Chief Inspector (Adult Services)

Contract:      Permanent

Salary:           £82,920 – 40 hours per week

Location:      Flexible – Any Care Inspectorate office across Scotland

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 the role

We are currently looking to recruit a Chief Inspector to lead on the planning, development, and delivery of strategic inspection activity in respect of adult services including joint inspections of health and social care integration, adult support and protection and justice services.

The successful candidate will ensure excellence in scrutiny, assurance and improvement work in collaboration with scrutiny partners, providers, Community planning partners and integrated joint boards.

You will support the Executive Director of Scrutiny and Assurance to ensure that the Care Inspectorate meets its responsibilities as defined by the Public Services Reform Act 2010 and other relevant legislation, and where appropriate provide strategic contribution and leadership to inform national policy and strategy.

You will work with senior managers and colleagues to support significant cultural change, consolidate excellence in the Care Inspectorate’s activities and continue to invest in our competent, confident workforce in a way that puts collaboration at the core of our work.

Adept at challenging traditional thinking in a positive and constructive way, you will be an articulate and positive communicator, both verbally and in written form, with the ability to engage, influence and lead the development of a wide range of key stakeholder relationships, both internally and externally.

You will also be politically astute and demonstrate a broad knowledge of trends and relevant issues within social work and social care services.

The Care Inspectorate has its headquarters in Dundee, but with offices throughout Scotland, your work base is negotiable.

The Application process

To apply you must be:

• Educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Hold an appropriate post-graduate professional qualification in social work or other relevant professional qualification

We are looking for someone who has:

• Extensive experience of leading and managing staff in the area of adults, justice and/or protection services.
• Extensive experience of developing and/or applying quality assurance/improvement frameworks to support self-evaluation and continuous improvement.
• Demonstrable experience of strategic planning and delivery of services and supporting and embedding sustainable business and transformational change.
• Extensive experience of collaborative and values-based leadership including working with partners at both a strategic and operational level.

You’ll find more information in the job description and person specification

Next steps

You’ll find more information in the:

• job profile
• person specification
• job advert

For an informal chat about the role please contact the HR team at recruitment@careinspectorate.gov.scot and we will arrange a suitably convenient time for you to discuss any questions you may have with the Executive Director of Scrutiny and Assurance.

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 recruitment@careinspectorate.gov.scot by Monday, 14 February 2022 at 8.00am.

It is anticipated that the selection and interview date for this post will be held on Tuesday, 8 March 2022.

Modern Apprentice – Business and Administration SVQ qualification

Salary: £23,511 – £24,213 plus excellent benefits

Contract: Temporary for one year.

Location: Dundee – with an opportunity to work from home, in the office or to use a hybrid approach.

Hours: 35 hours per week

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 keen to learn, we’d love to hear from you. We are looking for talented Care Experienced people to join us in making a difference.

About us

As a Corporate Parent organisation, we understand the importance of supporting Care Experienced individuals as they transition into the workforce. We believe in providing opportunities for those who have been in care to empower them to reach their full potential.

Our commitment to employing Care Experienced people stems from our belief in creating a diverse and inclusive workplace that values the unique perspectives and contributions of every individual.

About you

We’re looking to attract two modern apprentices aged 16 - up to the age of 29 for completion of the qualification, who would like to pursue a career in business administration. These opportunities are ringfenced for Care Experienced people as we understand the unique barriers you face.

We are different because of our great benefits, our investment in learning and development, and giving you the opportunity to help shape care in Scotland. We will provide a tailored programme for the year including help to find your next steps and support your job search. There will also be plenty of support – you’ll have a mentor, a buddy, a training provider, and team members who are all keen to help you achieve.

What you will be doing as modern apprentice

You will undertake a range of administrative duties to support team delivery. Building your skillset, improving your knowledge, and understanding of the work of the Human Resources (HR) and Organisation Workforce Development (OWD) teams or the Participation and Equalities team.

