Our customer service
The strategy and the associated internal and external customer service standards show how we will embed a customer focus across all of our work, including redesigning the way we engage with people and how we build internal and external relationships. The aims of the strategy are to ensure an inclusive approach to providing quality services to our customers and colleagues.
Internal Customer Service Standards
External Customer Service Standards
Our Executive Team
Our Executive Team is responsible for the management and strategic leadership of the Care Inspectorate.
Jackie Irvine, Chief Executive
Jackie was appointed as the Chief Executive at the Care Inspectorate in September 2022.
Jackie qualified in Scotland in 1989 before starting her career in London, moving back to Scotland in 1991. Jackie has over 30 years’ experience of working in the public sector and has also managed community health services for children.
Jackie has been a Chief Social Work Officer for over 10 years prior to joining the Care Inspectorate. Her previous two roles have been Senior Leadership roles within Health and Social Care Partnerships, most recently as Service Director, Children and Families and Justice Services within the City of Edinburgh Council.
As Chief Social Work Officer Jackie had overall governance responsibility for the quality and provision of social work services both within the Council structure and within a fully integrated Health and Social Care Partnership as well as an adult’s only partnership. In these roles she has provided professional advice as it relates to the provision of social work services across all care groups.
Jackie’s previous positions were predominantly in children’s services but not exclusively, as she has had strategic and management responsibility for community justice, community-based health services, hospital-based social work, homelessness and refugee and migration services. Jackie spent two years as an Inspector in Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in the Child Protection team and was an advisor for the Scottish Executive on a part time basis for four years. Jackie also has extensive experience working in key strategic planning and performance roles.
Jackie was appointed as Vice President of Social Work Scotland in 2017 and then as President in 2018 and has served on the Social Work Scotland Board. Jackie currently sits on the Knowledge Exchange Advisory Board based in London.
Edith Macintosh, Executive Director of Assurance and Improvement (adults’ regulated care, complaints, registration, and quality improvement)
Edith was appointed as Executive Director for Strategy and Improvement in 2020 after being in the interim role since 2018. She is now the Executive Director of Assurance and Improvement with responsibility for adults’ regulated care, complaints, registration, and quality improvement.
Edith qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1983 and worked across health and social care holding a variety of roles across Scotland predominantly in the NHS and latterly was service manager for Occupational Therapy services in the NHS in Perth and Kinross until 2009. From there she joined the Care Inspectorate (then Care Commission) in September 2009 as the Rehabilitation Consultant and provided leadership and improvement expertise for several national initiatives and publications to support providers and partnerships to improve health and wellbeing in the social care sector.
Edith became Head of Improvement Support in January 2017 and had strategic oversight for developing and strengthening the Care Inspectorate’s improvement support role across Scotland supported by a team of improvement advisors. She designed the Care About Physical Activity improvement programme and was the programme lead. Edith’s great passion is to inspire people and services to improve, realise their full potential and to make a positive difference to the lives of others.
Follow Edith on X @EAMacahp
Kevin Mitchell, Executive Director of Assurance and Improvement (children’s regulated care and strategic scrutiny)
Kevin was appointed Executive Director of the Care Inspectorate’s Scrutiny and Assurance Directorate in February 2016 and led the directorate’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2024, he became Executive Director of Assurance and Improvement with responsibility for children’s regulated care, early learning and childcare, and strategic scrutiny.
Kevin joined the Care Inspectorate in 2011 from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) having been involved in the programme of joint inspections of child protection from 2005. He was appointed Head of Analysis and Business Planning at the Care Inspectorate in March 2013 and Acting Deputy Director of Inspection (Children's Services & Criminal Justice) in January 2015.
Kevin was previously a senior detective officer in Lothian and Borders police and graduated MSc in Advanced Practice Child Protection from Edinburgh Napier University in June 2014.
Follow Kevin on X @CIKevinMitchell
Jacqueline Mackenzie, Executive Director of Corporate Services
Jacqueline was appointed as Executive Director for Corporate and Customer Services in November 2020. She is responsible for customer and business support, estates, health and safety, finance and corporate governance, HR, legal, organisational and workforce development and procurement.
