Quality Assurance and Improvement Practitioner | Full time, Permanent | Preston (Hybrid Working)

Salary £37,563–£42,123 | Full time, Permanent | Preston (Hybrid Working) About the role... This is an exciting opportunity to join Commissioning and Quality (Market) as a Quality Assurance and Improvement Practitioner, working across Lancashire’s commissioned adult social care market. You’ll play an important role in understanding and assuring the quality of commissioned services, working with providers, colleagues and partners to recognise good practice, identify emerging risks and support continuous improvement. The Adults, Health and Wellbeing Quality Assurance and Improvement Framework provides the strategic foundation and you’ll bring together feedback, data and audit evidence with provider intelligence and people’s lived experience to understand quality, identify emerging risks and support proportionate action. The focus is on whether services and the improvements providers make are having a positive impact on people’s lives, not simply whether processes have been completed. You’ll undertake planned and responsive provider reviews, visits and observations across designated adult social care markets, with activity prioritised according to risk, intelligence and service need. Through engagement with people who draw on care and support, unpaid carers, representatives and advocates, you’ll ensure their experiences, rights and outcomes inform your findings and recommendations. Working constructively with providers, you’ll contribute to and lead allocated improvement activity, including Quality Performance Improvement Plans (QPIPs). You’ll balance support with appropriate challenge, recognise good practice, monitor progress and check that improvements are embedded and sustainable. You’ll also identify and escalate quality, safeguarding and service continuity risks through established arrangements. Alongside colleagues in Quality, Commissioning, Market Management, operational services and partner organisations, you’ll share evidence and learning to support improvements in individual services and across the wider commissioned care market. We’re looking for professional curiosity, sound judgement and the ability to analyse evidence, build relationships and challenge constructively. You’ll need relevant experience in quality assurance, service improvement, commissioning, contract monitoring, regulation, adult safeguarding or operational practice within adult social care, health or a related field. Please see the person specification for the full essential requirements. Interviews will be scheduled week commencing 23 November Job Description and Person Specification (https://lancashire-county-council-umbraco-sites.uksouth01.umbraco.io/media/bauitaqb/quality-assurance-and-improvement-practitioner-jd-1.pdf)
Additional Information

In return Lancashire County Council offers a range of benefits, which can be found on LCC Vacancies website.

We reserve the right to close down a vacancy early, before the closing date, if we receive sufficient applications.

International Sponsorship

Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role

DBS

The post you are applying for is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). If successful you will be required to apply to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for a 'disclosure'. Further information can be found on the 'Our Recruitment Process' tab.

Local Government Reorganisation

The Government has confirmed that local government across Lancashire will be reorganised, with the current 15 councils being replaced by four new unitary councils covering North, South, East and West Lancashire from April 2028.

If you are successful in your application, you will initially join Lancashire County Council. However, as part of the planned transition, your employment will transfer to one of the new unitary councils from April 2028, subject to the implementation of the reorganisation and relevant employment legislation.

Throughout this period, our focus remains on delivering excellent services to our communities. By joining us now, you'll play an important role in shaping the future of local government and helping to build a strong new organisation that will serve residents for years to come.