Overview
Medicines Inspector – South – National Operations
Grade B – £39,784 (National) or £45,456 per annum (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 or 30 hours minimum 4 days a week
Contract Type: Permanent
Location: Home based – Kent & Sussex area (Please note, this role will include regular travel within Kent & Sussex)
Closing date: Sunday 7 September 2025 at 11:59pm
Assessment Date: Tuesday 23 September 2025*
*The assessment centre will be in London
What to expect at assessment
Your assessment will be face-to-face and includes:
- A short written exercise
- A brief presentation (prepared in advance – we’ll send you the details)
- A relaxed interview
We aim to keep things welcoming and supportive. If you need any adjustments, just let us know!
If you’re curious about the role or just want to find out a bit more before applying, we’d love to have an informal conversation. No pressure, no commitment-just a chance to ask questions, get a feel for the team, and see if it’s the right fit for you. Please contact Hayley File, Regional Medicines Manager at hayley.file@cqc.org.uk . For general enquiries, please email recruitment@cqc.org.uk
Make a difference
Every role at CQC contributes to our mission. If you’re a pharmacy professional looking for a new role in CQC’s Medicines Optimisation Team that gives a true sense of meaning and purpose, then you’ve found it! As a Medicines Inspector based in the South , you’ll use your pharmacy expertise to help ensure people receive safe and effective care by supporting inspections and promoting good medicines optimisation across health and social care.
Picture this
Imagine being the trusted expert on medicines safety, helping inspection teams across the South make informed decisions that protect people and improve care.
- In the last year as a Medicines Inspector in the Medicines Optimisation Team, you will have supported inspections in a range of health and social care providers, such as care homes, GP practices and hospitals, identifying risks in how medicines were managed and helping the team take action.
- You might have contributed to the delivery of medicines training for inspectors, improving their understanding of safe medicines use in all health and social care settings.
The role
You’ll work closely with others to deliver shared outcomes. In this role, you’ll:
- Assess and Inspect health and social care providers : Provide expert input on medicines optimisation and safety during inspections and investigations.
- Support learning : Help train and develop CQC staff to improve their understanding of medicines optimisation.
- Manage workload effectively, focusing on specific care sectors as agreed.
Show us
We will be looking for specific skills, knowledge, and experience in your application form:
- Pharmacy registration and experience : Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council and at least 3 years of experience as a pharmacist or pharmacy technician.
- Medicines knowledge : Understanding of medicines law and how it applies to health and social care services.
- Clear communication : Ability to explain complex medicines issues in a simple, accessible way to different audiences.
Join us and help CQC shape the future of health and care in the South.
You can read the full details of the role in the Job Description
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.
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
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 .
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
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.
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.
