical and compassionate leadership, transparency and collaborative working. Committed to public accountability, he is experienced in leading delivery and change in complex systems and has had significant exposure to scrutiny in highly visible and politically contested sectors. Paul is currently an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, a Senior Faculty Member at the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh), Scotland’s member of council at the Open University, a Civil Service Commissioner, and a Board member of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland. He is also a Senior Adviser to strategic communications firm Charlotte Street Partners, Patron of Medics Against Violence, and a coach and mentor to a number of senior executives.
From December 2013 to February 2019, Paul was Chief Executive NHS Scotland and Director General for Health and Social Care in the Scottish Government, responsible for the delivery of health and care services through 22 Health Boards, and partner organisations, with accountability for an annual budget of £13bn and a staffing complement of around 160,000.
Charlotte Armitage
Charlotte is a recent graduate of the University of Glasgow. She obtained her History and Sociology MA with a first-class classification in June 2024. She has just started her MSc in Museum Studies also at the University of Glasgow.
Aside from her passion for history, Charlotte brings to the Board her extensive knowledge of the care system in Scotland gained from her own lived experience, as well as five years of professional experience within the third sector, having previously worked for Who Cares? Scotland. This is further strengthened by her experience as a former consultant for CELCIS and The National Leadership Network, and as a previous group member of the Workforce focus group of the Independent Care Review.
This knowledge ranges from a deep understanding of local delivery through her work with East Lothian Champions’ Board, to high-level project development skills that have seen internationally recognised campaigns emerge; as well as legislative and policy changes, such as the guaranteed offer to university for Care Experienced applicants and the extension of free childcare for Care Experienced parents, implemented under her leadership during her time working for Who Cares? Scotland.
These skills and experience are further complemented by her five years of professional experience working for the Scottish Parliament and the House of Commons, which have provided her an in-depth understanding of the political landscape and its functions in the United Kingdom.
Audrey Cowie
Audrey is a trustee and governor at St Columba’s Hospice Care in Edinburgh. She has also held non-executive director roles with the Scottish Social Services Council and the General Teaching Council for Scotland. Audrey is a first level registered nurse with over 40 years experience and was appointed in May 2022 as the nurse to sit on the Care Inspectorate Board. During her career, Audrey has held senior managerial roles in the NHS; advisory roles in Scottish Government; and regulatory and quality assurance roles nationally, regionally and locally.
Audrey has extensive experience in the professional regulation of nurses and other professions, and in the scrutiny and improvement agenda in both Scotland and Europe and has an enduring personal professional interest in governance, regulation, scrutiny and inspection.
Maria McGill
Maria McGill has 40 years’ experience as a nurse, leader and Chief Executive working in the NHS and voluntary sector.
For the last 10 years of her career Maria was Chief Executive of Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), Scotland’s only children’s hospice organisation.
Maria is also a member of The Promise Scotland Oversight Board, a Trustee of Marie Curie UK and a Non-Executive Director of NHS NSS.
Rosanna Moore
Rosie Moore is a qualified Social Worker with First Class Honours from the University of Strathclyde. Having grown up in care herself, she has a particular passion for working with looked after children and young people and their families.
In 2017, Rosie was nominated by the Coalition of Care Providers Scotland to become a Discovery Group member for the Independent Care Review. She was then asked to stay on for the duration of the Review, becoming a co-chair of the working group for LOVE and latterly as the participation lead for those with seldom heard voices and young people in secure care.
Rosie is currently at the Centre for Excellence for Children’s Care and Protection (CELCIS), where she has worked for several years, with a focus on social policy and participation of those with lived experience.
Rosie has won several awards for her work in the sector, including Young Scot’s 30under30 and Strathclyde’s Women in Leadership. Rosie also holds positions on the Management Group of the Each and Every Child Initiative and as a Board Member for Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare (STAF).
Edward McGrachan
Ed McGrachan has had an international career in IT, Telecommunications and Business Transformation, with time spent working for Nortel Networks and BT on major projects in North America, Continental Europe and the UK. He also served as Non-Executive Board Member and Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee at the Student Awards Agency Scotland, with board oversight of the digital transformation of systems and processes aligning with the Scottish Government’s Digital First strategy.
Ed has worked with various public and charitable organisations; Member of the Diocesan Board of Education for the Church of England in Devon; Treasurer of Citizen Advice in Devon and elected Lead Governor of South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust; providing him with a broad spectrum of Governance experience. He was appointed Chairman of the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee for West Scotland, a Non-Departmental Public Body working across both devolved and reserved Government sectors in support of Veterans issues.
