Primary and Community Care Services Inspector - North Network

Grade B - £42,044 (National Framework) or £47,900 (London Framework - if you are London office based or homebased and live 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: Permanent

Closing date: Thursday 19th February 2026 at 11.59pm

We’re currently accepting applications from candidates based in the following areas: West Yorkshire and Lancashire and South Cumbria. If you live outside these areas, we’re unable to progress your application on this occasion. Please note you may be required to undertake Inspection work outside of regular working hours.

Every role at CQC contributes to our mission. If you’re looking for a new role in Operations – Primary Care and Community Services (PCCS) that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose, then you’ve found it! As an Inspector, you help protect people across the North Network by assessing the quality and safety of local primary care and community services, making sure they deliver safe and effective care.

You’ll work closely with others to deliver shared outcomes. In this role, you’ll:

• Lead assessments of primary care, independent health and community health services: Plan and carry out on-site and off-site assessments, review a wide range of information leading a team on site and off.
• Take enforcement action: Take appropriate enforcement action where safety and quality concerns are identified.
• Build strong partnerships across the North Network: Work with providers, commissioners, service users and colleagues to share insight, understand risks, and support improvement in local systems.
• Use evidence to guide clear decisions: Analyse information, keep accurate digital records, and write accessible reports that reflect the real quality and safety of services in primary and community care.

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

• Experience assessing quality or safety in health care settings, ideally within primary care or community health services.
• A clear understanding of health inequalities and how systems work to address these.
• Experience using evidence to make clear, risk-based decisions, including reviewing information from multiple sources, identifying concerns, and explaining your findings in writing in a concise, clear, and structured way.
• Experience working with varied stakeholders to improve outcomes, such as working with providers, partners or people who use services, and managing sensitive conversations with empathy and professionalism.

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. Please note this role is subject to a satisfactory DBS check.

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. Please note that we may not have immediate vacancies within the Network area for all successful candidates. If you are successful following interview and there is not an immediate vacancy in your Network area, we will seek your permission to contact you if a suitable position arises.

Once your application has been reviewed you will be notified of the outcome via email. Shortlisted Candidates will go through a two-stage assessment process for this role:

• Written Exercise - online via email.
• Formal Interview - via MS Teams.

If you are successful in the written exercise, you will be invited to attend a virtual interview via MS Teams.

Inspectors are required to regularly travel within the patch you work in and may occasionally be asked to travel across the North network or further for national meetings.

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!

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 your 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.

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.