Specialist Advisor - General Practitioner

Specialist Advisor – General Practice (GP)

Location: National

Daily Rate: £540 per day (including annual leave entitlement)

Ad Hoc: As and when required

Closing Date: 05/10/2026

Are you committed to helping us regulate health andsocial care in England?

When you think about what drives you every day in your joband what keeps you motivated and passionate about your work, what comes tomind?

For more than 3,000 people at CQC, we end each day knowingthat we have made a difference to the lives of those most in need in ourcommunities. We make sure that health and social care services provide peoplewith safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care, while encouragingservices to improve.

We are looking for people who are caring, demonstrateintegrity, aspire to excellence, are committed to equitable and inclusive services and care, and work well as part of a team to join us and share in thissense of achievement

If you would like to help us make a positive impact on health and social care in England and deliver an excellent service to thepublic, then read on..

Why this could be a great role for you...

This is an opportunity to use your expertise beyond your ownpractice, helping to shape national oversight of primary care and making ameaningful contribution to the quality, safety and effectiveness of servicesdelivered across England. As a GP Specialist Advisor, you will ensure thatregulation is informed by the realities of modern general practice, thechallenges faced by providers, and theneeds of patients and communities.

We are seeking GPs who are currently in active clinicalpractice to join our team of General Practice Specialist Advisors. Thisflexible, ad hoc role is designed to complement your existing clinicalcommitments while providing a unique opportunity to influence improvementacross primary care services at a national level.

Bringing your frontline experience, professional judgementand deep understanding of general practice, you will provide valuable clinicalinsight to support CQC's assessment activity. Working alongside experiencedregulatory colleagues, you will help ensure that regulatory decisions are fair,balanced and evidence-based, reflecting the realities of delivering care intoday's primary care environment.

Through this role, you will help identify and promote goodpractice, share learning across the sector, and contribute to continuousimprovement in the quality and safety of care. You will also gain a uniqueperspective on general practice across England, broadening your understandingof different models of care, emerging challenges and innovative approaches toservice delivery.

The role offers significant opportunities for personal andprofessional development. By working alongside regulatory, clinical andoperational experts, you will strengthen your leadership, quality improvementand assessment skills, gain insight into the wider healthcare system, andcontribute to your continuing professional development.

What You Will Bring...

You will have relevant knowledge and experience that willhelp you collate and analyse evidence as part of assessment activity. You willbe a skilled communicator, able to engage effectively with providers,colleagues, people using services and stakeholders at every level.

You will have up-to-date knowledge of clinical practice,professional standards, national guidance and the regulatory framework forprimary medical services, together with an understanding of quality managementsystems, patient safety, clinical governance and continuous improvement.

The primary contribution of the GP Specialist Advisor is toprovide independent clinical expertise and professional insight to assessmentteams. Specialist Advisors are not expected to be regulatory experts but shoulduse their clinical knowledge, experience and professional judgement to helpevaluate the quality, safety and effectiveness of care and ensure thatassessments are informed by an understanding of contemporary general practice.

Successful candidates for the GP Specialist Advisor rolewill have been practising as a GP for at least five years followingqualification. Applicants must hold a current licence to practise and beincluded on the NHS GP Performers List.

Where GP Specialist Advisors are GP Partners or salariedGPs, they must be employed by a practice that currently holds a CQC rating ofeither Good or Outstanding.

Successful candidates must also hold an NHS Smartcard and beconfident in the use of digital systems and technology.

Please note that all successful Specialist Advisorapplicants will be required to participate in a generic induction and primarycare-specific training (dates to be confirmed). You will accompany CQC representatives on inspection andinvestigation activities at identified provider organisations, providingclinical expertise and input to support appropriate regulatory judgements.

Most of the role can be undertaken remotely. However, theremay be occasional requirements to participate in on-site practice visits, andwe would expect you to be available to support these as part of the role.

All successful candidates must be in current professionalpractice.

Key Responsibilities...

• Providetimely, robust and objective specialist advice to CQC staff through verbaland written communication.

• AccompanyCQC representatives on inspections and related activities at identifiedprovider organisations, providing clinical expertise and specialist adviceto support evidence-based regulatory judgements.

• Reviewinspection reports in a timely manner following inspection activity,ensuring that findings, evidence, recommendations and ratings areaccurate, evidence-based and aligned with inspection outcomes and therelevant regulatory framework.

• Demonstratethe highest standards of impartiality, integrity and objectivity inrelation to advice and activities undertaken on CQC's behalf.

• Adoptan open and transparent approach in all business activities and in theprovision of advice undertaken on CQC's behalf.

• Ensureall work carried out is within the required scope and that relevant CQCpolicies and guidance are adhered to.

• Maintainthe confidentiality of information accessed during work undertaken forCQC.

Please note that this role is subject to a satisfactoryDBS check.

Being a Specialist Advisor

This role can be undertaken as either a Casual Worker, paid directly to a personal bank account by the CQC for attending in your own time (non-working days, annual leave) or as a seconded position if your service is registered with the CQC and agrees to the secondment. Seconded SpAs' organisations agree in principle that their employees can attend CQC assessments and the seconded SpA seeks their line manager's permission to take leave to attend individual inspections, which can last from one to three days. The seconded SpA's organisation then invoices the CQC for the time the SpA spent away from their substantive role.

Please note this is invoiced at the SpA day rate.

You will be offered opportunities to support assessments with 6 weeks’ notice whenever possible, however, you will also be contacted for more short notice support on occasions. You are under no obligation to accept an assessment should it be offered and it not be convenient for you. We are not able to guarantee you a set number of assessment opportunities in a one-year period.

You may be offered one a month or one in the whole year depending on the focus of the assessment programme.

If successful at interview we aim to conclude your pre-engagement checks within a 6-8 week window, please complete all forms and take actions to assist the team in achieving this. You will be provided with a dedicated onboarding peer who will support you in completing pre-engagement checks and will be on hand to answer any questions you have. You will be required to have a current DBS certificate under 3 years old, and we require references going back three years.

If you've been with the same employer for three years’ then we'll only require one reference.

Individual Adjustments

We are committed to being open and transparent about our processes and endeavour to provide every candidate with the opportunity to perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. We seek to support candidates in identifying potential challenges and will work with them to identify and facilitate reasonable adjustments where appropriate. Should you require assistance or wish to request an adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact a member of the team via email at [email protected].

Sponsorship

This role is not open to applications fromindividuals who require sponsorship under the points-based immigration system. If you apply for this role and are found to requiresponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer ofemployment withdrawn.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

CQC is committed to promoting a fair and inclusive workplace where all our people can flourish and reach their full potential. We know that diverse teams create a more innovative and productive environment, and we therefore encourage applications from everyone regardless of age, sex, genderidentity or expression, religion or belief, disability, ethnicity or sexualorientation.

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