Guidance

'Quality assurance lead' role category

Updated 16 July 2026

Applies to England

This role category describes a group of similar roles. In different places, these roles may be called different things and/or have different role titles.

What people do in their work

This section outlines the kind of responsibilities someone within this role category is likely to undertake as part of their role.

This role category supports people internally within their organisation and the organisation as a whole. This may involve:

• maintaining and enhancing the quality and safety of care through structured audits and inspections
• ensuring robust information governance practices are in place, to protect individuals’ and the organisation’s data
• providing oversight of service quality, helping keep senior leadership informed of the performance of the organisation
• leading on quality improvement initiatives and service transformation projects

This role category could be across a variety of organisations. You might work in a:

• residential or nursing care environment
• homecare environment
• day service environment
• supported living environment
• charitable organisation that provides care

As a quality assurance and/or compliance lead you will encourage improvement in your organisation and help ensure the provision of safe, high-quality, person-centred care for people who draw on care and support.

Examples of the type of role performed

The primary objective of quality assurance and compliance within adult social care is to oversee and refine systems that monitor and evaluate service provision. This includes implementing necessary changes to ensure services align with standards set by professional bodies, evidence-based practice and internal policies. Ultimately, the aim is to enhance outcomes for individuals receiving care.

Given the diverse nature of adult social care services, the structure and responsibilities of quality assurance and compliance roles may vary to suit the specific needs of each service. Examples of roles that contribute or are responsible for this function include:

• compliance officer
• quality assurance officer
• quality assurance and contracts compliance assistant
• practice improvement officer
• quality specialist
• quality partner
• quality assurance manager
• senior quality manager
• quality manager
• quality checker
• Care Quality Commission (CQC) manager
• quality improvement manager
• clinical risk manager
• head of performance management
• assistant director for quality and assurance
• director of quality improvement
• director of quality assurance

Values

Values are the foundation underpinning the behaviours that people in this role category must show.

The values are:

• kind, compassionate and empathetic
• honest, trustworthy and reliable
• respect
• courageous and principled
• see the whole person
• flexible, open and learning
• proud and positive

You can read more about the values in the ‘overview’ document on the care workforce pathway landing page - see the section on ‘Universal sector values’.

The behaviours people must show (must do)

Behaviours are the way that values are demonstrated in practice.

This section outlines the behaviours required to work within this role category. These are the things people must be doing in their job.

Kind, compassionate and empathetic

You must:

• act with compassion and empathy, embedding a positive, inclusive culture in your organisation
• engage directly with people working for your organisation so they feel supported and can thrive

Honest, trustworthy and reliable

You must:

• demonstrate and set high standards of personal, ethical and professional behaviour, role modelling these attributes to the staff you lead
• acknowledge and take responsibility when a mistake is made, learn from the incident and actively work to ensure that the same mistake is not made again in the future

Respect

You must:

• respect the value of people with lived experience and how their voices can help to improve services
• personally promote equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights, and ensure your staff are sensitive to people’s culture, age, gender, religion, race, sexual orientation and disability
• treat everyone with dignity, sensitivity and respect

Courageous and principled

You must:

• confront discrimination, bullying, harassment and inequality when you encounter it, empowering and supporting others to do the same
• hold yourself and others to account for doing the job well, working together fairly and effectively and always looking for ways to improve
• challenge yourself to try new things, supporting others to do the same
• inspire a shared commitment to quality, safety and compliance within your organisation

See the whole person

You must:

• commit yourself to promoting the happiness, health and wellbeing of people drawing on care and support by placing their needs at the centre of everything you do
• demonstrate a personal commitment to promoting inclusivity and accessibility among your staff and for those your organisation supports

Flexible, open and learning

You must:

• act transparently when making decisions, seeking and incorporating feedback appropriately
• champion and lead others in the use of reflective practice to help improve services and support personal development
• lead innovation and service development in your organisation, modelling the behaviours you expect from others
• remain open and inquisitive, using evidence, valuing diverse perspectives and challenging outdated assumptions, to support continuous improvement

Proud and positive

You must:

• take pride in your role in adult social care, empowering your staff to also take pride in the work they do, celebrating achievements and success
• role model a calm, measured and positive approach when managing complex or difficult situations

Working together

You must:

• build positive and collaborative relationships with colleagues, stakeholders and people who draw on care and support
• bring in different views and work across teams and organisations making sure everyone is included

Professionalism

You must:

• recognise the need for continuing professional development to remain up to date and be able to understand and follow appropriate regulations and practice updates or innovations
• apply a meticulous approach to audits, data analysis and reporting to identify trends and aid informed decision making

Knowledge and skills people should have

Knowledge is the understanding someone needs to carry out the responsibilities of the role.

