How we recruit inspectors
We are currently recruiting inspectors for adult services and early learning and childcare servies. Find out more from the job adverts here.
How we recruit inspectors
Our inspector recruitment process also follows the same model as our other roles with the addition of a two-step selection stage, detailed below.
Selection assessment 1
If you’re shortlisted, we’ll invite you to complete our online selection assessment. This is a written exercise designed to test your potential to be an inspector.
Selection assessment 2
If you successfully complete the online assessment, you’ll be invited to attend an interview and to speak to your written exercise response on how you would give feedback.
If you’re successful at this stage, we’ll let you know and confirm next steps. 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.
For more information about our talent pool please see the FAQs below.
FAQs about inspector recruitment
What qualifications do I need to become an inspector?
To become an inspector, you must be registered with, or able to register, and hold a qualification that meets the registration requirements of one of these regulatory bodies:
- Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)
- General Teaching Council (Scotland) (GTC)
- Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
- General Medical Council (GMC) Health and Care Professions Council (applies to the following roles only: occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and practitioner psychologists)
- Other equivalent professional bodies for the UK nations
Inspectors eligible to apply for registration with the SSSC must hold a suitable practice qualification at SCQF level 9. For more information on the list of suitable qualifications please see the section below.
Inspectors must also hold or undertake one of these appropriate regulator's awards:
- Regulation of Care Award
- PDA Scrutiny and Improvement Practice (Social Services) SCQF level 10
Qualifications that meet the Scottish Social Service Council’s (SSSC) registration requirements
SCSWIS authorised officer – Care Inspectorate inspector (primary and secondary officer)
There are two qualification requirements
1. Practice
2. Regulatory
Practice qualifications
BA Childhood Practice
Postgraduate Diploma in Childhood Practice
BA Social Pedagogy (University of Aberdeen)
BA (Hons) Social Work (or equivalent)
PDA Childhood Practice at SCQF Level 9
SVQ Social Services and Healthcare at SCQF Level 9
SVQ Social Services (Children and Young People) at SCQF Level 9
Regulatory qualifications
PDA Scrutiny and Improvement Practice (Social Services)
Regulation of Care Award (ROCA)
European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)
Practice qualifications we also accept
SVQ 4 Children's Care Learning and Development at SCQF Level 9
SVQ 4 Health and Social Care at SCQF Level 9
Qualification meeting requirements of other regulatory bodies (practice requirement)
A qualification meeting the registration requirements for the following professional groups regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council:
• occupational therapists
• physiotherapists
• speech and language therapists
• practitioner psychologists.
A qualification meeting the registration requirements of the General Teaching Council (Scotland), Nursing and Midwifery Council or the General Medical Council
Degree/Diploma in Community Education as recognised by the Standards Council for Community Learning and Development for Scotland Approvals Committee
Qualifications which are no longer available, but we continue to accept (regulatory requirement)
Public Service Improvement Framework (PSIF)
If you have not found the information you need about your qualification and SSSC registration, please contact the SSSC using the web form on their contact us page.
What experience do I need to become an inspector
To become an inspector, we need you to have senior professional experience, expertise and knowledge of adult social care or health care, early learning and childcare or children and young people sectors.
You should also have experience of lead responsibility for complex professional practice through case management, managing people, projects or resources. We welcome applications from candidates with these professional backgrounds.
What support will I get to maintain my professional registration?
Maintaining your registration with your professional body is a core requirement for all inspectors. To support this, we’ll provide you with access to a range of learning activities for your continuing professional and personal development. Our learning management system automatically records all of your learning and we’ll support your re-validation with your professional body. You’ll also participate in regular supervision and peer learning activities through our LEAD (learn, experience, achieve and development) performance and development process.
All inspectors are also expected to undertake our Professional Development Award in Scrutiny and Improvement (Social Services) at SCQF level 10.
What is the salary and grade for the role of inspector?
The role is on an Inspector grade 7. Starting salaries are non-negotiable and all new staff start on the grade minimum for their role. Please see the current starting salary on the advert for the current recruitment campaign.
Following six months service, you will receive an annual increment on 1 April each year until you reach the top of the grade.
