Paralegal - Inquiries & Investigations Team

This advert is for current internal applicants only. External applications will be closed.

Grade D - £30,373 (National) or £36,229 (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.

Contracted Hours: Full time 37 hours per week.

Contract Type: We have 4 opportunities available within the team: 3 permanent positions and 1 secondment opportunity – for 12 months. Candidates will be considered for both permanent and secondment opportunities during the selection process. Applicants must obtain written confirmation from their line manager, granting permission to be released from their current role, before applying for this opportunity.

Location: Home-based.

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 Legal Services that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose, then you've found it! As a Paralegal, within Inquiries and Investigations, you'll help CQC respond to major inquiries and investigations that support safer, better care for people across England.

Picture this: This is an opportunity to be part of work that attracts national attention and helps CQC learn, improve and make a difference. You'll support important inquiries and investigations, working with colleagues across the organisation to help ensure evidence is managed effectively and cases progress smoothly. As a Paralegal, you will get the chance to support CQC's response to several inquiries (such as Lampard, Nottingham, Grooming Gang) helping to gather, organise and manage large volumes of information and evidence. As a Paralegal in Legal Services, you will get to work on complex inquiries and investigations from the earliest stages through to hearings, helping ensure key information is available to support important outcomes.

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

• Manage casework: Support the preparation, progression and administration of inquiry and investigation cases, working closely with lawyers, colleagues across CQC and external partners.
• Review and organise evidence: Gather, review and organise case information, maintain accurate records, and prepare papers and hearing bundles to support legal proceedings.
• Support witnesses and hearings: Provide practical support to colleagues involved in legal proceedings, help prepare witness statements and attend hearings where required.

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

• Experience managing legal cases or investigations, including tracking progress, meeting deadlines and maintaining accurate records.
• Experience gathering, reviewing and interpreting information or evidence, and using guidance, policies or procedures to support decision-making.
• Experience working with legal professionals or supporting legal proceedings, including preparing documents, communicating case information and coordinating activities with a range of stakeholders.

Compliance: As one of these roles is a secondment 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. Your application will be completely anonymous. 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.

You can read the full details of the role in the Job Description. If you’d like an informal chat about the role contact – Lorraine Reed, Public Inquiries Manager; Lorraine.Reed@cqc.org.uk or Ross Clark: Ross.Clark@cqc.org.uk. For general enquiries, please email recruitment@cqc.org.uk.

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.