The skills you’ll need

Whilst it is important to have the basics, we will support you in developing your skillset throughout your journey with us. You must be a keen learner, have a positive attitude, be well presented, and have a good knowledge of computers, particularly Microsoft Office suite packages.

You will have on the job training and support and gain invaluable paid work experience whilst working towards a recognised qualification. The Scottish vocational qualification will be from the business and administration framework.

All new entrants will start on the first point of the grade for the role. We have a generous benefits package which is highlighted below. For more information on our benefits please see our Total rewards package that can be found on our website.

This job may require some travel and may involve some overnight stays and costs for this will be covered.

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.

Our desire is to achieve an effective and balanced way of working, which 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.

What next?

You’ll find more information in the job profile and person specification.

To find information about our Care Experienced guarantee interview scheme, follow this link to our recruitment webpages .

For an informal chat, please contact the recruitment team at recruitment@careinspectorate.gov.scot. The recruitment team can also provide support to help you decide to apply, how to complete our application form and how to prepare for an interview for either post.

If you’re ready to apply now, please send your completed application form to recruitment@careinspectorate.gov.scot no later than 08.00 on Monday 12 August 2024.

The Care Inspectorate is committed to recruiting, keeping, and developing a workforce that reflects the diverse communities that we serve. It is vital that we check 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 aid us to monitor the effectiveness of our equality and diversity practices, we would encourage you to complete and send in the equalities monitoring form by email with your completed application form.

We expect to hold an in person selection process at our Dundee office no earlier than 26 August 2024. The selection process will include a group exercise followed by a short informal interview. There will also be information on how to gain the relevant SVQ qualification and the support that can be provided.

A few changes to visiting made all the difference – a care home manager shares their experience

A few changes to visiting made all the difference – a care home manager shares their experience

On a recent call with my inspector, we were discussing how my service was managing visiting – it has been stressful trying to achieve a good balance between supporting and encouraging good quality visiting while keeping our residents as safe from Covid as possible. I was disappointed when she highlighted that our visiting arrangements were too rigid and not in line with guidance, but she was supportive and encouraging and I came away with some really constructive and practical advice.

We’ve now made some changes based on our inspector’s advice and I’m so glad we did. With some simple adjustments, we’ve really improved the visiting experience for residents and their loved ones. It feels better for me and my staff too; being able to make visiting more welcoming, homely and accessible is helping us make a positive difference for residents and that’s something we’re really passionate about.

I’d like to share a few key highlights of the changes we made.

• The booking system has been removed, with only a request from families to notify us if possible, prior to the visit so we can ensure the resident is not busy in another activity when they arrive.
• We have created an additional visiting area downstairs so that two visits can take place in a communal visiting area at the same time if the family/residents are not keen on a visit in the bedroom.
• We will be offering one of the toilets at the main entrance as a primary visitor toilet with further enhanced cleaning in place.
• We have removed the need to distance or wear a mask outdoors in line with the guidance too and reduced the social distance back to 1m indoors (not overtly marked in any way, just subtle and homely positioning of the chairs).
• Children were always allowed to visit indoors and outdoors for some time now, but we hadn’t made that clear – we have made sure everyone is aware of this now.
• We had been encouraging outings, but we are now highlighting that these can be to local cafes or to the relative’s household for a visit and so on.
• We are ensuring that any risk assessments we undertake now demonstrate less rigidity and a greater level of warmth.

I also had a person-centred discussion around visiting with one family that had raised concerns to discuss all the changes we were making and answer any queries. It was a really productive and positive discussion. Not long after, they came to visit their loved one and brought their daughter and two grandchildren too. They all went for an outdoor visit to the loch and the play park together since it was a quite bright and mild day. I spoke to them afterwards and they were very complimentary, saying “We had a wonderful time. It was the best visit we have had since Covid began. Mum was on great form”. (We always encourage staff to engage a resident in a person-centred stimulating activity pre-visit so the resident is able to engage really well during a visit or video call and the resident had been playing Simon Says with the staff and also had a short walk in the garden for some fresh air before the family arrived, which hopefully helped her engage well on the visit.)

