Adult Social Care Inspector - South Network

Adult Social Care Inspector - South Network

Grade B: £42,044 (National). There is also an additional homeworking allowance of £600 per annum for those working from home. Please note for part-time roles - this will be pro rata.

Contracted Hours: Full-time, 37 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing Date: Tuesday 29 September 2026 at 11.59pm

Candidates successfully shortlisted will be invited to an assessment centre (1 day) at Redman Place, Stratford, during w/c 19 October 2026. This will include an interactive assessment and an interview.

We are currently accepting applications from candidates who can work and travel within the following areas:

- Kent
- Medway
- Surrey
- Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
- Bracknell

Make a difference

Every role at CQC contributes to our mission. If you are looking for a new role in Operations that gives you real purpose, then you have found it! As an Adult Social Care Inspector, you'll help make sure people receive safe, kind and high quality care every day.

Picture this

In this field-based role, you will visit providers to conduct inspections, speak with people who receive care, and work with providers and key external partners to help drive real, positive change. On occasion, this may require you to work out of hours, including weekends.

As an Adult Social Care Inspector in the South Network, you will:

- Lead inspection activity to understand how well a service supports people, using evidence and insight to help guide important decisions in accordance with regulatory frameworks. This role may, at times, include conducting investigatory work and conducting civil and/or criminal enforcement activity.
- Respond to new risks, collaborating with teams across CQC and key partners externally, including Local Authorities, ICBs, Police and Coroner to protect people when safety concerns arise.
- Analyse data and evidence from multiple sources and use this to triangulate and form regulatory judgements whilst maintaining oversight of services within your team.

The role

You will play an important part in delivering our mission. In this role, you will:

- Inspect services: Conduct on-site or off-site inspections, reviewing information from people who use services, staff, partners, and data to build a clear picture of quality and safety.
- Lead and collaborate: Work with inspection teams, partners, and people who use services to gather insight, share learning, and help make improvements.
- Analyse and report: Review evidence, use digital systems, and write clear reports that help others understand how well services are performing. You will play an important part in delivering our purpose.

Show us

We will be looking for specific skills, knowledge, and experience in your application form:

- Experience working in health or social care, including leadership or oversight responsibilities: This could include roles in adult social care, the NHS, or other environments where you have supported teams, led activities, or taken responsibility for quality of care.
- Ability to assess risk and make informed decisions: Show how you've used data, feedback, or evidence to make clear decisions, prioritise actions, and take responsibility for outcomes.
- Experience leading or working with others to improve quality: Demonstrate how you've guided teams, coordinated work, or worked with partners to manage sensitive situations and drive improvements in services.

Compliance

Note for internal candidates:

This is a secondment/fixed term opportunity. Please read the recruitment and selection policy section on secondments. You must discuss your application with your line manager before applying.

To progress your application, you'll need to provide evidence of your right to work in the UK. Without a valid right to work, you won't be eligible for the role. We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. Some roles may also be subject to a satisfactory DBS check.

Next steps

If you apply, you'll need to create a profile and complete an online application form. Your application will be completely anonymous. Please see our information for applicants for more details on the process. We contact every applicant to let them know the outcome of their application, so you will hear from us whether or not you are shortlisted.

You can read the full details of the role in the Job Description

If you'd like an informal chat about the role, please email .

The Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits , including:

- Annual leave starting at 27 days per year, rising to 32.5 days with service, plus bank holidays (usually eight days per year).
- Training and development opportunities.
- Wellbeing initiatives, such as gym discounts and meditation.
- NHS pension scheme, with around 14% employer contribution.
- Discount schemes (including eligibility for a Blue Light card, at a cost of £4.99 and valid for two years), reward vouchers, car leasing and more!

Please see our benefits page on our website for the full list.

Equity for all

We know job descriptions can feel intimidating. Research shows they can cause some people to doubt whether they're a good fit. This happens more often to people from underrepresented groups (e.g. ethnic minority backgrounds). If this role interests you, we encourage you to apply. Your unique perspective, skills, and experience could be exactly what we need.

We want every candidate to feel supported and able to do their best. If you need adjustments to our process, we'll work with you to remove any barriers. Visit our accessibility page for more on this. If you'd like to chat, please contact . Please note, if you have previously informed us of adjustments you need for an interview or within your role, these are not carried over and must be discussed for each individual application you make.

We promote a workplace where fairness, respect and inclusion are a priority. Diverse teams make our work better, help us deliver our mission and make our culture stronger. See our ED&I page for more about this.

We welcome applications from everyone, and colleagues can find support and community among our many employee networks. This includes people of any:

- Age
- Sex
- Gender identity or expression
- Sexual orientation
- Religion or belief
- Ethnicity
- Disability

Values and vision

We are guided by our core values, which shape our work and our culture.

Excellence - being a high-performing organisation.
Caring - treating everyone with dignity and respect.
Integrity - doing the right thing.
Teamwork - learning from each other to be the best we can.

A Note on AI

We know AI tools can be great for research and refining ideas, but we want to learn about you. If you use AI or Chatbots to help you with your application, keep these points in mind:

- AI can support research, structuring and refining your writing, but your application must reflect your real skills and experience.
- Spell-checking and condensing word counts are great ways to use AI effectively.
- Do not copy and paste AI generated answers. These will not help you stand out; remember, we want to hear about your skills and experience.
- Providing false and insincere examples goes against our core values of honesty and integrity and may lead to your application being withdrawn or termination of your employment.