Job profile
Job title: Inspection Planning Manager - Workforce Planning and Data
Responsible for: Planning Co-ordinator
Principal Working Contacts
- Executive Director of Scrutiny and Assurance
- Chief Inspectors
- Service Managers
- Team Managers
- Strategic Inspectors
- Inspectors
- Business Support staff
- Managers and employees of the Care Inspectorate
- External agencies/service providers/service users and carers
- Education Scotland
Job purpose
To 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.
Key responsibilities
Strategic management
- In conjunction with key stakeholders, develop and manage systems and processes to support effective national inspection planning in order to meet corporate aims and objectives.
- Build and maintain effective partnerships with Education Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and other scrutiny and improvement partners to support effective and efficient joint inspection planning.
- In conjunction with key stakeholders develop and deliver strategies, action plans and targets for inspection planning in support of corporate aims and objectives.
Operational management
- Manage and co-ordinate the effective and efficient delivery of scrutiny and improvement planning activity.
- Manage and maintain scrutiny 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.
- Ensure that the provision of the inspection and capacity planning information is accurate, up-to-date and reliable for managers and staff throughout the organisation to support the planning and delivery of the Care Inspectorate’s scrutiny and improvement functions.
- Plan and execute the strategic objectives for inspection planning systematically in alignment with the Care Inspectorate’s business objectives.
- Promote continuous improvement in all aspects of inspection and capacity planning, including quality assurance and consistency of practice.
- Participate in the recruitment and selection of staff as required.
- Prepare and present reports to the Chief Inspectors and Executive Director of Scrutiny and Assurance or Executive Team as required.
- Deputise for senior managers and undertake such other duties as may be required.
People management
- Lead and manage a team, ensuring that they work effectively and efficiently to meet the aims, objectives and targets of Care Inspectorate.
- Provide advice, guidance and support to team members through regular one-to-one supervision, performance development reviews and personal development plans to ensure continuous improvement in their work and support their personal and professional development.
- Coordinate and monitor administrative support to the team
- Promote consistent, high quality practice amongst team members, manage their performance and monitor their standards and behaviour.
- Promote the health, safety and welfare of staff in accordance with Care Inspectorate policies, procedures and guidance.
- Promote diversity and equality of opportunity, ensuring that these principles are upheld across all areas of work.
Relationship management
- As a manager, model corporate behaviour and demonstrate a strong commitment to organisational values.
- Develop effective working relationships within the team and with managers and staff across the organisation ensuring effective collaborative and cross-directorate working.
- Develop and maintain effective working relationships with partner scrutiny and improvement bodies and other key stakeholders.
- Contribute to the continuous development of the Care Inspectorate and manage change effectively and creatively.
- Promote the work of the Care Inspectorate and raise aware of its work in a positive manner.
- Ensure effective working protocols in accordance with the Care Inspectorate’s Communications, Human Resources, Finance, IT and Operations function.
- Demonstrate a commitment to the Care Inspectorate’s aims, vision and values and to the Care Inspectorate’s overall objective of improving care in Scotland.
- Ensure effective communication of the Care Inspectorate’s work with people who use care services, carers, relatives and advocates.
Other duties
This job may require some travel and may involve some overnight stays and unsocial hours.
This job description is a broad picture of the post at the date of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all possible duties and it is recognised that jobs change and evolve over time. Consequently, the post holder will be required to carry out any other duties to the equivalent level that are necessary to fulfil the purpose of the job, and to respond positively to changing business needs.
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Inspection Planning Manager - Workforce Planning and Data
Job title: Inspection Planning Manager – Workforce Planning and Data
Salary: £38,553 - £42,597
Hours: 35 hours per week
Location: Flexible (Any Care Inspectorate office)
Contract: Temporary for up to 12 months
About the role
Due to a period of absence, a temporary vacancy has arisen within our Planning Team. In this demanding and challenging role, 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 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 you
The successful applicant will have an operational background in workforce planning activities, systems and processes, together with workload planning and prioritisation knowledge.
You will be educated to SCQF Level 5 and, ideally hold a relevant qualification at SCQF Level 6 or 7. 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, such as Work Management Tools, Microsoft Excel and Power BI, 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 complete our online application form by 08:00 on Monday 10 June 2024*.
*Please note that if we receive a sufficient number of applications, the advert may close earlier on Monday 3 June.
It is anticipated that interviews will be held at either our Dundee or Stirling office no sooner than 19 June 2024 (or after 12 June 2024 if the advert closes earlier).
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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.
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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.
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Inspector (adult services)
Join us and make a difference – for you, for everyone
It’s our job to ensure care for everyone, everywhere in Scotland is as good as it can be. If you are as passionate about high-quality care as we are, and you’re experienced in your field, we’d love to hear from you. We are looking for talented people to join us in making a difference.
About you
You’ll have considerable experience in adult health or social work/care as well as significant knowledge of current policy drivers and challenges within the sector. You will have a successful track record in working with people, assessing standards of care, managing conflict and promoting the rights of people who use care services.
