Head of Regulation and Compliance

HC-One - Clinical Quality; North East; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

HC-One Limited invites applications for Head of Regulation and Compliance Manager to lead the Group’s regulatory function across England, Wales and Scotland. You will advise the Quality and Governance Director on CQC, CIW and Care Inspectorate requirements, ensuring homes are inspection-ready and compliant.

You will manage the Quality Assurance Leads, oversee regulatory inquiries, complaints and whistleblowing, and translate complex regulatory intelligence into actionable guidance for executive

Qualifications

• Professional qualification or equivalent senior-level experience in adult social care, health and social care regulation.
• Comprehensive knowledge of CQC, CIW and Care Inspectorate regulations across England, Wales and Scotland.
• Experience with inspection preparation, regulatory reporting and improvement activity.
• Strong strategic leadership and influencing skills to drive compliance across a multi-site portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Group’s regulatory compliance function and provide expert advice to the Quality and Governance Director.
• Oversee regulatory inquiries, complaints, serious concerns and whistleblowing processes.
• Manage Quality Assurance Leads and ensure homes are inspection-ready and compliant.
• Translate regulatory intelligence into actionable guidance for executive and regional teams.
• Provide oversight of KPI data, patterns, risks and improvement opportunities across the portfolio.

Skills

Regulatory expertise

Senior leadership

Regulatory frameworks

Complaint governance

Analytical skills

Stakeholder engagement

Written communication

Organisational skills

Regulatory strategy

Multi-site oversight

Education

Professional qualification in social care/regulation

Job description

About the role

The Head of Regulation and Compliance Manager is a senior role within the Quality and GovernanceDirectorate, responsible for leading the Group’s regulatory compliance function and acting as the expert advisorto the Quality and Governance Director on all matters relating to CQC (England), CIW (Wales), and CareInspectorate (Scotland) regulation. Reporting directly to the Quality and Governance Director, the postholdermanages the Quality Assurance Leads, who are responsible for conducting internal quality inspections againstthe internal quality assurance framework — and plays a central role in ensuring the Group’s homes areconsistently inspection-ready, compliant, and improving.The Head of Regulation and Compliance also takes a lead role in supporting the Quality and GovernanceDirector with the management of regulatory enquiries, complaints, serious concerns, whistleblowing concernsand strategic oversight of resident and relative experience, using feedback, concerns, emerging themes andGroup-wide KPI data to identify patterns, risks, and improvement opportunities across the portfolio. This is a highlyvisible, expert-level role that requires deep knowledge of the care regulatory landscape, strong analyticalcapability, and the communication skills to translate complex regulatory intelligence, whistleblowing themes andresident experience insight into clear, actionable guidance for operational and senior leadership teams.

About You

• Relevant professional qualification or equivalentsenior-level experience in adult social care, healthand social care regulation, quality governance,compliance, assurance or operational leadership.
• Comprehensive knowledge of adult social careregulatory frameworks, inspection methodologiesand compliance expectations across England,Wales and Scotland, including CQC, CIW andCare Inspectorate requirements.
• Strong understanding of regulatory enforcementprocesses, statutory notifications, ProviderInformation Returns, CIW Responsible Individualduties, Regulation 80 Responsible Individual QualityVisit Reports and Regulation 73 Quality of CareReview Reports.
• Knowledge of complaints governance,whistleblowing processes, duty of candour,safeguarding interfaces, resident and relativeexperience, and how these inform regulatory risk,assurance and improvement priorities.

• Strong strategic leadership and influencing skills,with the ability to set direction, provide expertregulatory advice, shape standards and driveconsistent compliance across a large, multi-siteportfolio.
• Highly developed analytical skills, with the ability tointerpret regulatory intelligence, inspectionoutcomes, complaints, whistleblowing concerns,resident and relative feedback, KPI data andassurance evidence to identify risk, variation andimprovement priorities.
• Excellent written communication skills, with theability to produce high-quality reports, briefings,factual accuracy responses, assurance papers,regulatory submissions and improvementrecommendations for senior and externalaudiences.
• Confident communication, challenge andstakeholder engagement skills, with the credibilityto advise Executive, Regional, Area and Homeleadership teams on complex or sensitiveregulatory matters.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability tomanage competing priorities, regulatory deadlines,enforcement activity, complaints, whistleblowingconcerns, sensitive information and national travel.

• Experience working across a national, multi-regionor large multi-site adult social care, healthcare orregulated service organisation.
• Experience engaging directly with CQC, CIW, CareInspectorate or other regulators, includingsupporting inspection preparation, regulatoryreporting, enforcement response or improvementactivity.
• Experience managing, supervising or developingquality assurance, compliance, governance,inspection or regulatory support colleagues.

• Resident-focused, with a strong commitment tosafety, quality, dignity, choice and positiveoutcomes for people living in care homes.
• Credible, calm and professionally curious, with theconfidence to interpret complex information, askthe right questions and provide clear, balancedregulatory advice.
• Constructively challenging and solutions-focused,able to identify risk, address poor standards andsupport teams to take proportionate, evidencebased improvement action.
• Collaborative and relationship-led, with thecredibility to work across operational, quality,governance and support teams while maintainingappropriate independence and objectivity.
• Committed to kindness, integrity, learning andcontinuous improvement, with high professionalstandards and a strong focus on assurance,accountability and regulatory confidence.