Jacqueline has a BA in Accountancy and Business Law from the University of Stirling and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland with extensive experience of leadership and strategic management having held a variety of roles in both the public and private sectors.
She has excellent experience in financial and resource management, change management and team building. Jacqueline is skilled at understanding complex organisations and providing the leadership and influencing skills to motivate staff across functions and disciplines to work together to achieve the strategic goals.
Gordon Mackie, Executive Director of Digital and Data
Gordon was appointed as Executive Director of IT and Digital Transformation in July 2021 after acting in the role as interim from April 2020. In 2025, he became the Executive Director for Digital and Data and is leading the organisation’s stage 2 digital transformation.
He is an IT and transformation leader with a wealth of experience and a sustained record of success across diverse sectors both in the public and commercial environments.
Gordon boasts a wealth of exposure within aligning technology to business strategies; leading specialist teams and delivering complex, full-cycle business change, transition and transformation projects. Adept at building and maintaining key relationships at all levels, including clients, stakeholders and suppliers; effectively translating requirements and overseeing all issues through to completion. Well versed in managing the end-to-end delivery of complex projects across conflicting programmes and proven ability to drive businesses forward. Experienced in engaging and communicating with relevant internal and external stakeholders, inclusive of C-Level management in all programmes of work. Both a team player and an independent thinker, with valuable problem solving and decision-making skills and the ability to coordinate with senior leaders to ensure needs are identified and fully addressed.
Our jobs
We are hiring for the below vacancies:
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Service Manager (Early Learning and Childcare) (closes 08:00 on Monday 4 August 2025)
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Corporate Support Officer (closes 08:00 on Monday 11 August 2025)
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Our recruitment process
How we recruit
How we recruit inspectors
Our staff
Our workforce is highly skilled and experienced in all aspects of social care. Over 600 staff work across Scotland, inspecting thousands of services.
Our inspectors work in specialist national teams that allow best practice to be shared across the country. We also want to make sure that the people inspecting care services have frontline experience in the same sector.
We believe that people in Scotland should experience a better quality of life as a result of accessible, excellent services that are designed and delivered to reflect their individual needs and promote their rights.
Our values are:
1. Person-centered: we put people, empathy, compassion, and kindness at the heart of everything we do
2. Respect: we value everyone's dignity and are respectful in everything we do
3. Equity: we embrace diversity and nurture an inclusive environment where everyone is supported to achieve equal outcomes
4. Integrity: we act impartially, fairly, and consistently, upholding transparency and accountability in all our actions
5. Impact: we focus on making a positive impact for everyone experiencing care in Scotland whilst ensuring our work delivers the best value to the public
Our offices are based throughout the country. Find an office near you.
It is important to remember that all Care Inspectorate staff carry identification and you should ask to see this. If you are not sure of the person who has called or visited you, you should call us on 0345 600 9527 to confirm their identity.
Payroll and Workforce Information Assistant
Job title: Payroll and Workforce Information Assistant
Salary: £30,495 – £32,052
Hours: 35 hours per week
Location: Flexible (Any Care Inspectorate office)
Contract: Permanent
About us
We are the national regulator and scrutiny body responsible for providing assurance and protection for people who experience care services, their families, carers and the wider public, as well as supporting delivery partners to improve the quality of care for people in Scotland. Our vision is that people across Scotland experience high quality care that meets their needs, rights and choices.
We are a scrutiny body that supports improvement. We inspect individual care services and we also work with other scrutiny bodies to inspect the social care and social work services people are experiencing in their local areas.
Our desire is to achieve an effective and balanced way of working, that enables us to meet organisational needs and achieve a work-life balance that promotes wellbeing and collaboration opportunities. Our hybrid working policy gives you the flexibility to mix working from home with attendance at your base office and other work locations, spending no more than 60% of your working time working from home, measured over a 4-week period.
Starting salary
Please bear in mind that new entrants start on the grade minimum for the role. However, we have a generous benefits package which you will find on our website.
About the role
We have a permanent vacancy for a payroll and workforce information assistant to join our busy payroll team.
