Lawyer - Inquiries and Investigations Team in London

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. The role also includes a £3,000 recruitment and retention allowance per annum.

Contracted Hours: Full time 37 hours per week

Contract Type: 12 Month Fixed Term or Secondment Opportunity – to cover maternity leave. Internal applicants must obtain written confirmation from their line manager, granting permission to be released from their current role, before applying for this opportunity. Although this role is offered as a fixed term contract to backfill maternity we are also currently rebuilding our organisation and reviewing our structures and ways of working across several areas of the business, including Legal Services. We would encourage applicants to carefully consider the contract duration as advertised.

Location: Home or office based. CQC’s offices are in London, Newcastle, Leeds and Bristol. Hybrid working also available (working 2 days a week from home).

Closing date: Sunday 27 September 2026 at 11.59pm

Make a difference: Every role at CQC contributes to our mission. If you're looking for a new role in Inquiries and Investigations, Legal Services that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose, then you've found it. As a Lawyer, Inquiries and Investigations, you'll help ensure CQC responds effectively to public inquiries, reviews and investigations, supporting better outcomes across health and social care.

Picture this: Imagine using your legal expertise to help CQC respond to high-profile inquiries and investigations, ensuring important lessons are identified and acted upon. You'll work with colleagues across the organisation to manage legal risks and offer legal insight to support decisions that make a real difference to people using health and care services.

As a Lawyer in Legal Services, you might:

• Get the chance to work on CQC's response to a major public inquiry or independent investigation, helping identify legal risks and supporting complex casework that informs organisational learning.
• Contribute to the development of new legal approaches or policy solutions that help CQC respond effectively to emerging issues across health and social care regulation.

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

• Provide clear legal advice: Deliver accurate and practical, solutions-focused legal advice across CQC, helping colleagues make informed decisions and manage legal risk.
• Support inquiries and investigations: Work closely with inquiry and investigation teams to provide legal guidance on reviews, investigations, contentious matters and related activities.
• Develop people and relationships: Support and coach legal colleagues where needed, build effective working relationships across CQC and help increase legal awareness through training and guidance.

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

• Qualified legal professional: You are a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive eligible to practise in England and Wales, with relevant post‑qualification experience or substantial pre‑qualification experience in a regulatory or health and social care setting.
• Experience managing a varied legal caseload, assessing risks, advising on complex legal matters and prioritising work in a fast-paced setting.
• Experience explaining complex legal issues in clear, accessible language and providing advice, presentations or guidance to a range of stakeholders.

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 23.7% 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.

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. We welcome applications from everyone, and colleagues can find support and community among our many employee networks.

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.