How much flexibility is there in terms of working hours and location?
Our inspectors work flexibly and you’ll work 140 hours over each four week period. This equates to 35 hours per week.
We have offices across Scotland and we support a range of flexible working arrangements including homeworking and hybrid working.
Once I apply, how long will it be before my application is considered?
We accept applications from prospective inspectors all throughout the year. We have two recruitment periods each year and your application will be considered during the next recruitment period, following your application submission.
How long does the selection process take?
Our selection process is based on a two-stage assessment. Depending on the volume of applications we receive, we aim to complete each recruitment period within three months of the adverts closing date. Our recruitment team will communicate regularly throughout the recruitment period to ensure you’re up to date on the status of your application and you have all of the information you need to participate in our selection process.
What happens after I've been offered a role?
We’ll carry out pre-employment checks so we can confirm your offer of employment. These include:
- proof of ID / right to work in the UK
- two successful references, where one is from your current or most recent employer
- a PVG check
- occupational health questionnaire and referrals where appropriate
- registration and qualifications check
Once all checks are complete, we’ll agree a start date and formally confirm your offer of employment by providing you with a contract outlining your terms and conditions.
I've been invited to join the inspector talent pool. What does this mean?
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.
Our talent pool is our bank of candidates who have successfully completed the inspector selection process and are available to be appointed to suitable vacancies, based on their specialism and location.
As a member of our talent pool, you’ll be a valued candidate and we’ll:
- monitor and identify suitable vacancies that we can offer you based on your specialism and location
- share regular updates about our vacancies, recruitment plans and other relevant Care Inspectorate news.
You don’t need to reapply for future inspector vacancies for up to two years.
Unfortunately, depending on our vacancies, we may not always be in a position to offer a role to all talent pool candidates.
If you would like to chat to us about our recruitment process or a particular job, please get in touch with our HR team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Team Manager – Adults
Location: East of Scotland
Salary: £48,453 - £53,502 (140 hours over 4 weeks)
Contract: Permanent or secondment
About the role
We are looking for a full-time team manager to manage a team of inspectors in our adult’s specialism in the Edinburgh area.
Our team managers support their team of inspectors to manage the inspection workload, consider risk factors and maximise performance. They also manage enforcement activity and support service development and improvement. Team managers work closely with our registration and complaints teams to ensure effective regulation of care services.
Team managers have a relationship manager role with a number of local authorities and national providers. They are expected to take part in and keep up to date with national initiatives and development to support the work of the team. Team managers also provide professional development to the team of inspectors that they manage.
About us
As a national regulator and scrutiny body, we inspect care across communities, report on the quality of care people experience, and ensure it is as good as it can be. We are a scrutiny body that supports improvement.
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.
About you
You will be educated to degree level or equivalent and hold an appropriate professional qualification and be committed to your own continuous professional development.
You should have significant experience of operational scrutiny activity and professional regulatory practice within health, social care, or other relevant sectors. You will have experience of implementing improvements and managing change.
You will need to be able to provide leadership and direction to a diverse team of professional staff. You will need to demonstrate a significant knowledge of working with inspection and regulation of care as well as a commitment to the principles of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and the principles of better regulation.
Why join 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 recommendations of the Independent Care Review.
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’re proud to be a progressive, supportive employer, and equality, diversity and inclusion are important to us.
All new entrants will start on the grade minimum for the role however we have a generous benefits package which is highlighted below.
Flexibility and agility are important to us. That’s why 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 working, carers leave and special leave. The inspector role is flexible with 140 hours over a four week period.
Our annual leave allowances are generous, starting at 32 days (in less than 1 years’ service by 1 April) and climbing to 42 days after 5 years of service.
All our employees are eligible to join the Local Government Pension Scheme, which is a defined benefit career average scheme. Employee contributions range between 5.5% and 10% depending on earnings and are matched by employer contributions of 17%.
To apply
You’ll find more information in the:
Those who have applied in the last 6 months need not apply however this does not preclude current team managers from using the internal transfer process
For an informal chat about the job role, please contact the HR team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and a member of the team will arrange for you to receive a call back from one of our Service Managers.
