Strategic Inspector

Location: Flexible (Any Care Inspectorate office)

Contract: Permanent, fixed term (18 months) or secondment (18 months)

Closing date: 08:00 on Monday 9 February 2026

About us

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:

• Person-centred: we put people, empathy, compassion, and kindness at the heart of everything we do
• Respect: we value everyone's dignity and are respectful in everything we do
• Equity: we embrace diversity and nurture an inclusive environment where everyone is supported to achieve equal outcomes
• Integrity: we act impartially, fairly, and consistently, upholding transparency and accountability in all our actions
• 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 the role

As a Strategic Inspector, you will lead and support inspections that evaluate how well local partnerships and services work together to deliver positive outcomes for people across Scotland. You’ll assess strategic planning, leadership, and delivery across sectors such as health, social work, education, and justice with a strong focus on how lived experience informs and shapes care and support. Using national frameworks, data, and evidence, you will produce high-quality public reports that highlight strengths, identify areas for improvement, and support meaningful change. You’ll work closely with senior leaders, the Scottish Government, and national partners to influence improvement, contribute to the development of inspection methodologies, and support both internal and external quality assurance initiatives. This is a key leadership role with significant scope to make a lasting impact on the quality of care and support in Scotland.

About you

Experience - You’ll be a skilled and experienced professional with a strong background in social work, health or education. You’ll bring a track record of leading strategic projects, service delivery, or improvement initiatives at a senior level, with the insight and confidence to evaluate complex systems and make evidence-based decisions. Your leadership experience may come from roles such as service manager, strategic lead, inspector, or advisor, where you’ve worked collaboratively across sectors and driven meaningful change. You will have excellent analytical, communication, and report writing skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels and influence decision-making locally and nationally. You’ll be values-driven, politically astute, and committed to equity, inclusion, and person-centred practice, motivated by the opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives through scrutiny and improvement.

Qualifications and registration - To apply for this role, you must hold a professional qualification at SCQF Level 9 or above that enables registration with a recognised 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 Secondary Authorised Officer status under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010. This means it must be directly relevant to social work, health, education, or a related 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, to comply with their Secondary Authorised Officer registration category, you’ll need a relevant practice qualification and be required to complete the European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM), Accredited assessor or Assessor training certificate within 3 years of appointment. New employees start at the minimum salary for the grade. However, we offer a generous benefits package.

Next steps

If you believe that your skills, experience and motivation make you a suitable candidate for this post, please complete our online application form by 08:00 on Monday 9 February 2026. We anticipate holding interviews during the week commencing 2 March 2026 at our Dundee office.