Deputy Director – Primary Care and Community Services, South Region (London)

Contracted Hours: Full time 37 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Location: Homebased, with travel as required

Closing Date: Wednesday 10 June 2026 at 11:59pm

Interviews: will be held in July 2026 face to face in our London Office (date tbc)

We have the following opportunity available within the South Region - London. Appointments will be made considering travel time and costs, and the impact on colleague wellbeing. Efficient deployment should balance operational needs with financial prudence and colleague wellbeing.

Make a difference Every role at CQC contributes to our mission. If you’re looking for a new role in Operations - Primary Care and Community Services, that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose, then you’ve found it! As a Deputy Director, you’ll help shape the future of primary care and community services by driving improvement and ensuring people receive safe, effective and compassionate care.

Picture this Imagine leading a team that makes a real difference every day - where your decisions influence care standards for thousands of people. As a Deputy Director in the Primary Care and Community Services inspectorate, you could be:

• Leading a strategic programme to improve access and quality in GP practices, urgent care centres and community services working with providers to deliver measurable change.
• Responding to emerging risks by guiding regulatory decisions that protect people and uphold CQC standards.

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

• Lead and inspire teams: Build high-performing, inclusive teams that deliver regulatory priorities and drive improvement in primary and community care.
• Shape sector strategy: Use your expertise to influence policy and operational approaches, ensuring better outcomes for people and communities.
• Manage regulatory activity: Oversee complex decisions and enforcement actions, ensuring risks are managed and standards upheld.

Show us We’ll be looking for the following specific skills, knowledge and experience in your application form:

• Proven leadership experience: Leading diverse teams and driving change effectively in complex, fast-moving environments.
• Regulatory and sector expertise: Strong understanding of primary care and community services regulation, policy, and operational delivery, with experience applying this knowledge to influence outcomes.
• Stakeholder engagement: Proven ability to build partnerships and influence at senior levels to deliver improvement and innovation.

Bring your expertise to a role in CQC that really makes a difference.

How to apply To apply for this role, please submit a copy of your CV and Supporting Statement (no more than 750-words) via the Recruitment System. Your Supporting Statement should cover the following: “Please outline your suitability for the role detailing your knowledge and experience within your area of specialism. Please also tell us about your leadership experience in managing diverse teams and driving change in complex environments and provide examples of how you have successfully engaged stakeholders at senior levels to deliver improvement and innovation to ensure people using services receive improved care”.

If you would like to join an informal group session to hear more about the role, please email Terezia.Novosel@cqc.org.uk. The session will be held on Wednesday 3rd June at 12-12:30pm.

For general enquiries, please email recruitment@cqc.org.uk

Next steps If you apply, you’ll need to create a profile and complete an online application form. We contact every applicant to let them know the outcome of their application, so you will hear from us whether you are shortlisted or not.

Compliance To progress your application, you’ll need to provide evidence of your right to work in the UK. Without 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.

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 8 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 2 years), reward vouchers, car leasing and more!

Please see our benefits page 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 recruitment@cqc.org.uk.

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.

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.

We are a disability confident employer and a carer confident employer.