If you believe that your expertise, skills and motivation make you suitable for this post, please complete an application form (and an Equalities Monitoring Form where you are an external applicant) and return by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than 8am on Monday 29 November 2021.
It is anticipated that interviews and selection will take place no earlier than 16 December 2021 .
Planning Manager
Job title: Planning Manager
Salary: £38,553 - £42,597
Hours: 35 hours per week
Location: Flexible (Any Care Inspectorate office)
Contract: Temporary for up to 12 months
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 approximately 40% of their working week.
About the role
Due to a period of absence a temporary vacancy has arisen within our planning team. In this demanding and challenging role, reporting to the head of business change, you will manage and co-ordinate the delivery of national inspection planning across a wide range of social care services and services for children and adults to ensure that the Care Inspectorate makes the best use of its resources and performs effectively and efficiently as an independent scrutiny and improvement body. This will include the management, co-ordination of inspection activities and national and team plans for the current year and draft plans for subsequent years, ensuring inspection planning activities are consistent with the Care Inspectorate’s objectives and targets.
About you
The successful applicant will have an operational background in planning activities, and system and processes, together with workload planning and prioritisation.
You will be educated to standard grade level and hold a relevant HNC qualification. You will have excellent communication skills and be able to demonstrate a broad level of knowledge of working within inspection/regulation of care and associated IT systems alongside the ability to translate plans into action.
Next steps
You’ll find more information in the job profile and person specification.
If you would like more information or an informal chat about the role please contact Deborah Holyroyd at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - please include a contact telephone number and times that would be best to reach you in your email.
If you believe that you are a suitable candidate for this post, please 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 22 April 2024.
It is anticipated that interviews will be held no sooner than Wednesday 24 April at our Stirling office.
Policy Assistant
Location: Any Care Inspectorate office
Salary: £25,320 - £26,877
Contract: Temporary for one year
The successful applicant will provide an efficient and effective support service to the Policy Team, reporting to the Senior Policy Adviser.
You will be required to provide a confidential tailored support service. Duties will be varied and include overseeing email traffic to the Policy Team’s shared mailboxes, supporting the Policy Analysts to maintain the Hub website, updating routine papers and undertaking small research projects with support from the Policy Analysts.
The role will also include regular policy and parliamentary scanning activities, alerting staff to relevant developments.
You will have excellent interpersonal, organisational and research skills, be highly skilled in all Microsoft Office packages and be able to work on your own initiative and enjoy a challenge.
You’ll find more information in the:
For an informal chat prior to applying, please contact Claire Neary, Senior Policy Adviser on 07818588721.
If you believe that your expertise, skills and motivation make you suitable for this post, please complete an application form (and an Equalities Monitoring Form where you are an external applicant) and return by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by no later than 8am on Monday 6 December 2021.
Senior Improvement Adviser (Registered Nurse)
Job title: Senior Improvement Adviser (Registered Nurse)
Salary: £55,530 to £61,314 (Pro rata)
Hours: Part Time 17.5 hours
Location: Flexible (Any Care Inspectorate office)
Contract: Permanent
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 the expectation that all staff will work collaboratively, within and across teams, in person, for approximately 40% of their working week.
About the role
We are looking for a colleague who is a registered nurse with a passion for quality improvement to join the Health and Social Care Improvement Team (HSCIT) permanently.
Our team have quality improvement and health expertise. We use this to work strategically and operationally, with internal and external colleagues and frontline care staff. We do this so that people who experience care achieve improved health and wellbeing outcomes that matter to them.
About you
You will have all round knowledge of the health and wellbeing of adults and older people and be educated to degree level or equivalent in Nursing.
You will have significant specialist subject matter expertise and be able to combine it with an understanding of quality improvement theory/change management and its practical application in health and social care settings.
On appointment as Improvement Support Adviser (Registered Nurse), you will be a secondary authorised officer and be registered with the appropriate registration body, in this case NMC.
Registration
The successful applicant will be registered with NMC.
Next steps
You’ll find more information in the job profile and person specification.
If you would like more information or an informal chat about the role, please contact Lynn Flannigan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
To apply
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 17 June 2024.
It is anticipated that interviews will be held no sooner than 2 July at our Dundee Headquarters office.
