Specialist Advisor - Independent Healthcare

Specialist Advisor Rate – £300 payable to the individual or to a seconding organisation.
Contracted Hours: Ad-Hoc – As and when required.
Closing date: Monday 27th October 2025 at 11.59pm

All SpAs are required to be substantively employed in active professional practice at a trust or provider, in a role aligned to the scope and specialisms of their work with CQC. If this role is within a clinical setting, it needs to include regular, clinical interactions with patients or service users on a monthly basis. For non-clinical professions, this should include direct work or direct line management of work with service users.

Are you committed to helping us regulate health and social care within England?
When thinking about what drives you every day in your job, what keeps you motivated and passionate about your work? For 3000+ people at the CQC we end each day knowing that we have made a difference to the lives of those most in need in our communities.

Why this could be a great role for you…
The CQC’s approach to inspection is reliant on the inclusion of Specialist Advisors in each inspection team. Specialist Advisors provide specialist advice and knowledge and support the CQC’s regulatory inspection and investigation activity.

This role is ad-hoc and can be undertaken alongside your current role via an inward secondment agreement. Many employers encourage Specialist Advisors to carry out work for CQC using study leave or professional leave as it is a valuable tool for service improvement and supporting personal professional development.

What we\’re looking for from you…
We welcome those who are deeply passionate about quality in healthcare services and wish to seek to make a lasting contribution to improving the experiences of service users and families in the delivery of effective regulation, credible inspections and tangible quality improvements.

Here at the Care Quality Commission we are seeking to recruit and strengthen our team of Specialist Advisors with expertise in acute Independent Healthcare. To be considered for this role you must be from one of the following areas:

• Surgical ward senior nurse or manager
• Outpatient senior nurse or manager with a speciality (such as for ophthalmology)
• High dependency nurses (for surgical specialities)
• Allied Health Professionals including physiotherapists and radiographers
• Theatre senior practitioners and nurse manager
• Endoscopy nurse specialist
• Cancer services nurse, manager or doctor
• Cosmetic surgery nurse, manager or surgeon
• Independent health governance manager or lead
• Medical Director, acute Independent health hospital or clinic

You will have up-to-date and credible clinical and professional knowledge and experience which will help you evaluate and analyse evidence and information. You should be a skilled communicator, with the ability to engage with staff, service users and stakeholders at every level.

Key responsibilities:

• Provide timely, robust and objective specialist advice to CQC staff, either through verbal or written communication.
• Accompany CQC representatives on inspection and investigation activity to identified provider organisations and provide relevant advice and input to your specialist area in order to support appropriate judgements to be made.
• Observe the highest standards of impartiality, integrity and objectivity in relation to advice and activities that are undertaken on CQC’s behalf.
• Adopt an approach of openness and transparency in all business activities and the provision of advice undertaken on CQC’s behalf.
• Ensure all work carried out is within the scope of that required and relevant CQC policies/guidance are adhered to.
• Maintain the confidentiality of information that is accessed in the course of work undertaken for CQC.

Essential criteria:

• Proven experience in your specialist area – see above.
• Strong understanding of the health and/or social care sector.
• Highly-developed influencing, analytical and communication skills.
• A track record of working successfully with senior teams in large organisation\’s.
• Have up to date skills, knowledge and experience in area of specialism.
• Hold current registration with appropriate professional body.
• Reside in England and be able to evidence employment within an organisation currently regulated by CQC.