Person specification
Job title: Senior Communications and Engagement Lead
Attributes
Experience
Essential:
- Knowledge and experience of working in and across a complex stakeholder landscape.
- Proven experience in developing and implementing successful communications and engagement strategies for change programmes.
- Experience of working with different stakeholder groups, both external and internal.
- Experience leading a group of diverse stakeholders (including senior stakeholders and disengaged groups) through a change project, advising on appropriate engagement methods / tools to effectively deliver and embed the change.
- Experience of working on digital transformation projects
Desirable:
- Ability to identify, flag, and manage communication risks, ensuring issues are addressed proactively.
Education, qualifications and training
Essential:
- Communications-based subject or equivalent.
Desirable:
- Educated to Degree level or equivalent.
Skills and knowledge
Essential:
- Highly developed specialist knowledge.
- Effective written and oral communication skills.
- Excellent organisation skills.
- Proficiency in MS Office, including PowerPoint ab
- Excellent attention to accuracy, details and overall work quality while meeting deadlines as required.
- Strong project management skills.
- Ability to work with minimal supervision.
- Ability to work flexibly dealing with changing priorities at short notice.
- Ability to work both independently as part of a team.
Desirable:
- Knowledge of the social care sector.
Key performance outcomes
Effective communication:
- Proficiency in creating compelling, clear, and impactful content tailored to diverse audiences and communication channels.
- Ability to explain complex issues to diverse stakeholders in a clear and engaging way, both verbally and in writing.
- Strong collaboration and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Ability to work collaboratively with different teams and build effective relationships with stakeholders at all levels of the organisation.
Impact and influence:
- Demonstrable ability to influence at all levels.
- Ability to give realistic advice, based on relevant, up to date and verifiable information.
- Evidence of building positive relationships, engaging and collaborating effectively with others internally and externally.
Objective decision making:
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify and address stakeholder concerns and adjust communication strategies accordingly.
- Ability to make appropriate and realistic judgments, based on professional expertise, relevant, up-to-date and verifiable information.
- Ability to analyse complex information.
Planning and organising:
- Ability to work under broad direction (often self-initiating work) to establish milestones and successfully meet objectives.
- Involves others where appropriate and optimises resources to achieve desired results.
- Regularly reviews joint goals and targets and reprioritises where necessary.
- Recognises the need to be flexible in order to meet changing priorities.
Team working:
- Contributes to and supports the work and decisions of the project team.
- Contributes to the shared vision and purpose and shares this effectively.
- Commitment to innovation in communication practices and continuous improvement based on feedback and performance data.
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.
Organisational and Workforce Development (OWD) Assistant
Role: Organisational and Workforce Development (OWD) Assistant
Salary: £30,495 - 32,052
Location: Flexible
Hours: 35 hours per week
Contract: Temporary for up to 12 months
About us
The Care Inspectorate is a scrutiny body that supports improvement in care. Our vision is the people across Scotland receive high quality care that meets their needs, rights and choices. We are a national organisation, employing in excess of 600 staff working across our network of offices.
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
The Organisational and Workforce Development (OWD) team are focused on supporting colleagues in their role to make a difference in the quality of care for Scotland. The team’s purpose is to work collaboratively to develop our organisation and its workforce to be the best and to do that with energy, drive and determination.
The OWD team provides a wide range of support for developing our staff and the wider organisational culture.
This is a temporary opportunity to join our OWD team. The role holder will support the OWD team to develop and deliver learning and development and key OWD projects, with a focus on people, development and equalities.
About you
You will have experience of working in a busy fast-moving environment, with a proven track record of supporting the delivery of projects. Demonstrable analytical skills, interpersonal skills and excellent verbal and written communication are also essential. This is a key role in the OWD team and a real opportunity to develop existing skills.
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 Stephanie Hewitt 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, complete the online application form by 08:00 on Thursday 20 March 2025.
Interviews will be held on 25 March 2025 via MS Teams.
Business Support Assistant - Complaints
Location: Flexible
Salary: £20,448 - £21,789
Hours: 35 hours per week
Contract: Temporary until 31 March 2022
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.
