Executive Director of Assurance and Improvement

About us

We are a scrutiny body that supports improvement. That means we look at the quality of care in Scotland to ensure it meets high standards. We are responsible for providing assurance and protection for people who experience care services, their families, carers and the wider public. Our vision is that people across Scotland experience high-quality care that meets their needs, rights and choices.

Our values

• Person-centred: we put people, empathy, compassion, and kindness at the heart of everything we do
• Respect: we value everyone's dignity and are respectful in everything we do
• Equity: we embrace diversity and nurture an inclusive environment where everyone is supported to achieve equal outcomes
• Integrity: we act impartially, fairly, and consistently, upholding transparency and accountability in all our actions
• 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

Work-life balance

Our desire is to achieve an effective and balanced way of working, which 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 four-week period.

About the role

We are seeking an exceptional and inspiring leader to join the Care Inspectorate as our executive director of assurance and improvement. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of care quality across Scotland, leading the strategic direction and development of inspection, scrutiny and regulation activities. The successful candidate will ensure the Care Inspectorate continues to deliver its statutory responsibilities under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and other relevant legislation, while driving improvement through a collaborative, person-centred approach.

Working closely with the chief executive and executive team, you will play a pivotal role in leading organisational transformation, embedding a culture of excellence, innovation and continuous improvement. You will champion investment in our people, fostering a confident, capable and collaborative workforce that is committed to improving outcomes for people experiencing care across Scotland.

This is a rare opportunity to influence the future of care services in Scotland and make a lasting difference to the lives of people who experience care. We are looking for a visionary leader with the strategic insight, credibility and passion to drive assurance, improvement and cultural transformation at a national level.

We are seeking an experienced and strategic leader who can provide direction to a diverse, multidisciplinary team and drive excellence in the inspection, regulation, scrutiny, and improvement of care services. The successful candidate will be an influential communicator with strong negotiation skills, political awareness, and the ability to translate strategic plans into meaningful action. They will bring extensive knowledge of the social care sector, including current trends and emerging challenges, while championing equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Comfortable challenging established ways of working, they will use innovative and collaborative approaches to deliver positive outcomes and continuous improvement. Strong IT skills and the ability to use digital tools effectively to communicate, analyse information, and support decision-making are essential.

Key responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Lead the development and delivery of the Care Inspectorate's scrutiny, regulation, assurance and improvement strategy across all regulated care services.
• Provide professional leadership for regulatory practice across, children and early years, and criminal justice services, ensuring consistency and high standards.
• Lead the development and delivery for strategic inspections, scrutiny activity and service improvement programmes using a proportionate, intelligence-led and risk-based approach.
• Contribute corporate leadership to organisational and cultural change programmes, working closely with fellow Executive Directors.
• Ensure appropriate social work advice is provided to the Board and Chief Executive.
• Promote the Care Inspectorate's profile and influence with government, media, stakeholders and partners.

Operational Leadership

• Provide leadership and direction for the Scrutiny and Assurance Directorate.
• Lead the effective delivery, monitoring and reporting of scrutiny, assurance and improvement activity.
• Manage and oversee significant budgets, ensuring best value and effective resource utilisation.
• Drive continuous improvement, quality assurance and systems development across the organisation.
• Prepare and present reports to the Board and relevant committees.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety responsibilities across areas of accountability.

People Leadership

• Lead multiple professional functions, creating a cohesive, high-performing and collaborative directorate.
• Inspire, coach and develop senior leaders and professional teams through effective performance management and development planning.
• Promote consistent, high-quality professional practice and a culture of continuous learning.
• Take responsibility for recruitment, workforce development and the implementation of HR policies across the directorate.
• Foster a positive, inclusive working environment that promotes wellbeing, diversity and equality of opportunity.

Stakeholder and Partnership Leadership

• Build and maintain strong relationships with Board Members, Executive Directors, Ministers, Scottish Government, regulatory bodies and partner agencies.
• Lead collaborative approaches to scrutiny, assurance and improvement across the social care sector.
• Ensure meaningful engagement with people who use services, carers and wider stakeholders, embedding participation and user focus in all aspects of the Care Inspectorate's work.
• Act as an ambassador for the organisation, raising awareness of its role and impact while helping shape the future of health and social care scrutiny and improvement in Scotland.

About you

We are looking for a candidate educated to degree level (or equivalent) with a Professional qualification in social work, health, education or public protection. You will demonstrate a strong commitment to maintaining and enhancing your professional expertise through ongoing CPD.

Ideally, you may hold relevant management/leadership qualification, such as an MBA or Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) accreditation.

Skills, Knowledge & Experience

We are seeking an experienced strategic leader with significant experience in the inspection, regulation and improvement of care services. You will bring strong communication, influencing and negotiation skills, political awareness, and the ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, challenge established thinking, and turn strategic plans into meaningful outcomes. A strong understanding of social care trends, equality and diversity, and the effective use of digital technologies is essential.

You will bring:

• Exceptional leadership skills with the ability to inspire, motivate and develop professional teams.
• Strong experience of strategic planning, performance management and delivering organisational objectives.
• Excellent financial and resource management capabilities.
• The ability to build influential relationships and work collaboratively with a broad range of stakeholders.
• Resilience, sound judgement and confidence in leading change and making complex decisions.
• A commitment to delivering high-quality, efficient and effective services that improve outcomes for people who experience care.

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