Experts by Experience Lead

Grade B: £42,044 (National) or £47,900 (London – for London office based or homebased workers within the boundary of the M25) – There is also an additional homeworking allowance of £600 per annum for those working from home. For part time roles – please note this will be pro rata.

Contracted Hours: Full-time 37 hours per week. Contract Type: Permanent. Location: Home-based OR office-based opportunity, flexible location. You can also opt for hybrid working (3 office days and 2 days a week from home). CQC’s offices are in London, Newcastle, Leeds, Nottingham and Bristol.

Closing Date: Monday 29 June 2026 at 11.59pm.

Make a difference. Every role at CQC supports our mission to improve health and care. If you’re looking for a meaningful role in Engagement, this could be the one for you.

As an Experts by Experience Lead, you’ll be part of the Engagement, Insight and Evaluation team. You’ll help shape and deliver a national programme that brings people who use services – and their carers – into the heart of how we work. You’ll also support the supervision of supplier contracts that make this possible and ensure we work in a way that is fair, inclusive and effective.

Picture this. In the last 12 months, as the Experts by Experience Lead, you could have:

• Designed and introduced new ways for people who use services to take part in CQC’s work, helping improve how we listen and respond to real experiences.
• Led the rollout of new engagement methods with suppliers, ensuring the programme continued smoothly during change.
• Developed practical tools and guidance to increase public involvement in inspections and regulatory activity across England.

The role. You’ll play a key role in the organisation by:

• Supporting effective supplier relationship management to ensure day-to-day delivery meets operational needs.
• Monitoring contract performance against KPIs, including financial monitoring and reporting and contract risk log.
• Overseeing the delivery of and participating in contract management meetings.
• Reviewing inspector and ExE feedback to inform service delivery and quality assurance.
• Developing methodologies, policies and guidance relating to the ExE programme.
• Participating in ExE training and co-production/consultation events.
• Developing and improving systems to track ExE co-production activity and outcomes.
• Supporting the planning and delivery of public engagement work across teams.
• Providing advice and guidance on handling queries, concerns and complaints linked to the programme.
• Providing advice and guidance to colleagues at all levels across the commission on engaging effectively with the ExE programme.

Show us. Please demonstrate in your application:

• Experience of managing high value contracts or external suppliers, including monitoring performance and delivery.
• Experience designing or improving systems to track activity, performance and finances.
• Experience working in public engagement, communications or a related field, involving a range of partners or stakeholders.

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.

Next steps. If you apply, you’ll need to create a profile and complete an online application form. Your application will be completely anonymous. 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 contact – Maria Ostoja-Starzewski, Experts by Experience Manager; Maria Ostoja-Starzewski@cqc.org.uk. For general enquiries, please email recruitment@cqc.org.uk.

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. Please note, if you have previously informed us of adjustments you need for 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.

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

A Note on AI. 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.