Communication & Engagement Lead (Rebuilding)

Grade B: £39,784 (National Framework) or £45,456 (London Framework - if you are London office based or homebased and live within the boundary of the M25) - There is also an additional homeworking allowance of £581 per annum for those working from home. For part time roles - please note this will be pro rata.

Contracted Hours: Full-time 37 hours per week. Talk to us about compressed hours.

Contract Type: Fixed Term or Secondment opportunity until December 2025

Location: Home or office based, flexible location. Hybrid working (working 2 days a week from home).

Closing Date: Friday 18 April 2025 at 11.59pm

This role is NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

Are you committed to helping us regulate health and social care within England?

When thinking about what drives you every day in your job, what keeps you motivated and passionate about your work what comes to mind? For 3000+ people at the CQC we end each day knowing that we have made a difference to the lives of those most in need in our communities. We make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and encourage care services to improve. We are looking for people who are caring, demonstrate integrity and work well as part of a team to join with us and share in this sense of achievement. If you would like to help us make a positive impact to health and social care within England, then read on.

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to support the development and delivery of a communications and engagement strategy as CQC undertakes work to reset and refocus on its purpose, values and ways of working. As the Communications and Engagement Lead, you'll be at the forefront of shaping how our organisation communicates complex change initiatives both internally and externally. You will be part of a small central team, collaborating with a wider Engagement directorate, but with responsibility for driving forward communication and engagement plans in the areas you lead.

This role would suit someone with ambition and confidence seeking to advance their career in strategic communications. You'll have the chance to develop high-level narrative building skills, work directly with senior stakeholders, and gain valuable experience leading communications for significant organisational change programmes.

You'll be empowered to create and deliver engagement plans that make a real impact, working across multiple formats and channels to tell compelling stories that drive understanding and support for our rebuilding work. This role offers the perfect blend of strategic thinking and hands-on delivery, making it ideal for someone looking to broaden their communications expertise in a dynamic healthcare regulatory environment.

Essential Skills Required

We're seeking a confident communicator with proven experience in engagement or communications roles who can thrive in a complex, changing environment. You must be experienced in narrative building and content creation across multiple formats, with excellent written and verbal communication skills.

The successful candidate must demonstrate:

- Strong relationship management abilities and the confidence to build connections with stakeholders at all levels

- Exceptional organisational and project management capabilities

- Experience in developing compelling narratives that simplify complex messages

- Resilience to handle competing priorities and adapt to evolving needs

- Comfort with ambiguity and the ability to make decisions with incomplete information

- The confidence to advise senior colleagues and offer constructive challenge where necessary

Within your application, you should evidence specific examples that demonstrate these key qualities, particularly your ability to handle ambiguous situations with confidence and resilience. Please provide concrete examples of how you've built effective narratives in complex environments and successfully influenced stakeholders. This detailed evidence will support you at shortlist stage should we receive a high number of applications.

What we offer you...

27 days of leave per year, rising to 32.5 days with length of service, plus bank holidays (usually 8 days per year).

Opportunities and support for in house and external training and development.

Free, unlimited access to Headspace meditation app.

Sports and gym discounts.

Free employee assistance service 24 hours a day.

NHS pension scheme, with around a 14% employer contribution.

Discounts to high street stores, supermarkets, restaurants and more.

Eligibility to apply for a Blue Light Card, which cost £4.99 and are valid for 2 years.

Fleet home electronics and car leasing salary sacrifice scheme.

Cycle to work scheme up to the value of £5,000.

Internal reward scheme where you could win a voucher or two!

We want to make working for CQC a great experience for everyone, and to role model a diverse and representative culture. To support an inclusive environment where colleagues feel empowered to bring their whole self to work, we support a variety of staff networks, including the Race Equality Network, LGBT+ Equality Network, Carers Equality Network, Disability Equality Network and Gender Equality network.

Please click the link below to access the Job Description: -

Please note some roles may be subject to a satisfactory DBS check

Req2547 JD Comms & Eng - grade Bs (Rebuilding).docx

For an informal discussion or further information about this role please contact Hiring Manager - Nicola Ward, Communication & Engagement Manager (Rebuilding); Nicola.ward@cqc.org.uk and for general enquiries contact recruitment@cqc.org.uk

Individual adjustments...

We are committed to being open and transparent around our processes and we endeavour to offer every candidate the opportunity to perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. We seek to support candidates to identify potential challenges and work with them to identify and facilitate reasonable adjustments as appropriate. Should you require assistance and/or would like to request a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact a member of the team via email: recruitment@cqc.org.uk

Note for internal candidates:

As this is a secondment/fixed term opportunity it is important that you read our recruitment and selection policy relating to secondments and you must discuss your application with your line manager before applying. Your line manager will need to consider the implications of the release, agree whether you can be released for a specific time and that the secondment represents a development opportunity/meets business needs.

Note for external candidates:

CQC are currently working through an organisational transformation programme which includes the creation of a new target operating model. This role is offered as a fixed term contract as part of the transition process to that new model. For further information on this please visit https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/jobs/information-applicants

CQC is committed to promoting a fair and inclusive workplace where all our people can flourish and reach their full potential. We know diverse teams allow for a more creative and productive environment and therefore encourage applications from everyone regardless of: age, gender/sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability, ethnicity or sexual orientation.

Candidates must ensure that all information provided in their application is detailed in their own words and is factually accurate. Any examples provided must be taken from personal experience. CQC abides by honesty and integrity as part of its core values, if evidence of plagiarism or generating answers from other sources is found, applications may be withdrawn.

Our Values

Excellence - Meeting our challenge to be a high-performing organisation

Caring - Treating everyone with dignity and respect

Integrity - Demonstrating our passion for 'doing the right thing'

Teamwork - Enabling us to be the best we can