Subject Matter Expert - Mental Health

This advert is for current internal applicants only. External applications will be closed. Grade A - £55,172 (National) or £61,028 (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 Contract Type: 12 months fixed-term or secondment opportunity Internal applicants must obtain written confirmation from their line manager, granting permission to be released from their current role, before applying for this opportunity. Interviews: w/c 31st August and w/c 7th September via Microsoft Teams. Closing date: Monday 17 August 2026 at 11.59pm Make a difference Every role at CQC contributes to our mission. If you’re looking for a new role in Rebuilding our Regulatory Services that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose, then you’ve found it! As a Subject Matter Expert – Mental Health, you’ll help shape the future of regulation by ensuring the needs of mental health services are reflected in the systems, processes and ways of working that support high-quality care. You’ll play an important role in one of CQC’s biggest transformation programmes, helping to ensure that the experiences and expertise of Mental Health teams influence the future design of our services. Working with colleagues across programmes and inspectorates, you’ll help turn insight into practical improvements that support better regulation. Picture this In the last 12 months, as a Subject Matter Expert – Mental Health you could have: Gathered insight and prioritised requirements from Mental Health Inspectorate colleagues, working closely with digital teams to help shape future services, business processes and technology solutions as part of Rebuilding our Regulatory Services. Supported testing, piloting and implementation activities, helping to ensure new assessment services met the needs of Mental Health teams and the people who use services before being rolled out across CQC. The role You’ll work closely with others to deliver shared outcomes. In this role, you’ll: Represent mental health expertise: Work with Mental Health Inspectorate colleagues to identify requirements, share operational insight and ensure sector priorities are reflected in service and system design. Support change and continuous improvement: Help develop guidance, training and implementation plans that support colleagues to adopt new ways of working and embed improvements across services. Build collaboration and assurance: Work with programme teams, stakeholders and other subject matter experts to provide assurance, promote consistent approaches and champion the benefits of new services and processes. Show us We will be looking for specific skills, knowledge and experience in your application form: Experience working within mental health services, regulation or a related environment, with a strong understanding of operational delivery and the needs of the Mental Health sector. Experience contributing to service improvement or change programmes, including gathering requirements, identifying opportunities for improvement and supporting the implementation of new processes or systems. Experience working with a range of stakeholders to influence decisions, manage complex discussions and translate policy, operational requirements or technical information into practical guidance. 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 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 – Jane Cummings, Deputy Director for Rebuilding our Regulatory Services; [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.