About the role
Working as part of a team, you will provide comprehensive administrative and clerical support within a scrutiny and assurance business support role in line with the Care Inspectorate’s policies and procedures. Whilst this particular post will predominantly be working to support the complaints function and its inspectors the post holder will also require to undertake the wider general administrative duties and tasks required as part of the office business support team. These duties will be varied and will include the provision of e.g. customer service; telephony, reception, filing, word processing, data input and general clerical duties.
Due to current Covid-19 restrictions, it is expected that you will be undertaking duties predominantly from home but with an expectation that, where deemed necessary, you will be available to work from the office on an ad-hoc or longer-term basis in due course. We will consider applications on a reduced hours basis.
About you
We are looking for an organised individual who has good attention to detail, is customer-focused and enjoys working in a busy and supportive team. You will have a positive attitude and be keen to develop your skills and take on new challenges.
The successful individual will have:
- A good working knowledge of O365/Microsoft Office suite to include Word, Excel and Outlook.
- Excellent telephone and customer service skills.
- Good interpersonal skills.
- Excellent organisational skills.
- Ability to work on own initiative and prioritisation of workload.
- Ability to meet deadlines.
Next steps
You’ll find more information in the:
If you require any further information or for an informal chat, please contact:
Fiona Naris, Business Support Officer, by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or tel 01786 432944
If you believe that your expertise, skills and motivation make you suitable for this post, please complete an application form (and an Equalities Monitoring Form where you are an external applicant) and return by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by no later than 8am on Monday 29 November 2021.
Person specification
Job title: Applications Manager
Attributes
Experience
Essential
- Considerable experience in leading digital/ software development in medium/large-scale public-sector projects, familiar with supporting cloud-based applications.
- Demonstrate excellent technical expertise in areas including applications development and have a well-rounded understanding of computer systems and networks with the analytical skills needed to identify and troubleshoot issues that arise within applications and use problem-solving skills to determine the best solutions for these issues.
- Proven experience of designing, building and delivering working solutions which meet customer needs.
- Proven experience in a range of Internet / Intranet based technologies.
- Experience of formal Project Management Methodologies. (Agile, Prince2)
Desirable
- Experience of working with other regulatory bodies or partner scrutiny bodies.
- Experience of working with Azure PaaS and DevOps environments.
Education, qualifications and training
Essential
- Educated to SCQF level 9 in IT or graduate qualification in a software engineering or related field.
- Evidence of continuous professional development.
Desirable
- Membership of a Professional body, appropriate to Software Engineering
- Project Management qualification
Skills and knowledge
Essential
- Ability to provide user-centric solutions, which users find simple and intuitive to use.
- Ability to challenge and test traditionally held views about web development, and contribute suggestions for continual improvement within IT.
- Have high attention to detail and accuracy. § Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills across all levels in the organisation.
- Proven ability to multitask in a fast-paced environment to deliver effective outcomes and meet targets on time.
- Ability to prioritise workload.
- Ability to evaluate the impact of decisions on stakeholders and include this in the decision-making process.
- The ability to analyse complex issues related to digital applications and provide effective solutions
- An ability to adapt to evolving technologies and the ability to bring innovative solutions to digital application challenges
- Ability to make fully evaluated and firm recommendation and proposals to the IT Management Team
- Strong decision-making and quality leadership skills to effectively motivate, develop and lead the team to complete necessary tasks.
- Experience in reporting and providing status updates to senior management.
- Experience in budget management.
- Understand organisational motivations including problems, goals, and objectives.
- Drive continuous improvements in process maturity.
- Facilitation skills: ability to facilitate workshops with all staff levels.
- The ability to build relationships and collaborate with other teams, fostering a positive working environment.
Desirable
- Ability to align the application roadmap with the IT strategy
- Ability to support the ongoing development of strategic plans.
Key performance outcomes
Service improvement
Essential
- Uses knowledge and experience to gather and consolidate information to make appropriate changes and improvements.
- Aware of trends and changes and maintains professional knowledge and skills.
- Encourages and promotes innovative ideas.
- Ability to identify gaps in performance and make appropriate suggestions for improvement.
- Demonstrate initiative, drive and determination to complete tasks and achieve objectives.
Leading others
Essential
- Ability to provide leadership, a clear sense of purpose and direction.
- Ability to take a flexible, pragmatic approach to support to effectively achieve performance objectives i.e. interim redeployment of team members.
