Senior Researcher

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

Contracted Hours: Full time 37 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Closing date: Wednesday 29 July 2026 at 11.59pm

Make a difference. Every role at CQC helps us protect and improve health and care. If you’re looking for a role in the Analytic Content Directorate that offers real purpose, you’ve found it. As a Senior Researcher in the Research team, you’ll lead and deliver primary research that helps us understand people’s experiences of care and supports better services across the NHS.

Picture this. In the last 12 months, as a Senior Researcher, you could have:

• Led a large national patient experience survey, shaping how millions of people’s feedback is gathered and used to improve care.
• Designed a new survey approach to meet changing needs, improving how insights are used by providers and the public.
• Worked with research partners and stakeholders to solve complex data challenges and deliver clear, actionable insights that influence decisions.

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

• Planning and delivering high-quality primary research, from setting scope to analysing and sharing results.
• Turning data into clear insights and reports that support decisions across CQC and partner organisations.
• Working with colleagues and external partners to deliver projects and maintain strong, effective relationships.
• Managing research projects to ensure they are delivered on time and to a high standard.
• Supporting a strong data culture by improving methods, sharing best practice, and helping others develop their skills.

Show us what we’re looking for in your application:

• Deliver research projects: Evidence of leading or delivering end-to-end research or surveys, including design, data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Use data to inform decisions: Experience analysing data using statistical tools and presenting clear insights to support decision making.
• Lead and work with others: Examples of guiding colleagues or working with stakeholders to deliver research outcomes and manage projects effectively.

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

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.

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, reward vouchers, car leasing and more!

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.

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.

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.