Overview
Assurance Lead
Grade B – £39,784 (National) or £45,456 (London – for London office based or homebased workers within the boundary of the M25) – There is also an additional homeworking allowance of £581 per annum for those working from home.
Contracted Hours: Full-time 37 hours per week. We will also consider compressed hours
Contract Type: Permanent
Location: Full-time 37 hours per week. We will also consider compressed hours
Closing date: Monday 6 October 2025 at 11.59pm
Make a difference
Every role at CQC contributes to our mission, if you’re looking for a new role in Finance, Commercial & Workplace that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose, then you’ve found it! As an Assurance Lead, you’ll assess compliance and controls helping shape how we manage risk and assurance across the organisation-making sure our work is safe, effective, and aligned with best practice.
Picture this
Imagine being part of a team that helps CQC stay accountable, transparent, and continuously improving. You’ll work with leaders across the organisation to make sure our processes are robust, and our decisions are informed by evidence.
At CQC as an Assurance Lead in the Finance, Commercial & Workplace directorate, you might get the chance to:
- Lead a second-line assurance review that helps improve how we manage risk across the organisation.
- Support the development of a new assurance framework that ensures compliance and consistent, high-quality outcomes in our work.
The role
You’ll be key in helping us deliver our work. In this role, you’ll:
- Support assurance activities: Work with directors and teams to ensure effective controls are in place to ensure compliance and consistency in our functions and that assurance processes reflect best practice.
- Deliver insights and improvements: Through effective engagement you will track and evaluate proposals to deliver improvements (for instance in response to internal audits), producing data driven, evidence based reports on progress
- Promote quality and compliance: Provide assurance that our risk and control processes meet Government Functional Standards and deliver the intended impact.
Show us
We’ll be looking for the following skills, knowledge and experience in your application form:
- Experience of evaluating and improving assurance frameworks: You’ve developed or enhanced control and assurance frameworks ideally in a large public sector setting.
- Ability to produce high-quality reports: You can deliver clear, evidence-based assurance assessments that support decision-making.
- Collaborative working: You’ve worked closely with others-internally and externally-to drive improvements and build strong partnerships.
Compliance
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 – Suzie Burden, Assurance Practice Manager Suzannah.Burden@cqc.org.uk. For general enquiries, please email recruitment@cqc.org.uk .
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 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 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.
