National Professional Advisor – Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (part-time)

Specialist Advisor Rate - Aligned to Professional Experience   

Contracted Hours:  0.2 FTE Equivalent (1 x days per week)  

Contract Type:  Fixed Term Contract for up to 24 months   

Location: Homebased, with national travel as required 

Closing date: Tuesday 21 July 2026 at 11.59pm  

Interview date: TBC 

We recently advertised this role in May (Req2919). If you applied during that recruitment campaign and progressed to the assessment stage, you are not eligible to apply again. 
 
Make a difference 
Every role at CQC contributes to our mission. If you’re looking for a new role that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose, then you’ve found it! As a National Professional Advisor – Mental Health, you will play a crucial role in ensuring high-quality care within the health and social care sector. You will also have the opportunity to promote and drive improvements nationally for people using mental health services.  

Picture this 
Imagine working on projects that directly impact the quality of care that people receive. 
In the last year as a National Professional Advisor – Mental Health you might have led the development of new inspection methodologies to improve care standards. 
You could have collaborated with national health bodies to shape policies that ensure safer and more effective services. 

The role 
You’ll play an important part in delivering our mission. In this role, you’ll: 
Provide Expert Advice: Offer clinical and professional guidance to inspection teams, ensuring high standards of care. 
Shape Policy: Influence and contribute to the development of CQC’s strategies and policies. 
Engage Stakeholders: Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including health bodies and professional societies. 

Show us 
We will be looking for specific skills, knowledge, and experience in your application: 
Clinical Expertise: Experience as a mental health professional working at a senior level in clinical practice. 
Policy Development: Proven ability to influence and shape health policies at a national level. 
Stakeholder Collaboration: Demonstrated experience in building and maintaining professional relationships with various stakeholders. 

Join us 
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. 

How to apply…   
Please complete the online application form with role specific questions and submit a copy of your CV and Supporting Statement (no more than 750-words) via the Recruitment System.     

Your Supporting Statement should cover the following:    
– How your previous experience reflects the criteria required?  
– What strengths will you bring to the role?   

Compliance
Note for internal candidates:
This is a secondment/fixed termopportunity. Please read the recruitment and selection policy section onsecondments. You must discuss your application with your linemanager before applying.
To progress your application, you’ll need to provide evidence of your right towork in the UK. Without valid right to work you won’t be eligible for therole. We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. Someroles 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 – Stuart Dunn, Deputy Director of Mental Health via his PA: elaine.supple@cqc.org.uk. For general enquiries, please email recruitment@cqc.org.uk.

The Benefits
Weoffer 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 recruitment@cqc.org.uk. 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 welcomeapplications from everyone, and colleagues can find supportand 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.