National Professional Advisor – Maternity and Perinatal

Specialist Advisor Rate - Aligned to Professional Experience (please note for part-time roles – this will be pro rata)

Contracted Hours: Part-time 2 days per week (equivalent 0.4 FTE)

Contract Type: Secondment Opportunity for up to 24 months

Location: Homebased with travel as and when required

Closing date: Wednesday 30 September 2026 at 11.59pm

Interview date: Wed 28 & Thu 29 October 2026 via MS Teams

Make a difference. Every role at CQC contributes to our mission. If you're looking for a new role in the Hospitals, Secondary & Specialist Care Inspectorate that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose, then you've found it!

As a National Professional Advisor (Maternity and Perinatal Services), you'll bring senior obstetric expertise that guides national oversight of maternity and perinatal care and shapes our future direction in regulating these services.

In this role, you'll use your maternity and perinatal expertise to guide how services are assessed, giving expert advice to CQC staff that protects people and supports safe care. You'll work with leaders across CQC to help shape new ways of regulating maternity and perinatal services.

As a National Professional Advisor in the Hospitals, Secondary & Specialist Care Inspectorate, you will be asked to:

• Advise on complex regulatory cases where obstetric insight is needed to support fair and consistent decision making.
• Help shape new inspection models for maternity and perinatal services, making sure they reflect current clinical practice and the experiences of people using services.
• Support the recruitment and development of Specialist Professional Advisors and help implement national improvement recommendations for maternity and neonatal services.

The role: You'll be key in helping us deliver our work. In this role, you'll:

• Provide specialist clinical insight: Offer senior level obstetric advice to inspection teams, directors and the Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Secondary & Specialist Care to support strong, consistent and credible regulatory decisions.
• Shape national practice: Review new clinical guidance, emerging maternity and neonatal standards, and policy developments, helping CQC design future inspection and regulatory approaches that reflect current professional practice and the needs of service users.
• Strengthen external credibility: Build trusted relationships with senior maternity, perinatal and neonatal stakeholders and professional bodies, helping CQC stay connected to frontline expertise and maintain confidence in our regulation of services.

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

• Experience leading or advising at a regional, national or equivalent level within maternity, perinatal, neonatal or wider hospital services, including shaping practice, service improvement or high-level decision making.
• Ability to provide clear, expert advice on complex clinical matters, including interpreting emerging guidance, assessing risk and supporting regulatory or inspection decisions.
• Experience working with senior professional stakeholders, such as national maternity, neonatal or obstetric bodies, using an inclusive approach to influence practice, build confidence and support improvement.

Join us and help CQC shape the future of health and care!

You can read the full details of the role in the Job Description.

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:

• How your previous experience makes you suitable for this role?
• What strengths will you bring to the role?

If you’d like to have an informal chat about the role you can contact – Roger James, Director of Hospitals: Roger.James@cqc.org.uk

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

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.

Note for internal candidates: This is a secondment/fixed term opportunity. Please read the recruitment and selection policy section on secondments. You must discuss your application with your line manager before applying.

Next steps: If you apply, you’ll need to create a profile and complete an online application form. Please see our information for applicants for more details on the process. 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.

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. 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.