Currently, he serves as Non-Executive Member at Glasgow Colleges Regional Board, where he chairs the Audit and Assurance Committee. He is an Appointed Member on the Partnership Board of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, where he is a member of the Strategy and Programmes Committee, and the Audit and Standards Committee.
Jennifer Trott
Jenny Trott is an experienced unpaid carer who has spent the past 11 years managing a team of carers in her family home to provide high-quality care for her disabled son. She is a strong advocate for inclusion and equality, and she has a passion for promoting excellent care standards for all.
Jenny was the founder director of Mecoco, a social enterprise that provided disabled adults and young people with valuable workplace experience. In addition, she has extensive experience in residential dementia care and community brokerage.
Jenny is now Head of Operations for the Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living. Through her work, Jenny is committed to making a positive impact on the lives of those around her.
Peter Murray
Peter Murray has been appointed as Interim Convener of the Scottish Social Services Council with effect from 1 October 2024. He was appointed as SSSC Council Member in September 2019, for a term of three years and was appointed for a further three years from September 2022.
Peter has extensive governance experience having served as a board member of NHS Lothian for eight years, finishing his second term in 2024 as Vice Chair. Peter is currently the Chair of Bon Accord Care an adult social care provider in Aberdeen. Peter is also a member of the Judiciary Advisory Board for Scotland.
Peter has considerable experience in leadership and management from his 30 years in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. He retired as an assistant Chief Fire Officer in 2016. Peter has a MA in Political Studies from Aberdeen University.
Equality and diversity
- Our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
- Equality, diversity and inclusion statement of intent
- Meeting our Equality Requirements
- Publications
- Our policies and strategic workforce plan
- Our staff networks
- Race Equality in Employment
- Recommendations
- Our commitment to the recommendations
- LGBT Charter Champion Group
- First Minister’s National Advisory Council on women and girls (NACWG)
- Our position statement on Modern Slavery
- Age Scotland
- Carer Positive Employer
- Fair Work Framework
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Contact us
At the Care Inspectorate, we believe that people in Scotland should experience a better quality of life as a result of accessible, excellent services that are designed and delivered to reflect their individual needs and promote their rights. We are committed to advancing equality of opportunity, eliminating unlawful discrimination and fostering good relations between all protected characteristics.
Our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
- We ensure that the voice of people who experience care is reflected in all our work
- We promote fairness, equality, diversity and inclusion in all that we do
- We promote dignity and respect and human rights for all
- We recognise and value individual differences and the contributions of all
- We treat people fairly and according to their needs
- We have a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of discrimination, harassment, bullying or victimisation
- We have a culture where everyone feels valued and included.
As an organisation, our work, has a focus on people’s rights, choices and individual outcomes, the things that matter most to people. We continue to strive to put equality and diversity at the heart of all we do and that’s why we made equality and diversity a key principle of our Corporate Plan.
Equality, diversity and inclusion statement of intent
At the Care Inspectorate we’re committed to creating a culture that embraces equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging for everyone.
At the Care Inspectorate we value, celebrate and fully embrace to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion. This requires us all to recognise and respect each others’ differences. Creating an inclusive work environment where we all feel a sense of belonging helps us to do our best work, which results in the best possible outcomes for people who experience care.
We are a values-driven organisation, which means our values inform and guide everything that we do. Our key values of being person-centred, fair and respectful are the most relevant to equality, diversity and inclusion. We expect everyone to follow the principles that are set out in the Health and Social Care Standards as well as any relevant individual codes of practice.
As an employer, we want to increase the diversity of our workforce and would especially welcome applications from disabled people, people from a minority ethnic background, people of all ages, men (as we have a 79% female workforce) people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community and people with care experience. We want a workforce that reflects the wider Scottish population that we serve.
Signed by our strategic leadership team
The strategic leadership team have signed this statement to demonstrate our commitment to leading inclusively and to show accountability on making equality, diversity and inclusion integral to the way we do things around here.
Meeting our Equality Requirements
Like other public bodies in Scotland, we are required to meet the requirements of the General and Specific Public Sector Equality Duties, as set out by the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012. We report on our equality obligations under the legislation every two years.
