Senior Lawyer (Criminal) – Litigation, Prosecution & Inquest Team

Senior Lawyer (Criminal) – Litigation, Prosecution & Inquest Team – 4 locations available

Grade A –55,172 (National) or 61,028 (London for Londonoffice based or homebased workers within the boundary of the M25). All SeniorLawyers receive an additional 2,500 Recruitment and Retention allowanceannually. For full time homeworkers thisrole also offers a 600 annual homeworking allowance.

Contracted Hours:Full time 37 hours per week – we may alsoconsider compressed hours

Contract Type:Permanent

Location: Flexible you can be home-based or office-based(London or Leeds office). We also operate hybrid working, with an expectationof 2 days per week working from home.

Closing date: Tuesday 16 June 2026 at 11.59pm

Make a difference Every role at CQC contributes to our mission, ifyoure looking for a new role in Legal Services that gives a true senseof meaning and purpose, then youve found it! As a Senior Lawyer, youllhelp make sure our decisions are fair, lawful and protect people who use healthand care services.

Picture this Youre advising on complex, high-impact cases while working with colleaguesacross CQC to make sure the right legal decisions are made at the right time.Your work directly supports safe, high-quality care by helping guideinvestigations and enforcement activity.

As a Senior Lawyer in the Criminal Litigation team, you will be working on:

• Leading legal work on complex investigations, supporting criminal prosecutions and inquest cases that concern people using services.
• Shaping legal strategies with senior leaders to manage risk and respond to emerging issues across CQCs regulatory work.

The roleYoull play an important part indelivering our mission. In this role, youll:

• Lead legal advice and litigation: Provide clear, practical legal advice and lead on litigation including prosecutions and inquests to support CQCs regulatory enforcement work.
• Manage and support a legal team: Line management supervision of colleagues, providing support and coaching to members of the team and other colleagues within CQC, helping to develop the legal team to deliver high quality, consistent legal advice and support.
• Work with senior stakeholders: Build strong relationships across CQC, helping teams understand legal risks and apply the right approach in their work.

Show usWe will be looking for specificskills, knowledge and experience in your application form:

• Legal qualification and experience: Qualified solicitor, barrister or legal executive in England and Wales with at least 5 years experience, including managing caseloads and advising on complex legal matters.
• Advocacy and litigation experience: Experience handling legal proceedings, including presenting cases in the criminal courts, coronial settings or a background in regulatory enforcement work.
• Leadership and applying legal knowledge: Experience leading or supporting colleagues while applying knowledge of investigations, prosecutions or public law to solve complex problems.

Apply today to join a workplace where your impactis felt every day.

ComplianceTo progress your application, youll need to provide evidence of your right towork in the UK. Without valid right to work you wont be eligible for therole.We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.Someroles may also be subject to a satisfactory DBS check.

Next stepsIf you apply, youll need to create a profile and complete an online application form.Your application will be completely anonymous.Please see ourinformation for applicantsfor more details on the process.We contact every applicantto 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 theJob Description

If youd like an informal chat about the role contact Annette Cocchiara, Legal Manager; annette.cocchiara@cqc.org.uk. For general enquiries, please emailrecruitment@cqc.org.uk.

The BenefitsWeoffer a wide range ofbenefits, 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 ourbenefitspage for the full list.

Equity for allWe know job descriptions can feel intimidating. Research shows they can cause some people to doubt whether theyre 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,well work with you to remove any barriers. Visit ouraccessibility pagefor more on this. If youd like to chat, please contactrecruitment@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 wherefairness, respect and inclusion are a priority. Diverse teams make our work better, help us deliver our mission and make our culture stronger. See ourED&I pagefor more about this.We welcomeapplications fromeveryone,and colleagues can find supportand 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 visionWe are guided by ourcore 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 AIAI 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 applicationmustreflectyour real skills and experience.
• Spell-checking and condensing word counts are great ways to use AI effectively.
• Do notcopy 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 andmay lead to your application being withdrawnor termination of your employment.

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