Inspector (Children and Young People)

Salary: £46,569 – £54,975 plus excellent benefits

Location: mainland Scotland, with a focus on the central belt

Closing date: 08:00 on Monday 27 October 2025

Job profile and person specification

Help shape the future for children and young people in Scotland

At the Care Inspectorate, we believe that everyone has the right to high-quality care that supports their choices, respects their rights, and meets their needs. That’s why our inspectors play such an essential role: working directly with care providers, people experiencing care, and partner organisations to drive up standards, support improvement, and ensure that care is consistently safe, effective, compassionate, and person-centred.

We are currently recruiting for experienced professionals to join our children and young people team as inspectors, to fill vacancies in line with our future inspection plans. In addition, we are looking to build our talent pool so we can respond more flexibly to future workforce needs and continue to deliver high-quality scrutiny and improvement support across Scotland.

Join us in shaping a more inclusive and equitable care system. If you’re driven to make a difference, we want to hear from you.

What the role involves

As an inspector in our children and young people team, you’ll play a vital role in supporting better experiences and outcomes for children and young people across Scotland. You’ll plan and carry out scrutiny and assurance activities in registered care services, working closely with providers, managers, staff, and, most importantly, children and young people who experience care.

Your work will involve inspecting services, evaluating quality, providing feedback, and supporting improvement. You’ll assess services against the Health and Social Care Standards, highlight good practice, and, where necessary, take regulatory action.

You’ll also contribute to internal learning, support national projects, and collaborate with other scrutiny bodies and the Scottish Government to help deliver the best possible impact for children and young people.

We are proud to be a Corporate Parent and are committed to delivering on Scotland’s Promise to care-experienced children and young people. You’ll play a key role in helping ensure services create the conditions where children feel loved, safe, and respected, and are supported to thrive. Listening to children and young people is central to how we work, their voices shape what we focus on and how we support improvement.

Lauren, inspector, said: “If you’re passionate about the care young people receive and enjoy working alongside professionals to help improvement, then this is the job for you”.

Watch Lauren’s story about what it’s like to be an inspector here.

What you’ll bring

You’ll have recent experience of supporting the delivery of high-quality care for children and young people, along with a strong understanding of current developments and the challenges facing the sector. You will bring insight, compassion, and a deep commitment to making a difference in the lives of looked-after children and young people.

You will have leadership experience from roles such as registered care service manager, deputy manager, social worker, senior social worker, or social work manager. This could be through formal management, senior practitioner experience or leading key projects or strategic developments. We are particularly interested in those with backgrounds in residential care, housing support, throughcare or aftercare services.

You’ll be confident in assessment, critical analysis, and evidence-based decision-making, with the ability to communicate clearly and professionally, both in writing and in conversation. You’ll also bring a strong value base rooted in listening to children and young people and acting on what matters to them.

Please note, these posts are not aimed at applicants with an early learning and childcare only background. If your experience is primarily in early learning and childcare, we encourage you to apply for future vacancies aligned with that specialism.

Qualifications and registration

To apply for this role, you must hold a relevant qualification at SCQF Level 9 or above that enables registration with a recognised professional regulatory body such as the Scottish Social Services Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council, General Teaching Council for Scotland, or Health and Care Professions Council. In addition, your qualification must meet the requirements for Primary Authorised Officer status under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010. This means it must be directly relevant to social services, social work, health, education, or a related care discipline. If you are unsure whether your qualification meets this requirement, we encourage you to contact us before applying.

If you are registering through the Scottish Social Services Council, you will also be required to hold or work towards a relevant practice qualification and complete the Professional Development Award in Scrutiny and Improvement Practice within five years of appointment. 

What we offer

The starting salary for this role is fixed at the grade minimum, £46,569 for all new entrants in line with our pay policy. This is not subject to negotiation.

We offer a comprehensive total rewards package, including flexible and hybrid working, generous leave, and a defined benefit pension. Discover the full range of benefits in our total rewards package.

Due to the nature of the role, you must be willing to travel, with some inspections requiring overnight stays. Travel and accommodation costs are covered in line with our expenses policy.

Joining us will allow you to play an important and exciting role in helping deliver on Scotland’s Promise to children and young people.

How to apply

To find out more about working at the Care Inspectorate, our recruitment process and our talent pool, please visit our work with us section of the website.

For any further information, please contact our Inspector Recruitment mailbox and we will be happy to help with your query. Please do not call our general phone number or contact centre, as they are intended for general care enquiries and complaints.

Please click here to apply.

The Care Inspectorate is committed to recruiting, retaining, and developing a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. It is vital that we monitor and analyse diversity information to improve how we meet the needs of our applicants and staff. We encourage you to complete the equalities monitoring form at the end of the application process.

The closing date is 08:00 on Monday 27 October 2025.

We anticipate the assessment process will commence from 24 November 2025.

Successful candidates may be offered a post immediately, and we anticipate a start date prior to 26 March 2026 (based on specialism and location) or placed in our talent pool for future vacancies. Please visit how we recruit inspectors page for more information on our talent pool, additional information for registration and the process.