Chair and Senior Chair of Independent Care (Education) and Treatment Programme

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:  Fixed Term/Secondment until 31 March 2028

Location: Homebased – Chair – South region 1 post, Midlands1 post and North 2 posts – regular travel across the relevant region is essential.  

                                         Senior Chairs (Grade B with 5% uplift)  – can live anywhere within England.  You may also be asked to travel nationally on occasions.

Candidates must be willing and able to travel within thestipulated regions. For this reason, we are seeking candidates who live withinthe specified regions, and location will be carefully considered to ensure thatthe role and responsibilities are manageable. Please note that the locationsyou will be required to visit are not always well served by public transport.

Assessment Dates: Interviews will be held between 24 – 27 February 2026

Closing date: Sunday 15 February 2026  at 11.59pm

Make a difference 
Every role at CQC contributes to our mission, if you’re looking for a new role in Mental Health that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose thenyou’ve found it! As a Chair of the Independent Care (Education) and Treatmentprogramme, you will have an opportunity to use your knowledge of the HumanRights Act, Mental Health Act 1983 and the Code of Practice and experience ofthe care and treatment of detained patients.
 
Picture this 

Imagine being part of a team undertaking Independent Care (Education) andTreatment reviews (IC(E)TR) of individuals across your geographical area.
An IC(E)TR is a review of the care and treatment anindividual with a learning disability or autism who is currently in long-termsegregation in a hospital. The aim is to reduce restrictions placed on theperson, so that they can live a more productive and fulfilling life. This beganwhen in November 2019, when the then Secretary of State for Health and SocialCare announced that autistic people and people with a learning disability inlong-term segregation would have their care independently reviewed. Thisaligned with findings in our 2020 report ‘Out ofSight — who cares?’ which identified the need for an independentreview of care, for autistic people and people with a learning disability inlong-term segregation in inpatient settings 

Baroness Hollins was appointed to oversee this process andchair an Independent Oversight Panel. Her review in December 2020 andsubsequent 2023 ‘Myheart breaks’ report led the Department of Health andSocial Care to ask CQC to lead on Independent Care (Education) and TreatmentReviews (IC(E)TR) until March 2026. The success of this programme means thatthis has now been extended to March 2028. The programme was established becauseof serious concerns about the use of long-term segregation. 

In the last 2 years as a Chair of the IC(E)TR, you willhave:

• Supported the delivery of the IC(E)TR programme, making a significant difference to the person’s care and helping them to progress to discharge to their own home and improving their lives.
• Managed individual ICETRs both before, on the day and following up on the recommendations made and escalated risks and issues as appropriate.

The role 
You’ll be key in helping us deliver our work. In this role,you’ll: 

Work closely with your regional colleagues, working flexibly to monitor the use of the Human Rights Act and MHA to highlight the experiences of people detained under the MHA who are in long-term segregation who have a learning disability or is an autistic person.
Contribute MHA expertise to the Inspection programme to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety.

Senior Chair

We are also recruiting for 2 senior chairs to assist in overseeing the program and supporting the MHA Operations Manager.  Senior chairs will also be required to undertake IC(E)TRs and will receive a 5% uplift in pay as a senior chair.

Show us 

We’ll be looking for the following skills, knowledge andexperience in your application form: 
You’ll have in-depth knowledge and working understanding of the Human Rights Act and the MHA and the Code of Practice
You’ll have experience of working in or with inpatient mental health services
You’ll have a passion and commitment to improve the experience of detained patients.

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 – Meryll Paterson Operations Manager (MHA Operation Manager(ICETRS)) – meryll.paterson@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.