Grade B - £42,044 (National) or £47,900 (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. Please talk to us about flexible or compressed hours.
Contract Type: Permanent
Closing date: Wednesday 15 April 2026 at 11.59pm
We are currently accepting applications from candidates based in the following areas:
- South East
If you live outside of this area, we're unable to progress your application on this occasion.
Make a difference
Every role at CQC helps us make sure health and care
services are safe, kind and high quality. If you’re looking for a new role in
the Operations Directorate that gives a true sense of purpose, then
you’ve found it. As a Mental Health Inspector – South Network, you’ll
help us understand the quality and safety of mental health services so people
get the care they deserve.
Picture this
You’re visiting a mental health service, listening to
people’s experiences and checking how well the service supports them. You use
what you learn to help providers improve and to keep people safe.
As a Mental Health Inspector in the Operations
Directorate, you might get the chance to work on:
- Leading
an assessment of a mental health provider where you identify risks early
and help prevent unsafe care.
- Bringing
together feedback from people who use services, local partners and staff
to build a clear picture of quality across a whole system.
The role
You’ll work closely with others to deliver shared outcomes.
In this role, you’ll:
- Assess
services: Plan and carry out assessments, analyse information from
many sources, and make clear, fair decisions about quality and safety.
- Engage
and collaborate: Work with people who use services, providers,
colleagues and partners to gather insight, share learning and spot risks
early.
- Use
and record evidence: Handle information safely, use digital systems to
gather and review data, and write clear, accessible reports.
Show us
We will be looking for these skills, knowledge and
experience in your application:
- Experience
assessing quality or risk in health or social care — for example
working in mental health, the NHS, social care, or in another regulatory
or quality‑focused role.
- Experience
working with different partners to solve problems — such as bringing
together feedback, handling difficult conversations, or supporting
improvements with providers or colleagues.
- Experience
using information to make sound decisions — including analysing data,
spotting patterns, writing reports or keeping accurate digital records.
Join us and help CQC shape the future of health and care.
Compliance
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 – Serena Coleman, Interim Deputy Director of Mental Health;
[email protected]. For general enquiries, please email
[email protected].
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
[email protected]. 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.