Job title: Inspectors
Salary: £50,130 - £59,178
Hours: 140 hours to be worked over a 4-week period.
Location: flexible (any Care Inspectorate office)
Contract: permanent
Closing date: This is a rolling recruitment process so there is no closing date for applications.
About us
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. We are beginning an extended campaign for inspectors over a number of months so if you are as passionate about high-quality care and learning as we are, and you’re experienced in the field, we’d love to hear from you. We are looking for talented people to join us in making a difference.
We are a scrutiny body that supports improvement. That means we look at the quality of care in Scotland to ensure it meets high standards. We are responsible for providing assurance and protection for people who experience care services, their families, carers and the wider public. Our vision is that people across Scotland experience high-quality care that meets their needs, rights and choices.
Our values
1. Person-centred: we put people, empathy, compassion, and kindness at the heart of everything we do
2. Respect: we value everyone's dignity and are respectful in everything we do
3. Equity: we embrace diversity and nurture an inclusive environment where everyone is supported to achieve equal outcomes
4. Integrity: we act impartially, fairly, and consistently, upholding transparency and accountability in all our actions
5. Impact: we focus on making a positive impact for everyone experiencing care in Scotland whilst ensuring our work delivers the best value to the public
Work-life balance
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. 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 four-week period.
About you
We’re looking for experienced professionals in health, social work, or social care with significant knowledge of sector challenges and policy developments. Whether your expertise lies in adult care, children and young people’s services, or early learning and childcare, you’ll have a strong track record of working with people, assessing care standards, managing conflict, and driving improvement. Strong communication, analytical, and leadership skills are essential, alongside a values-driven approach that prioritises people’s rights and experiences.
We are recruiting across our inspection teams, with opportunities available in various regions of mainland Scotland. As an Inspector, you must be able to travel, with occasional overnight stays as required.
What you will be doing as an inspector
You’ll play a vital role in ensuring high-quality care across Scotland. Working closely with people experiencing care, providers, managers, and staff, you’ll listen to their experiences, assess services, and confidently advise on improvements. Whether inspecting adult and older people’s care, children and young people’s services, early learning and childcare, or supporting our registration or complaints teams, you’ll be making a real difference by promoting high standards and positive outcomes.
The skills you need
If you're looking to make a real difference in people's lives, we want to hear from you. While the basics are important, we’ll support your ongoing development throughout your journey with us.
You’ll be confident in understanding and delivering high-quality care and learning across various sectors, whether for children, young people, adults, or older people. You’ll be resilient, adaptable, and able to work both independently and as part of a team. You’ll manage competing priorities, build effective networks, and have strong communication skills. Additionally, you'll excel at analysing information, making balanced judgments, and producing clear, concise reports focused on outcomes.
You’ll be able to listen carefully to people of all ages to understand their experiences, needs, and what’s important to them. Whether working with service providers, managers, or staff, you’ll confidently advise and support improvements. Experience in delivering service improvements, applying good practice guidance, and managing change will be valuable. Above all, you’ll have a sound understanding of sector challenges and a passion for advocating for those receiving care.
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.
You will find more information in the job profile and person specification.
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: £50,130 – £59,178 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 (where candidates have previously worked for us as inspectors).
We desire 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.
In addition to our excellent benefits package, we also pride ourselves on the values we hold, person-centred; fairness; respect; efficiency and integrity - all supported with a culture of care and kindness. We’re proud to be a progressive, supportive employer, and equality, diversity and inclusion are important to us.
This is an exciting time to join the Care Inspectorate, with an opportunity to be at the heart of change as we consider the impact of the ELC expansion and the future expansion of one year old care and the Scottish Government’s commitment to school aged childcare. Playing our part in delivering on the Promise to Scotland’s children and young people.
We’ve recently changed our recruitment process and how we assess new people and now is the perfect time to come and join us.
What next?
Click here to find out more on our careers site. You can also contact the recruitment team at
If you’re ready to apply now, please click here to access our gateway questions and application form.
This is a rolling recruitment process so there is no closing date for applications.
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.
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 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 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.