Team working
Essential
- Adapts to the team and builds team spirit.
- Listens, consults others, and communicates proactively.
- Demonstrates integrity.
- Contributes to the shared vision and purpose and shares this effectively. Involves the team in decision and actions.
- Ability to work effectively with members a multidisciplinary team to deliver business improvement.
Effective communication
Essential
- Listens to, understands, and communicates complex and multi-stranded information from a range of sources, adopting effective questioning techniques to elicit and appreciate a range of views.
- Ability to negotiate with others in a way that suits the situation, demonstrating a prominent level of theoretical and practical knowledge.
- Ability to express ideas clearly and concisely, explain intricate and complicated concepts and ideas.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Equally at ease in technical discussions with IT colleagues as well as business discussions with senior managers and employees.
- Ability to select appropriate communication style and methods depending on the needs and abilities of the audience.
- Ability to explain IT concepts and issues in a straightforward way, without using technical jargon.
- Ability to advise, persuade and influence people in a professional and effective manner.
Objective decision making
Essential
- Demonstrates analytical and systematic approach to problem solving and decision making.
- Ensures the Business Analysis team has the appropriate support, resources, and authority levels to make decisions quickly and easily.
- Encourages and supports decisions of team members.
- Considers Care Inspectorate values in relation to the impact of their decisions and considers the wider context in which the Care Inspectorate operates.
- Ability to work autonomously.
- Ability to make appropriate and realistic judgements based on professional expertise, relevant, up to date and verifiable information.
Planning and organising
Essential
- Ability to plan, execute, track and report on delivery progress against requirements.
- Works in a systematic, methodical, and orderly way.
- Regularly reviews workloads, goals and targets with team and prioritise where necessary.
- Uses 1-1 supervision to support team members to plan workloads.
- Delegates effectively to others and optimises resources to achieve desired results.
- Focuses on customer needs and satisfaction.
- Sets ambitious standards for quality and quantity and monitors and maintains quality and productivity.
Flexibility
Essential
- Encourages a flexible, positive approach to work in their team.
- Applies regulation and standards sensibly and understands where a flexible approach may be required.
- Works productively in a high-pressure environment.
- Adapts to changing circumstances.
- Has a flexible and pragmatic approach to ideas and change initiatives.
- Is open minded to suggestions about how to improve processes within the Care Inspectorate.
- Exercises professional judgement when considering options and outcomes.
- Demonstrates personal resilience, being able to work flexibly under pressure with stamina and tenacity to deliver results.
Please note – these are key performance outcomes to be used to recruit into the role.
Person specification
Job title: Customer Support Adviser
Attributes
Experience
Essential:
- Demonstrate a successful track record within a similar role.
- Previous experience working in a busy Contact Centre dealing with complex issues.
Desirable:
- Experience of working with external/internal contacts at all levels.
- Experience of working within the social care sector.
Education, qualifications and training
Essential:
- Educated to SCQF level 4 or level 5 (i.e. standard grade) or equivalent.
Desirable:
- NVQ/SVQ level 2 or 3 in Customer Service or Call Handling.
Skills and knowledge
Essential:
- Excellent communication skills.
- Excellent verbal communication techniques in order to draw out and gather correct information and gain confidence from caller.
- Knowledge of customer service principles and practice.
- Listening skills.
- Problem solving skills.
- Good data entry/keyboard skills.
- Ability to work on own initiative and prioritisation of workload.
- Ability to meet deadlines.
- Ability to use own judgement within identified boundaries.
- Ability to remain professional even when dealing with difficult or confrontational callers.
Key performance outcomes
Effective communication:
- Portrays a positive image of the Care Inspectorate when communicating both inside the organisation and externally.
- Selects appropriate communication, style and methods depending on the needs and abilities of the audience.
- Listens actively to people, questions and checks understanding.
Planning and organising:
- Uses a systematic approach to make efficient use of time and manage workload.
- Recognises the need to be flexible in order to meet changing priorities.
- Prioritises work effectively to meet deadlines and objectives.
Flexibility:
- Demonstrates a flexible, positive approach to work.
- Listens to feedback and ideas from people and will take appropriate and considered action.
