Subject Matter Expert – National Operations and Non-rated Services Inspection Teams

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

Grade A - £55,172 (National) or £61,028 (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: 12-months fixed-term or secondment opportunity

Location: Homebased with Travel. Internal applicants must obtain written confirmation from their line manager, granting permission to be released from their current role, before applying for this opportunity.

Interview Dates: w/c 31 August 2026 and w/c 7 September 2026

Closing date: Monday 17 August 2026 at 11.59pm

Make a difference

Every role at CQC contributes to our mission. If you’re looking for a new role in Rebuilding our Regulatory Services that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose, then you’ve found it! As a Subject Matter Expert – National Operations and Non-rated Services Inspection Teams, you’ll help shape the future of how CQC regulates services by ensuring the needs of non-rated services and National Operations teams are built into new ways of working, systems and processes.

You’ll play a key role in one of CQC’s largest transformation programmes, helping to design services that work for colleagues and support effective regulation. Working alongside operational teams, digital specialists and programme colleagues, you’ll turn frontline experience into practical improvements that benefit people across the organisation.

Picture this

In the last 12 months, as a Subject Matter Expert – National Operations and Non-rated Services Inspection Teams you could have:

• Gathered insight and prioritised requirements from National Operations and Non-rated Services Inspection Teams, working closely with digital designers to help shape future services, business processes and technology solutions as part of Rebuilding our Regulatory Services.
• Supported testing, piloting and implementation activities, helping to ensure new assessment services and systems worked effectively for colleagues across CQC before being rolled out more widely.

The role

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

• Represent operational needs: Work with National Operations and non-rated services inspection teams to identify requirements, share insight and ensure operational priorities are reflected in service and system design.
• Support change and improvement: Help develop guidance, training and implementation plans that support colleagues to adopt new processes and contribute to lasting improvements across CQC.
• Build collaboration and assurance: Work with programme teams, stakeholders and other subject matter experts to monitor progress, provide assurance and promote the benefits of new services and ways of working.

Show us

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

• Experience working within National Operations, inspection services or a similar operational environment, with a strong understanding of service delivery and operational processes.
• Experience contributing to service improvement or change initiatives, including gathering requirements, identifying opportunities for improvement and helping to implement new ways of working.
• Experience working with a range of stakeholders to influence decisions, manage differing viewpoints and translate policy or operational requirements into practical guidance and solutions.

Compliance

Note for internal candidates: This is a secondment/fixed term opportunity. You must discuss your application with your line manager before applying. Some roles may also be subject to a satisfactory DBS check.

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.

You can read the full details of the role in the Job Description. If you’d like to have an informal chat about the role you can contact Jane Cummings, Deputy Director for Rebuilding our Regulatory Services at Jane.Cummings@cqc.org.uk. For general enquiries, please email recruitment@cqc.org.uk.

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.

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.