We’re currently recruiting for vacancies in our inspection teams. We are looking for applicants particularly in the central belt, North West Scotland, Argyll and Bute, and Dumfries and Galloway. However, we welcome applications from candidates across mainland Scotland.
About us
We are different because of our great benefits, our investment in learning and development, and above all, giving you the opportunity to help shape care in Scotland.
What you will be doing as an inspector
Making a difference through working with services delivering adult and older people care. You’ll work with people experiencing care, care service providers, managers and staff and be confident in supporting and advising on improvement.
The skills you need
If you think this job is where you can make a real difference to people’s lives, there are a few things you need. Whilst it’s important to have the basics, we will support you in developing your skillset throughout your journey with us.
You’ll be confident about what good-quality care looks like and how to deliver it across adults and older people services. You’ll be resilient and adaptable, able to work on your own initiative or as part of a team, manage competing priorities, build effective networks with partners, and have strong communication skills. Equally, you’ll be good at analysing information and evidence, and you’ll have excellent writing skills to produce reports that are clear, concise, and focused on outcomes.
We need you to have a relevant qualification (minimum SCQF Level 9) and be registered or eligible to register with a professional body like the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) or General Teaching Council (GTC). Please see further information at the bottom of this advert on recent updates to the registration process for the SSSC.
All new entrants will start on the grade minimum for the role however we have a generous benefits package which is highlighted below.
Salary and benefits
- Salary: £46,116 - £54,441 plus excellent benefits.
- Network of offices across Scotland.
- Flexible Hours: 140 hours to be worked over a 4-week period.
- Up to 37 days annual leave (after 5 years’ service) +6 fixed public holidays.
- Contract: Permanent, two-year secondment or locum.
Our desire is to achieve an effective and balanced way of working, that enables us to meet organisational needs and achieve a work-life balance that promotes wellbeing and collaboration opportunities. We are moving towards an expectation that all staff will work collaboratively, within and across teams, in person, for approximately 40% of their working week.
In addition to our excellent benefits package, we also pride ourselves on the values we hold, person-centred; fairness; respect; efficiency and integrity - all supported with a culture of care and kindness. We’re proud to be a progressive, supportive employer, and equality, diversity and inclusion are important to us.
This is an exciting time to join the Care Inspectorate, with an opportunity to be at the heart of change as we consider the impact of the independent care review. We’ve recently changed our recruitment process and how we assess new people. We’re looking to attract inspectors from a broader range of professional backgrounds and now is the perfect time to come and join us.
What next?
Click here to find out more on our careers site. You can also contact the recruitment team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further information. You’ll also find more information in the job profile and person specification.
If you’re ready to apply now, please click here to access our gateway questions and application form. Your application should be received no later than 08:00 on Monday 3 June 2024.
The Care Inspectorate is committed to recruiting, retaining and developing a workforce that reflects the diverse communities that we serve. It is vital that we monitor and analyse diversity information so that we can identify how we can improve the way we meet the needs of our applicants and staff. To assist us to monitor the effectiveness of our equality and diversity practices, we would encourage you to complete the equalities monitoring form at the end of the application form.
We anticipate holding Stage 1 of our assessment process on Monday 24 - Tuesday 25 June 2024, and Stage 2 no earlier than Monday 8 July 2024 over a 2 week period.
If you successfully complete our selection process, we’ll either confirm you’re the preferred candidate for a suitable vacancy (based on your specialism and location) or you’ll be invited to join our talent pool for future vacancies that would be suitable for you.
Registration information and process
As an Inspector you will support the Scrutiny & Assurance Directorate, and Strategy & Improvement Directorate to ensure that the Care Inspectorate meets its responsibilities as defined by the Public Services Reform Act 2010 and other relevant legislation.
The role of Inspector supports or conducts regulatory or strategic scrutiny activity by exercising ‘authorised person’ functions in terms of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act or secondary legislation made thereunder are ancillary to the Care Inspectorate’s primary authorised officer role and are defined as secondary authorised officers. This role supports or conducts regulatory or strategic scrutiny activity; however, the role purpose is broader than simply exercising the organisation’s inspection powers defined in the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and secondary legislation made thereunder.
The successful applicant must be registered with a professional body (this can be NMC, GTCS, NMC, HCPC, SSSC), within three months of appointment.
For SSSC registration, there is a specific registration category for Care Inspectorate Authorised Officers (AO). Regulated Care Inspectors who register with SSSC will do so as a Primary Authorised Officer under both types of work (Social Care and Children & Young People). Primary Authorised Officers will require to complete a Professional Development Award in Scrutiny and Improvement Practice within 5 years of initial registration.
Employees will be expected to maintain registration with the same professional body throughout their employment in the Care Inspectorate. This includes employees working in authorised officer roles who are recruited to the Care Inspectorate based on their registration with the NMC, GTCS, HCPC or other recognised professional body. It is a contractual requirement to maintain registration with the same professional body and employees should not transfer their registration to the SSSC from another recognised professional body, including the NMC, GTCS or HCPC.
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