- Adapts well to change, adjusting priorities as required.
- Is able to work confidently within a changing environment.
Team working:
- Remains tolerant and fair towards others, values diversity and is non-discriminatory in their actions.
- Values and makes use of the skills, knowledge and experience of others.
- Works co-operatively and supportively with others.
Personal accountability and responsibility:
- Takes responsibility for decisions and actions taken.
- Maintains a high standard of work and actively seeks out continuous improvement.
- Demonstrates initiative within own area of expertise.
- Takes responsibility for identifying and addressing areas of personal and professional development.
Please note – these are key performance outcomes to be used to recruit into the role.
Job profile
Job title: Senior Communications and Engagement Lead
Reporting to: Operational Transformation Lead
Principal working contacts
- Senior Transformation Business Owner
- Operational Transformation Lead
- Digital Transformation project team
- Executive Director of IT & Digital Transformation (SRO)
- Head of Corporate Policy and Communications
- Communications team
- Care Inspectorate employees/teams
- 3rd party delivery teams
- External stakeholders and providers
Job purpose
Working closely alongside the Senior Transformation Business Owner and Operational Transformation Lead, the postholder will deliver the communications and stakeholder engagement plan to inform, generate interest and enthusiasm about, and seek feedback on the Care Inspectorate’s digital transformation project with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
The postholder will identify and build high quality relationships internally and with external organisations. They will ensure that communications and engagement work undertaken supports organisational strategic objectives, including transformational change, and the communications and policy strategy.
The postholder will advise on innovative communication methods to engage with stakeholders and employees, while promoting the work of the Digital Transformation Project. The postholder will be responsible for leading key communications and engagement activities for the project, including supporting the Senior Transformation Business Owner and Executive Director of IT & Digital Transformation in delivery. This includes supporting the development and implementation of the project’s communications strategy, advising on risk, opportunities and public posture.
Key responsibilities
Strategic management
- Drive internal stakeholder management and engagement with a strategic focus to ensure seamless project communication.
- Listen to the views of and actively seek feedback from these stakeholders on the project as it develops.
- Work closely with different teams and directorates to identify key stakeholders, their needs and concerns, and develop tailored communication strategies to address them.
- Develop compelling communications content – using the organisation’s communications channels, including email, intranet, website, events and social media – to ensure stakeholders are kept informed and engaged throughout the digital transformation project.
- Provide specialist advice to project colleagues on stakeholder engagement and communication acting as a specialist point of contact.
- Lead innovative engagement approaches to keep content fresh and impactful.
- Identify and manage communication risks, ensuring timely resolution.
Operational management
- Ensure proactive and effective communication with stakeholders through a variety of channels.
- Regularly undertake activities to build trust in the work of the project.
- Manage, develop, create and deliver innovative, engaging and informative content, including presentations, newsletters, videos, and FAQs, to support the communication and engagement plan.
- Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the communications and engagement plan, and adjust strategies as necessary to ensure maximum engagement and participation from stakeholders.
- Ensure that consistent and complementary messaging is delivered across projects and communications channels and in line with the organisation’s corporate messaging.
- Provide communication advice, guidance, practical materials and assistance to colleagues as required.
- Keep abreast with key issues affecting communications, particularly in the social care sector as a whole.
Relationship management
- Develop a productive working relationship with colleagues, including the communications team and other Care Inspectorate teams.
- Ensure effective working protocols in accordance with the Care Inspectorate’s Communications, Human Resources, Finance, IT and Operations function.
- Liaise with external bodies, statutory and voluntary, to promote the work of the Care Inspectorate and share good practice, and seek feedback to inform the project.
- Represent the Care Inspectorate as required at meetings.
- Ensure effective communication of the Care Inspectorate’s work with people who use care services, carers, relatives and advocates.
- Demonstrate a commitment to the Care Inspectorate’s aims, vision and values and to the Care Inspectorate’s overall objective of improving care in Scotland.
Other duties
This job description is a broad picture of the post at the date of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all possible duties and it is recognised that jobs change and evolve over time. Consequently the post holder will be required to carry out any other duties to the equivalent level that are necessary to fulfil the purpose of the job, and to respond positively to changing business needs.
This job requires some travel and may involve some overnight stays and unsocial hours.