Person specification
Essential criteria
Qualifications and registration
To become an inspector, you must be registered with or able to register, and hold a qualification that meets the registration requirements of, one of the following regulatory bodies:
- Social Social Services Council (SSSC)
- General Teaching Council (Scotland) (GTC)
- Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
- General Medical Council (GMC) Health and Care Professions Council (applies to the following roles only: occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and practitioner psychologists)
- Other equivalent professional bodies for the UK nations
Inspectors eligible to apply for registration with the SSSC must hold a suitable practice qualification at SCQF level. For more information on the list of suitable qualifications please see our recruitment web pages.
Inspectors must also hold or undertake an appropriate regulator's award from the list below:
- Regulation of Care Award
- PDA Scrutiny and Improvement Practice (Social Services) SCQF level 10
Experience
- Senior professional experience, expertise and knowledge of adult social care or health care, early learning and childcare or children and young people sectors and
- Experience of lead responsibility for complex professional practice through case management, managing people, projects or resources.
Skills
- Ability to use evidence and knowledge to provide accurate, expert, insightful professional advice and judgements, which are based on clear and incisive thinking.
- Ability to identify priorities and gather and analyse evidence to evaluate options before arriving at well-reasoned, justifiable decisions.
- Ability to weigh up complex and conflicting evidence, reach robust judgements and record these.
- Ability to communicate clearly, convincingly and succinctly to different audiences, verbally, in writing and virtually.
- Stakeholder engagement skills and ability to build relationships with people at all levels of seniority.
- IT literate with a thorough understanding of Microsoft Office.
Key performance outcomes/competencies
Supporting and co-operating
- Supports others and shows respect and positive regard
- Puts people first, working effectively with individuals, teams and people who use care services
- Behaves consistently with clear personal values and relevant professional standards of practice that complement those of the organisation
- Understands the limits of their knowledge and experience and when decisions need to be referred to others.
Interacting and presenting
- Communicates clearly and networks effectively, projecting credibility
- Establishes good relationships and relates to others in a confident and relaxed manner
- Considers Care Inspectorate values in relation to the impact of their decisions
- Considers the wider context in which the Care Inspectorate operates.
Analysing and interpreting
- Demonstrates analytical and systematic approach to problem solving
- Gets to the heart of complex problems and issues
- Applies own expertise effectively
- Quickly learns and embraces new technology
- Excellent written communication skills.
Creating and conceptualising
- Open to new ideas and experience
- Seeks out learning opportunities
- Handles situations and problems with innovation and creativity
- Thinks broadly and strategically
- Supports and drives organisational change
- Contributes to the development of operational processes and systems
- Ability to use knowledge and experience to gather and consolidate information to make appropriate improvements
- Applies rules and procedures sensibly and understands where flexibility is required.
Organising and executing
- Plans ahead and works in a systematic and organised way
- Follows directions and procedures
- Focuses on service user satisfaction and delivers a quality service to the expected standards
- Ability to work flexibly in response to changing priorities and to prioritise conflicting demands
- Ability to plan workload effectively in the short, medium and long term in conjunction with their line manager and work to strict deadlines
- Ability to show initiative and work independently without close supervision.
Adapting and coping
- Adapts and responds positively to change
- Manages pressure effectively and copes with setbacks
- Ability to adapt communication to suit different audiences.
The Care Inspectorate expects that all its employees, who can be, are registered and maintain an active registration with their relevant registering body throughout the duration of employment with the Care Inspectorate.
You will be required to maintain all necessary professional registration as required by the Professional Registration Policy - adherence to this policy is imperative.
Communications Manager
Job title: Communications Manager
Salary: £49,227 to £54,441
Hours: 35 hours per week
Location: Flexible (Any Care Inspectorate office)
Contract: Permanent
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 experiences 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 an expectation that all staff will work collaboratively, within and across teams, in person, for approximately 40% of their working week.
About the role
This exciting opportunity has become available due to the retirement of the existing post holder. Your role will be to support the Care Inspectorate on the direction, delivery and implementation of the communications strategy of the Care Inspectorate - alongside the Media Manager, Strategic Communications Adviser and other members of the communications and policy team - and to implement innovative communication methods which ensure all stakeholders are kept well informed and support new media development.