Publications
In our dual role as a scrutiny and improvement body and a public sector employer, we are committed to meeting our legal obligations in all aspects of our work. We are covered by general and specific equality duties arising from the Equality Act (2010) which helps us to integrate equality into our day-to-day work. We report on our equality obligations under the legislation every two years. Here are our publications:
- 2023: Equalities Mainstreaming Progress Report April 2021 - March 2023
- 2021: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-25
- 2021: Equalities Mainstreaming Report 2019-21
- 2019: Equal Pay Policy Statement
- 2019: Equality and Diversity Policy
- 2019: Equality Outcomes, Mainstreaming Report and Action Plan 2019-21
- 2019: Equalities Occupational Segregation Data - Disability, Gender, Race
- 2017: Equalities Occupational Segregation Data
Our policies and strategic workforce plan
We appreciate and value our workforce and have a range of family friendly and flexible working policies available. We are proud of the range of inclusive work practices we offer colleagues.
We offer equalities training to our workforce and this is built into our induction and includes our managers and leaders. We have a supportive and respectful organisational culture that values equality and diversity and promotes inclusion for our workforce. Our robust people management policies and processes ensure people are treated with dignity and respect in an environment where bullying, harassment, discrimination and victimisation are not tolerated.
Our staff networks
We make time to listen to our colleagues and give them a voice to share their experiences, listen to their ideas and involve them in our work. We have online communities where we discuss equalities issues, one of the most active is our disabilities group, where group members shares lived experience, good practice and ideas for improvement.
The Corporate Equality Group drives the delivery and progress of the actions from our Equality Outcomes and Mainstreaming Report. The group meets on a quarterly basis and supports the mainstreaming of equality in relation to all the protected characteristics listed under the Equality Act (2010) and is sensitive and responsive to intersectional identities.
The LGBT Charter Champion Group is a sub-group of the Corporate Equality Group. The group also meets on a quarterly basis. You can email the group using this address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Faith Group is a self-organised group which mainly meets in our Edinburgh office. The group focuses on faith issues, faith in the workplace and encourages employees to get together as a community in a social setting. This provides an opportunity for connection and awareness raising.
Race Equality in Employment
In November 2020 the Scottish Parliament Equality and Human Rights Committee published a report on Race Equality, Employment and Skills.
The Public Sector Leadership Summit on Race Equality in Employment took place in March 2021. At the summit, the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee highlighted the persistent issues that impact on outcomes for minority ethnic people in Scotland moving into, staying in and progressing in employment.
To help us with this vital work we are pleased to be working with CEMVO Scotland.
Recommendations
The Committee have asked all public sector bodies to accept their recommendations and commit to taking them forward.
- The Committee recommends those in public authority leadership positions undertake an assessment of their organisation’s understanding of racism and the structural barriers that may exist within their organisations. Public authorities should integrate their ambitions into their next strategic plan. Their strategic goal should be underpinned by specific outcomes and supported by timely monitoring. Public authorities should be transparent about their targets and their progress in delivering their outcomes.
- The Committee recommends public authorities should review their recruitment procedures and practice against the Scottish Government’s toolkit and make the necessary changes.
- The Committee recommends that all public authorities subject to the Scottish specific Public Sector Equality Duty should, as a minimum, voluntarily record and publish their ethnicity pay gap and produce an action plan to deliver identified outcomes.
Our commitment to the recommendations
The Care Inspectorate pledge to implement the key recommendations of the Scottish Parliament's Equalities and Human Rights Committee’s Race Equality, Employment and Skills: Making Progress? Report.
As public sector leaders, we will be bold and transparent. We will embed the recommendations into the strategic objectives of our organisation and the performance objectives of our senior leaders. We will use equality data to provide insights on race equality within the Care Inspectorate and we will take responsibility to assess our organisation’s understanding of institutional racism and proactively challenge and change practices that disadvantage minority ethnic communities. Vitally, we will ensure that minority ethnic communities are involved in shaping this change. We recognise that taking forward the recommendations represents not a final, but a further step, and therefore this work will form part of the continuum of activity and training to tackle racial inequality in employment, which will be aligned with the key principles of the Scottish Government Race Equality Framework 2016-2030. It is important that we make this commitment clear, not just to each other, but to our staff and people who experience care, who will hold us to account. We have therefore published this commitment on our website and social media.
We are pleased to share we are a signatory of the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter. We know that ethnic minorities still face significant disparities in employment and progression, and that is something we need to change. The Charter is composed of five calls to action for leaders and organisations across all sectors. We signed up to taking practical steps to ensure their workplaces are tackling barriers that ethnic minority people face in recruitment and progression and that their organisations are representative of British society today.