Job profile
Job title: Customer Support Adviser
Job location: Compass House, Dundee
Responsible to: Customer Support Officer
Principal working contacts
- Customer Support Officer
- Head of Customer and Business Support
- Managers and employees of the Care Inspectorate
- External agencies/service providers/service users and carers
- Members of the public
Job purpose
To manage and respond to all incoming calls, enquiries and queries to the organisation, and, at times, pass callers on to appropriate colleagues where necessary. Provide accurate information internally and externally and undertake general administrative duties, in accordance with the Care Inspectorate’s policies and procedures.
Key responsibilities
- To manage and deal with all incoming enquiries to the organisation, through different contact channels, and deal with these by either responding directly, appropriate transfer, or follow-up and return call.
- To deal with and log all complaints and concerns in a timely manner. Make sure concerns are dealt with sensitively and escalate issues to appropriate third parties.
- Respond to all technical queries in relation to external and internal IT applications that stakeholders and staff use.
- Work closely and liaise with all internal departments.
- Research requiring information using available resources.
- Provide callers with information as appropriate, within own remit of responsibility.
- Identify and escalate priority issues.
- Record call information accurately and appropriately.
- Produce call reports and/or information as requested.
- Attend meetings as required.
- Distribute information within the Care Inspectorate and to service users, carers, service providers and other external agencies as required.
- Carry out your duties in accordance with our Health and Safety policies, procedures, guidance, practices and legislative requirements, taking reasonable care for your safety and that of others who may be affected by what you do or fail to do while at work.
Relationship management
- Develop a productive working relationship with colleagues.
- Ensure effective working protocols in accordance with the Care Inspectorate’s Communications, Human Resources, Finance, IT and Operations function.
- Ensure effective communication of the Care Inspectorate’s work with people who use care services, carers, relatives and advocates.
- Demonstrate a commitment to the Care Inspectorate’s aims, vision and values and to the Care Inspectorate’s overall objective of improving care in Scotland.
Other duties
This job description is a broad picture of the post at the date of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all possible duties, and it is recognised that jobs change and evolve over time. Consequently, the post holder will be required to carry out any other duties to the equivalent level that are necessary to fulfil the purpose of the job, and to respond positively to changing business needs.
Software Developer
Job title: Software Developer
Salary: £44,322 - £47,982
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. We are moving towards an expectation that all staff will work collaboratively, within and across teams, in person, for approximately 40% of their working week.
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 are recruiting a Software Developer to work within our Digital team to support the IT, transformation and business change projects, with the design, build, test and release of Digital Applications to meet the Care Inspectorate business requirements, using the Microsoft Azure platform and other Microsoft technologies.
Reporting to the Applications Manager, you will develop and maintain our business applications and deliver an applications support service. Working in an Agile environment, in alignment with ITIL best practice, you will support incident, problem, configuration, change and release management processes, as part of our IT service delivery.
You will assist the internal customer with the analysis of business requirements to produce agreed functional and non-functional design requirements and work with the development team, research and develop modular code solutions, refining and re-writing as required, to derive code that contributes to the production of effective and efficient software solutions.
About you
You will ideally hold a degree or similar equivalent qualification to a minimum of Level 9 of the SCQF Framework and have relevant experience in Computer Science and Software Development
You will have direct work experience which can evidence:
- Experience in software development, working across the entire software development cycle, using a variety of software design patterns.
- Ability to plan, execute, track and report on delivery progress against requirements.
- Knowledge of the Microsoft .NET framework and web development, including HTML, JavaScript and MVC.
- Experienced in designing and implementing relational databases in MS SQL Server.
- Competent in cloud architecture and technologies.
- Experience in continuous improvement of development, integration, and delivery processes.
- Experience in Agile methodologies
- Experience of working as part of an agile software delivery team.
- Experience of providing customer support for in-house developed software solutions.
Next steps
You will 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 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - please include a contact telephone number and times that would be best to reach you in your email.
To apply
If you believe that your skills, experience and motivation make you a suitable candidate for this post, please download and complete an application form and an equal opportunities form, please submit by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 08:00 on Monday 7 October 2024.
It is anticipated that interviews will be held during the week commencing 21 October 2024 at a suitable Care Inspectorate office location.
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.