SpecialistAdvisor (SpA) – Drug and Alcohol Services
Daily Rate: £300 per day (£268 day rate plusholiday pay)
Location: National
ContractType: Casual Worker
Working Pattern: Ad hoc, as and when required
Closing Date: Sunday4th October 2026 at 11.59pm
Are youcommitted to helping us regulate drug and alcohol services in England?
The CareQuality Commission (CQC) is looking for experienced clinical professionals towork with us as Specialist Advisors (SpAs) and support our assessment teamsthrough their expert knowledge and experience of drug and alcohol services.
We make surehealth and social care services provide people with safe, effective,compassionate, high-quality care and we encourage services to improve. We arelooking for people who demonstrate integrity, professional credibility and acommitment to excellence to join us and help make a positive difference topeople who access drug and alcohol services.
As aSpecialist Advisor, you will work alongside CQC inspectors and experts byexperience, contributing specialist expertise to our regulatory work andhelping us reach fair, balanced and evidence-based judgements.
Why thiscould be a great role for you
This is anopportunity to contribute directly to the assessment and improvement of drugand alcohol treatment and recovery services across England.
You will:
- Support CQC inspection activitythrough your specialist expertise.
- Gain valuable insight into awide range of services and models of care.
- Share your professionalknowledge and experience with multidisciplinary assessment teams.
- Observe examples of outstandingpractice and innovation across the sector.
- Help ensure people accessingservices receive safe, effective, responsive and person-centred care.
- Contribute to the reduction ofhealth inequalities experienced by people affected by substance use.
How therole works
This role isflexible and designed to complement your existing professional commitments.
As aSpecialist Advisor, you will be invited to support specific assessments andinspections on an ad hoc basis. Assignments are typically linked to individualassessment activities and may involve single days or short periods of workthroughout the year, depending on service need and your availability.
Applicantsmust be actively working within drug and alcohol services and able todemonstrate current, hands-on clinical experience. We are seeking professionalswho understand the realities of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery servicedelivery today and can bring contemporary clinical expertise and insight to CQCassessment activity. This is an essential requirement of the role.
Althoughthis is a national role, we recognise that applicants may wish to limit travelor avoid working in areas where there may be conflicts of interest. We willdiscuss your geographical preferences and availability as part of the recruitment process.
Travel toprovider locations will sometimes be required, and occasional overnight staysmay be necessary.
About therole
SpecialistAdvisors support CQC by providing expert advice and professional judgementthroughout assessment, inspection and regulatory activity.
Activitiesmay include:
- Participating in assessment andinspection visits.
- Reviewing evidence anddocumentation.
- Observing care delivery andclinical practice.
- Speaking with staff, leaders andpeople using services.
- Identifying examples of goodpractice and areas for improvement.
- Contributing specialist insightto assessment findings.
- Providing verbal and writtenfeedback to CQC colleagues.
- Supporting evidence-basedjudgements regarding the quality and safety of care.
Who weare looking for
We areseeking highly experienced clinical professionals with extensive expertise in drugand alcohol treatment and recovery services.
Applicantsshould have current clinical experience and be recognised as knowledgeable andcredible practitioners within the field.
We areparticularly interested in applications from:
- Consultant Psychiatristsspecialising in Addiction Psychiatry
- Consultant Nurses
- Advanced Clinical Practitioners
- Non-Medical Prescribers
- Specialist Substance MisuseNurses
- Consultant ClinicalPsychologists
- Senior Social Workers
- Approved Mental HealthProfessionals (AMHPs)
- Specialist Pharmacists workingwithin drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services
- Senior clinicians with expertisein detoxification, opioid substitution treatment, prescribing governanceand medicines management
- Clinicians with expertise inco-occurring mental health and substance use conditions
Essentialcriteria
You will beable to demonstrate:
- Extensive clinical experiencewithin drug and alcohol services.
- Current practice within drug andalcohol treatment services.
- Expert knowledge ofevidence-based interventions for substance use disorders.
- A thorough understanding of thecare, treatment and support needs of people accessing drug and alcoholservices.
- Knowledge of safeguarding, riskassessment and risk management.
- Understanding of relevantlegislation, national guidance and policy relating to services.
- Experience of working withpeople with complex needs, including co-occurring mental healthconditions.
- The ability to analyse evidenceand provide objective, balanced and professional judgement.
- Strong communication andinterpersonal skills.
- The ability to work effectivelyas part of a multidisciplinary assessment team.
- Commitment to equality,diversity and inclusion and reducing health inequalities.
Whatyou’ll bring
- Act with integrity andprofessionalism.
- Are able to provide constructivechallenge.
- Can make evidence-basedprofessional judgements.
- Have a strong commitment to improving outcomes for people who use services.
- Are passionate abouthigh-quality, safe and effective care.
- Can work collaboratively andrespectfully with colleagues and providers.
Being aSpecialist Advisor
This rolecan be undertaken as either a Casual Worker, paid directly to a personal bankaccount by the CQC for attending in your own time (non-working days, annualleave) or as a seconded position if your service is registered with the CQC andagrees to the secondment. Seconded SpAs’ organisations agree in principle thattheir employees can attend CQC assessments and the seconded SpA seeks theirline manager’s permission to take leave to attend individual inspections, whichcan last from one to three days. The seconded SpA’s organisation then invoicesthe CQC for the time the SpA spent away from their substantive role. Pleasenote this is invoiced at the SpA day rate.
You will beoffered opportunities to support assessments with 6 weeks’ notice wheneverpossible, however, you will also be contacted for more short notice support onoccasions. You are under no obligation to accept an assessment should it beoffered and it not be convenient for you. We are not able to guarantee you aset number of assessment opportunities in a one-year period. You may be offeredone a month or one in the whole year depending on the focus of the assessmentprogramme.
Ifsuccessful at interview we aim to conclude your pre-engagement checks within a6-8 week window, please complete all forms and take actions to assist the teamin achieving this. You will be provided with a dedicated onboarding peer whowill support you in completing pre-engagement checks and will be on hand toanswer any questions you have.
Please note this role is subject to a satisfactory DBS check.
You will be required to have a current DBScertificate under 3 years old, and we require references going back threeyears. If you’ve been with the same employer for three years’ then we’ll onlyrequire one reference.
Expectedtime commitment for formal assessments…
- Must be able to commit to atleast 2 full assessments within a 12-month period.
- Preparation and planning callsprior to assessment activity.
- Fieldwork activity, typicallylasting between 1-3 days on site per assessment.
- Ad hoc advice and input relatingto documentation and interviews as required.
- Input into quality assuranceactivities, typically 6 to 8 hours per assessment.
For an informal discussion or further information about this role, please contact Emma Whittingham-Berry via email at Emma.Whittingham-Berry@cqc.org.uk.
Eligibility to work
If you are successful at interview, CQC will need to verify your right to work in the UK using digital identity verification.
Details of how to complete the right to work check will be provided as part of the conditional offer of employment. If we are unable to verify your right to work digitally, we are required to complete this face to face at one of our CQC Offices.
Please be aware that we are unable to progress any offer of employment until right to work in the UK is confirmed.
We will require all successful applicants to be active in Professional Practice.
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 individual adjustments as appropriate.
Should you require assistance and/or would like to request an adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact a member of the team via email: temprecruitment@cqc.org.uk.
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