In this role you will support the provision of workforce information and payroll services at the Care Inspectorate and Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).
You will maintain staff records, coordinate monthly payroll and pension activity and assist with the design and development of Payroll systems and procedures. You will be the first point of contact for a range of payroll queries.
You will already have significant experience using Microsoft Excel and will have a good head for numbers to run regular reports, analyse data and present in a logical format.
This role would suit somebody with an interest in payroll, accounting, data analysis or ICT.
About you
You will be educated to SCQF Level 6 or have the equivalent skills and experience for this role.
Working in a busy team you will be able to prioritise and manage your workload under guidance and also independently. You will have experience in a customer facing role and have excellent customer service. You will have knowledge and experience with basic payroll functions typical employment related payments and deductions (e.g. salaries, pensions taxes and statutory payments such as maternity pay) and basic knowledge of accounting procedures. You will be confident in the applications associated with the Microsoft office suite which include Microsoft office 365, Excel and Outlook. You will demonstrate the ability to produce work of a consistently high standard, with a strong focus on accuracy and attention to detail.
Next steps
You’ll find more information in the job profile and person specification.
If you would like more information or an informal chat about the role please contact Victoria Barter at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If you believe that your skills, experience and motivation make you a suitable candidate for this post, please complete the online application form and equal opportunities form by 08:00 on Monday 16 December 2024. CVs will not be accepted.
It is anticipated that interviews will be held on/no sooner than week of 13 January 2025 at our Dundee office.
Person specification
Attributes |
Essential |
Desirable |
Experience |
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Experience of collaborative/ partnership working.
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Education, qualifications and training |
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3 Higher Grades or equivalent. HNC or equivalent. |
Skills and knowledge |
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Understanding of project management
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Key performance outcomes |
Essential |
Desirable |
Leading others |
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Demonstrates experience of delivering change and improvement at an operational level. |
Management of resources |
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Effective communication |
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Good public speaking skills with ability to represent the Care Inspectorate at conferences, events.
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Impact and influence |
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Ability to take account of wider political and organisational sensitivities to deliver strategic objectives. |
Objective decision making |
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Person specification
Job title: Planning Coordintor
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Attributes |
Essential |
Desireable
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Experience
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Experience of collaborative/ partnership working.
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Education, qualifications and training |
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Skills and knowledge |
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Understanding of project management.
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Key performance outcomes |
Essential |
Desirable |
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Planning and organising |
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Management of resources |
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Impact and influence |
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Ability to take account of wider political and organisational sensitivities to deliver strategic objectives. |
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Objective decision making |
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Effective communication |
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Please note – these are key performance outcomes to be used to recruit into the role. Successful applicants will be assessed against all the performance indicators used in the Performance Development Review System once established in the role.
Subcategories
Inspector - Early Learning and Childcare (ELC)
The early learning and childcare expansion…
Role: Inspector - Early Learning and Childcare (ELC)
Location: Forth Valley, Borders, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh & Glasgow
Salary: £31,083 - £39,069 plus excellent benefits
Hours: 140 hours to be worked over a 4-week period
Contract: Permanent or 2-year secondment (would be considered)
Join us and make a difference – for you, for everyone
It’s our job to ensure care for everyone, everywhere in Scotland is as good as it can be. If you are as passionate about high-quality care as we are, and you’re experienced in your field, we’d love to hear from you.
About us
As a national scrutiny body that supports improvement. We inspect care services and partnerships across Scotland, report on the quality of care people experience, and support improvements in services to facilitate improvements in outcomes for people.
We inspect care services individually. We also work with other scrutiny bodies to inspect the social care and social work services people are experiencing in local areas.
We champion high-quality care whenever we encounter it across the thousands of inspections, we carry out each year, and we work closely with all care providers to support them to improve all the time. We collaborate with other organisations too, supporting improvement across public services. Our work plays a big role in reducing health and social inequalities between people and communities.
We are looking for talented people to join us in making a difference - specialists who understand how to put people’s needs, rights and choices at the heart of delivering social services – and how to lead improvement too. Our 600 staff work with services across the public, voluntary and private sectors. We have offices across Scotland and many of our staff work from home.
