National Investigator

Care Quality Commission; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

A national regulatory body in the United Kingdom is looking for a National Investigator to lead complex investigations in health and social care. The successful candidate will combine investigation experience with legal knowledge to ensure compliance and protect people's rights. This is a full-time role offering competitive salary, additional benefits, and the chance to make a significant impact in the sector.

Benefits

Annual leave starting at 27 days per year

Training and development opportunities

Wellbeing initiatives

NHS pension scheme

Discount schemes

Qualifications

• Proven background in criminal or regulatory investigations, including preparing case files and presenting findings.
• Understanding of PACE and criminal justice processes, with experience applying these in practice.
• Ability to manage complex workloads, assess risk, and produce clear, evidence-based reports.

Responsibilities

• Plan and manage complex enforcement cases, ensuring evidence is gathered to high standards.
• Partner with inspectors, lawyers, and external agencies to progress cases.
• Maintain accurate records and compliance with legal requirements.

Skills

Investigation experience

Legal and procedural knowledge

Analytical skills

Organisational skills

Job description

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. Contracted Hours: Full time 37 hours per week Contract Type: Secondment/FTC for 12 months Closing date: Monday 5 January 2026 at 11.59pm

Make a difference

Every role at CQC contributes to our mission. If you’re looking for a new role in National Enforcement that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose, then you’ve found it! As a National Investigator, you’ll lead complex investigations that protect people’s rights and ensure safe, high-quality care across England.

Picture this

Imagine being at the heart of cases that hold providers accountable and make health and social care safer for everyone. In the last year as a National Investigator in National Enforcement, you might have:

• Led a criminal investigation into serious breaches of care standards, gathering evidence and presenting findings that resulted in successful enforcement action.
• Worked with legal teams and inspectors to prepare robust case files for court, ensuring justice for people affected by unsafe care.

The role

You’ll play an important part in delivering our mission. In this role, you’ll:

• Lead investigations: Plan and manage complex enforcement cases, ensuring evidence is gathered and presented to the highest standards.
• Work collaboratively: Partner with inspectors, lawyers, and external agencies to progress cases and achieve fair outcomes.
• Ensure compliance: Maintain accurate records, disclosure schedules, and evidence registers inline with legal requirements.

Show us

We’ll be looking for specific skills, knowledge and experience in your application form:

• Investigation experience: Proven background in criminal or regulatory investigations, including preparing case files and presenting findings.
• Legal and procedural knowledge: Understanding of PACE and criminal justice processes, with experience applying these in practice.
• Analytical and organisational skills: Ability to manage complex workloads, assess risk, and produce clear, evidence-based reports.

Bring your expertise to a role in CQC that really makes a difference. Apply today to join a workplace where your impact is felt every day.

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 a 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 – Mark Burnell, National Enforcement Manager at [e-mail], Georgina Gibbs, National Enforcement Manager at [e-mail] or Vanessa King, National Enforcement Manager at [e-mail]. For general enquiries, please email [e-mail].

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 [e-mail]. 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 EDI 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.