About you
You will be educated to degree level or equivalent and have proven communications experience at all levels across an organisation and experience of line management of staff. You should possess a comprehensive understanding of various communication strategies and techniques. For success in this role, you should possess exceptional interpersonal skills and have the ability to collaborate effectively with internal teams and external partners.
Next steps
You’ll find more information in the job profile and person specification.
If you would like more information or an informal chat about the role please contact Lisa Rooke (Head of Corporate Policy & Communication) at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Please include a contact telephone number and times that would be best to reach you in your email.
If you believe that you are a suitable candidate for this post, please 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 8:00 on Monday 29 April 2024. Assessment and interviews are expected to be after 8 May 2024.
Job profile
Job title: Inspector
Location: Local / nearest office base
Responsible to: Team manager
Job overview
Our inspectors have a vital role to ensure that people in Scotland who need care, receive high quality, safe and compassionate care. They are responsible for assuring and improving the quality of care for people who use care services by determining and undertaking appropriate scrutiny, assurance and improvement activities.
Our values
Our values are about clearly establishing what it means to be a Care Inspectorate employee and set the standard for every person and how they play their part. Our values are:
- Person Centred: we will put people at the heart of everything we do
- Fairness: we will act fairly, be transparent and treat people equally
- Respect: we will be respectful in all that we do
- Integrity: we will be impartial and act to improve care for the people of Scotland
- Efficiency: we will provide the best possible quality and public value from our work
- Equality: we will promote and advance equality, diversity and inclusion in all our work and interactions
Key responsibilities
- Plan and deliver timely and high-quality scrutiny activities of registered services aligned with the Public Services Reform Act.
- Provide feedback, report on findings and work with providers to support improvement and innovation and signpost good practice.
- Apply specialist knowledge and skills to gather, analyse, assess and share information and intelligence on care services and service providers to help target scrutiny and improvement activities.
- Apply specialist knowledge, skills and expertise to authoritatively and credibly provide advice and guidance to service providers and their staff to support continuous improvement in the quality of care they deliver.
- Work in partnership with people who use services, family carers, scrutiny delivery and policy partners to act as a catalyst for change and innovation and promote the Health and Social Care Standards and good practice guidance.
- Support the strategic scrutiny activities of adult or children’s services or shared scrutiny activities with other scrutiny bodies as required.
- Support enforcement activities, attending legal hearings or other types of constituted hearings to give evidence or advice.
- Produce evaluative reports, within required timescales, to include clear evidence-based outcomes that direct and contribute to improvements in the care and protection of service users.
- Work collaboratively and effectively with a range of stakeholders, including partner scrutiny bodies and Scottish Government staff and officials.
- Participate in supervision arrangements, team meetings, appraisal and learning and development as required and appropriate.
- Provide relationship management support to allocated providers.
- Take a lead role on designated projects and other initiatives that require specialist knowledge, expertise and experience.
- Support the induction of new start inspectors and colleagues through peer learning and other learning and development activities within your team and directorate.
- Participate in and support quality assurance activities of the work of the care inspectorate.
- Work flexibly to meet the needs of the business and the availability of providers (for example evening and weekend working and travel and overnight stays across Scotland, where required).
- Undertake such other duties as may be required by the organisation to fulfil the role of Inspector.
Key accountabilities
- Ensure accurate records of all registered services are prepared and maintained, and share intelligence, in accordance with the requirements and procedures of the Care Inspectorate.
- Maintain a high standard of records in relation to work undertaken, producing reports, letters and instructions.
- Work to relevant professional codes of practice and ensure national occupational standards are achieved.
- Follow processes and duties relating to enforcement action against registered services
- Build and maintain productive working relationships, both internally and externally with providers and partners.
- Share and maintain knowledge and understanding of current developments in your specialist area (early learning and childcare, adults or children and young people).
- Participate in all learning and development activities relevant to your role, including the professional development award (PDA) and/ or other qualifications as deemed necessary.
- Maintain professional registration with the relevant professional regulatory body.
- Meet performance management indicators and performance management objectives of the organisation as relevant to your role.
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.