About you
Whether early or established in your career, you will share our determination that care, social work and justice services should work well for people – every time. You’ll be confident about what good-quality care looks like and how to deliver it. You’ll be good at analysing information and evidence. You will have excellent writing skills for narrative inspection reports that are clear, concise and focused on outcomes. You will be confident in working with a wide range of people and at supporting and advising on improvement.
You’ll currently be working, or have significant experience in, social care, social work, health, children’s services, early learning, child protection, or community learning and development. You will be registered or eligible to register with a professional body like the SSSC, NMC or GTC.
About the role
Our care inspectors work with care services: childminders, nurseries, care homes, care at home, housing support and a host of other specialist services. A specialist in your field, you may have helped lead a service and have a strong track record in delivering quality. You’ll be adept at leading improvement and influencing others. You will work with people experiencing care, and care service providers, managers and staff.
Why join us?
We strive to be a great employer, knowing that competitive salary, leave and pension schemes are only part of that. We pride ourselves on the values we hold, person-centred; fairness; respect; efficiency and integrity - all supported with a culture of care and kindness.
We believe in collective leadership and innovation. You’ll have a lot of autonomy to manage your own work and use the professional skills you’ve honed during your career – but in new ways. Starting on day one, our learning and development support will help you become confident in the craft of scrutiny and in supporting improvement. Because a lot of your role is about sharing effective practice across Scotland, the impact you can have on experiences and outcomes for people is significant. You will draw on management and leadership skills you’ve developed in the past.
We’re proud to be a progressive, supportive employer – we’re happy to talk about flexible working with you and we’re members of the Disability Confident Scheme, aiming to make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace.
New appointments will normally be placed on the minimum grade for the role; a higher starting salary may be offered in exceptional circumstances only.
ELC expansion
The Scottish Government is committed to expanding the provision of funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) from 600 hours to 1140 hours per year by 2020. The expansion of ELC is aimed to support the reduction in the poverty-related attainment gap and improve long term outcomes for children and families.
Due to the ELC expansion programme we are looking for 7 further ELC Inspectors in addition to the “business as usual” Inspector campaign launched recently.
Principles and aims
The priority for the expansion to 1140 hours is to improve children's outcomes and close the poverty-related attainment gap. In addition, the expansion aims to support parents into work, study or training. The Scottish Government's four principles of the ELC expansion are: quality, flexibility, affordability, and accessibility.
The Scottish Government has stated that quality is 'at the heart' of the expansion and that achieving a high-quality ELC experience for children is a key objective.
Use and provision
A 2018 survey found that the main reason why parents use funded ELC is that they consider it beneficial for their child's learning and development. In addition, parents reported using the funded hours to either work, increase the number of hours they work, or look for work.
Funded ELC in Scotland is delivered by a wide range of providers including nurseries, crèches and playgroups, from across the public, private and third sectors. A small number of childminders also deliver funded ELC, but the Scottish Government hopes this number will increase under the expansion to 1140 hours.
Criteria to apply
- We require you to hold a relevant qualification (minimum SCQF Level 9), register with either the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) or any other relevant professional body and undertake PVG checks.
- You must also be prepared to do a Professional Development Award in Scrutiny and Improvement (Social Services) at SCQF level 10 with appropriate support from the organisation.
- You will have a minimum of three years recent and demonstrable management experience in a relevant field. You must also be willing to travel with overnight stays as required.
Before you apply
- Please contact the relevant body directly to resolve any queries you have regarding registration or eligible qualifications for registration (SSSC, NMC and so on) before submitting your application.
- For an informal chat about the job role, please contact (Who?) You or Kim Connolly, Team Manager on 07766133161
- For all other queries, please contact Human Resources at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
To apply
- If you are interested, please see the minimum criteria to apply as an Inspector and the specific guidance and directions to apply. Thereafter, click on the gateway questions link to apply.
- Your completed application form (campaign number C39 only forms) and equal opportunities form should be returned to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.no later than Monday, 14 October 2019 at 8.00am.
- We anticipate that selection days will take place in the week commencing Monday, 18 November 2019.