I encourage fellow care home managers and providers to get in touch with your inspector if you’re concerned about visiting. I was met with positivity, encouragement and constructive advice, and with a few quick fixes, we were able to make a big difference.

Service Manager (early learning and childcare)

Job title: Service Manager (Early Learning and Childcare)

Salary: £72,159

Hours: 35 hours per week

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. Our hybrid working policy gives you the flexibility to mix working from home with attendance at your base office and other work locations, spending no more than 60% of your working time working from home, measured over a 4-week period.

About the role

As part of our ongoing growth, we are currently expanding our early learning and childcare (ELC) team, we are recruiting a service manager to join our ELC team.

You will support the assurance and 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 service manager – early learning and childcare 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.

This role will oversee the work of team managers, who manage inspectors to carry out scrutiny activity of early learning and childcare services including shared inspections with Education Scotland. Team managers and inspectors also play an important role in supporting quality assuring care services and providing professional advice to assist in developing the quality of service delivery. Acting as relationship managers, they provide support and challenge to local authorities, and providers of multiple services with the aim of supporting continuous improvement.

The successful candidate will manage projects and support the work of the directorate including overseeing the quality assurance of our scrutiny work. The role also involves liaison with external stakeholders, promoting the work of the organisation and contributing to national policy and initiatives.

The role holder will be expected to support the assurance and improvement directorate to ensure that the Care Inspectorate meets its responsibilities as defined by the Public Services Reform Act 2010 and other relevant legislation.

This senior role works with other leaders and colleagues to support significant cultural change, consolidate excellence in the Care Inspectorate’s activities and continue to invest in our competent, confident workforce in a way that puts collaboration at the core of our work.  

About you

You will have significant experience in services for early learning and childcare, and experience of assurance and improvement activity, including inspection. You must be able to work well with colleagues to achieve shared aims, support innovation, and make the best use of resources. You will demonstrate the ability to provide leadership and direction to a diverse, multi-disciplinary team of professional staff and be highly effective in working creatively and collaboratively across organisational and professional boundaries.  

Adept at challenging traditional thinking in a positive and constructive way, you will be an articulate and positive communicator, both verbally and in written form, with the ability to engage, influence and lead the development of a wide range of key stakeholder relationships, both internally and externally.

You will also be politically astute and demonstrate a broad knowledge of trends and relevant issues within health, social care, and education. To apply:

• You will be educated to SCQF level 9
• You will have, or be willing to work towards, a secondary Authorised Officer qualification - either PDA (Professional Development Award), RoCA (Regulation of Care Award), EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) or PSIF (Public Sector Improvement Framework) 

We are looking for someone who has:

• Proven track record of effective management and leadership of staff in the area of health, social care, or education.
• Demonstrable experience of strategic planning and delivery of services and supporting and embedding sustainable business and transformational change.
• Extensive experience in collaborative and values-based leadership, including working with partners.

The professional registration process

The successful applicant must be registered with a professional body (this can be NMC, GTCS, NMC, HCPC, SSSC).

For SSSC registration, there is a specific registration category for Care Inspectorate Authorised Officers (AO). There will be two levels of AO registration (Primary AO and Secondary AO), and identification of types of work undertaken (Social Care and Children & Young People).

On appointment as a Service Manager ELC you will be required to register with SSSC as a secondary AO under both types of work (Social Care and Children & Young People) or be registered with another appropriate registration body (NMC, GTCS, HCPC).

We would expect non-SSSC staff to hold or gain the appropriate AO qualification (in this case EFQM would be the minimum qualification).

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 Audrey Donnan (Chief Inspector – Early Learning and Childcare) at Audrey.Donnan@careinspectorate.gov.scot, please include a contact telephone number and times that would be best to reach you in your email.

If you believe that your skills, experience and motivation make you a suitable candidate for this post, please complete the online application form by 08:00 on Monday 4 August 2025.

It is anticipated that interviews will be held no sooner than Monday 18 August at our Dundee office.