LGBT Charter Champion Group
We attend Pride events to increase visibility about LGBT issues and to be more proactive about being inclusive for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people as an organisation. Our commitment to inclusion and diversity, and to the LGBT community, has been recognised externally.
In 2018 we were awarded LGBT Youth Scotland’s Foundation Charter award and we are the first regulator in Scotland to receive this award. In July 2020 we were shortlisted for the Proud Scot Employer Award Large Business.
In 2020 we became a Stonewall Diversity Champion as we wanted to ensure that all LGBT staff are accepted without exception in the workplace. In February 2022 we achieved the Bronze Employer Award in the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index. In June 2022 we were delighted to be awarded the Large Employer Award by Proud Scotland.
Click here to watch a short film ‘Return to the Closet?’ by Luminate Scotland. Older members of the LGBTQI+ community worked with artist Glenda Rome to create a film which illustrated their thoughts and feelings around ageing, being part of the community and what care means to them and the support they’d want from care providers – whether at home or in care homes. Luminate commissioned the film with support from LGBT Health and Wellbeing. Luminate’s Principal Supporters are Creative Scotland, The Baring Foundation and Age Scotland. LGBT Health and Wellbeing’s LGBT Age Community Action Project is funded by Comic Relief.
First Minister’s National Advisory Council on women and girls (NACWG)
We are a circle member of the First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG). The NACWG was set up to advise the First Minister on what is needed to tackle gender inequality in Scotland and you can read their latest report here. We are now part of a group of supporters and advisors who help generate ideas and solutions that will inform NACWG’s work.
Our position statement on Modern Slavery
What is Modern Slavery?
We recognise that workers recruited from overseas are a hugely valuable and important part of Scotland’s social care workforce.
Modern slavery is complex; but simply put, it describes a situation where someone is made to do something, and another person gains from this. Modern slavery is about being exploited and completely controlled by someone else, without being able to leave or belief that you cannot leave through threats by person in control. It includes
human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced compulsory labour.
Modern slavery is the deception or coercion of a person for the purpose of exploitation.
Modern slavery can be present in any social care setting and victims could be either staff working in a service or people who are using a service.
Our strategic aim
We will constructively work with partners to end modern day slavery in Scotland’s social care system.
Our regulatory response
Our purpose is to ensure registered care services provide people with safe, high-quality care and to encourage services to improve.
We will be alert to potential cases of modern slavery and to listen sensitively and compassionately when people raise issues with us. We will respond in the following ways:
- If we receive or discover information that may indicate modern slavery, we will identify and record this threat. We will do this even if the person contacting us does not refer to it as modern slavery.
- We will refer identified and potential victims through our established safeguarding referral routes.
- We will monitor registration applications to check for warning si-gns of potential exploitation of skilled workers from overseas.
- We will seek out early indication that sponsor licenses are being exploited by working closely with Home Office and other partners.
- We will not hesitate to take action including proportionate regulatory and enforcement action where modern slavery and unethical recruitment practises pose a potential risk of harm.
- We will work with other organisations to prevent, disrupt and reduce the likelihood of modern slavery in social care.
- We will monitor the modern slavery situation by submitting reports and updates to SMG and ET quarterly or yearly.
- To support our work, we will develop staff awareness/training and procedures.
Age Scotland
We are working with Age Scotland to support our commitment to providing an age inclusive environment where staff feel valued, respected and able to reach their full potential at all ages and stages of their career.
Carer Positive Employer
We are a Carer Positive Established Employer and are committed to supporting our colleagues who are carers. We have recently made changes to our Carers Policy which means we offer up to five days (35 hours) paid time off to support carers.
Fair Work Framework
The goal of the Fair Work Framework is to ensure that by 2025, people in Scotland will have a world-leading working life where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, businesses, organisations and society.
The Care Inspectorate can support this vision by ensuring the fair work values run through the organisation and embedding fair working practices into everything we do. We are committed to building a Scotland which champions fair work practices and a diverse workforce.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
Our work also supports the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The Convention sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights that all children are entitled to. As a public body, we are required to publish a report on how our work supports the various articles of the UNCRC. 2020 is the first year we have been asked to report on the UNCRC. Our next report will be published in August 2023.
Contact us
If you would like to contact us, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us directly by using contactSCOTLAND-BSL.
2023: Equalities Mainstreaming Progress Report April 2021- March 2023.
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.