Subject Matter Expert: Registration Operations

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.

Contracted Hours: Full time 37 hours per week

Contract Type: Fixed term or secondment opportunity until 31st December 2026

Location: Homebased - with travel

Closing date: Tuesday 4th August 2026 at 11.59pm

This 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.

Make a difference

Every role at CQC contributes to our mission. If you're looking for a role that offers real purpose and the opportunity to improve health and social care services, you've found it. As a Subject Matter Expert (Registration Operations) you'll help shape and improve how we deliver registration across England. Working within the Registration Re-Build Programme, you'll use your operational expertise to support consistent, high-quality decision making and help create a more effective registration service for providers and the public.

Picture this

In the last 12 months, as the Subject Matter Expert (Registration Operations), you could have:

• Led improvements to registration processes that helped teams make quicker, more consistent decisions.
• Supported the development of new operational approaches as part of CQC's registration re-build programme.
• Worked with colleagues across Registration to identify challenges, improve ways of working and embed evidence-based decision making.

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

• Providing expert operational advice to support registration activity and service improvements.
• Ensuring registration decisions are consistent, evidence-based and aligned with relevant guidance and legislation.
• Leading, coaching and developing colleagues to build capability and confidence.
• Working with stakeholders across CQC to support the successful delivery of the registration re-build programme.

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

• Experience of working within the Registration operations function.
• Experience working within a regulatory, healthcare, social care or similarly complex operational environment.
• Experience applying legislation, policy, guidance or decision-making frameworks to support consistent and high-quality outcomes.
• Experience carrying out quality assurance activities and identifying opportunities for process improvement.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex information and make evidence-based recommendations.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with experience working collaboratively across teams and functions.
• A commitment to continuous improvement and delivering high-quality services for the public.

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

Compliance Note for internal candidates: This is a secondment/fixed term opportunity. Please read the recruitment and selection policy section on secondments. You must discuss your application with your line manager before applying. 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. 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. 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 – Debbie Cave, Registration Manager; debbie.cave@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. See our ED&I page for more about this.

We welcome applications from everyone, and colleagues can find support and community among our many employee networks. This includes people of any: Age, Sex, Gender identity or expression, Sexual orientation, Religion or belief, Ethnicity, Disability.

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.