Skills are the ability to apply that knowledge in practice.

This section outlines the knowledge and skills someone working in this role category should know and the things they should be able to do in their job.

The structure and responsibilities of quality assurance roles covered by this role category may vary by service or setting. Not all knowledge and skills will apply in every context, and some others may be required, such as completing dementia training when working in a dementia care setting.

Digital skills

As part of learner knowledge and skill development, you can also work to level 1 (digital skills for all) of the Adult Social Care Digital Skills Framework.

Within this role category, we would expect you to show all level 1 competencies. All level 2 competencies (digital skills to go further) could also be utilised within this role category.

Knowledge and skills breakdown for this role category

Understanding governance in adult social care

You should:

• demonstrate a thorough understanding of the main regulatory frameworks and their effects on service provision, including:
  • the Health and Social Care Act 2008
  • the Care Act 2014
  • the Mental Capacity Act 2005
  • the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
  • frameworks on safeguarding
  • CQC Fundamental Standards
• be able to stay up to date with regulatory changes and understand how they affect care provision in your organisation
• be able to share regulatory knowledge effectively and support others to maintain compliance
• be able to ensure that internal policies and procedures align with best practice and all relevant regulatory frameworks
• understand which specific standards and frameworks apply to your organisation
• be able to ensure that staff consistently meet the standards outlined in these frameworks

Understanding preparing for and supporting inspections processes

You should:

• understand the role of CQC in the adult social care sector and the inspection process
• understand the CQC inspection framework
• understand the potential outcomes of a CQC inspection and their implications for your organisation
• be able to support managers to meet quality standards and prepare effectively for inspections
• be able to support managers in preparing the required data and information for inspection
• be able to support managers after inspections by interpreting feedback and helping to improve quality

Understanding quality assurance in adult care

You should:

• understand the role and significance of quality assurance in adult social care
• understand quality assurance and improvement methodologies relevant to your organisation
• be able to stay informed about new and emerging methodologies and assess their potential application within your organisation
• be able to provide leadership in applying quality assurance methodologies, supporting others in their implementation
• understand the tools your organisation uses to monitor and report compliance
• be able to track and evaluate the progress and effectiveness of quality assurance and improvement activities within your organisation
• be able to lead or oversee audits, investigations and quality assurance initiatives effectively

Understanding data collection for quality assurance

You should:

• understand the importance of data collection and use in quality assurance
• understand the application of qualitative and quantitative data
• understand the types of data that can be collected in adult social care settings
• understand common data collection and evaluation methods
• be able to apply feedback methods that are accessible and meaningful to people who draw on care and support
• be able to collect data effectively as part of quality assurance activities
• be able to analyse and interpret data to support quality assurance and for wider research and evaluation
• be able to store data securely in accordance with adult social care data protection requirements and legislation

Support digital skills and transformation

You should:

• understand the national strategy and priorities for developing digital skills in adult social care
• understand the ongoing digital transformation across adult social care, with emphasis on digital skills and technology
• be able to lead and support digital transformation within your organisation, including building staff digital capability and confidence
• understand the digital tools that enhance safe and effective care provision
• understand the ethical considerations associated with using technology in care settings
• understand CQC’s digital expectations and how to embed them in your organisation

Understanding communication in adult care

You should be able to:

• communicate effectively and clearly with all internal and external stakeholders
• promote transparency and accountability within your work

Understanding continuous improvement in adult care

You should:

• understand why continuous improvement in care is important
• understand how you can continuously improve in your role as a quality assurance lead
• be able to support others in their professional development
• be able to support the development of internal training and development policies and procedures, ensuring training meets regulatory requirements and best practice
• where applicable, be able to liaise and work with learning and development practitioners to help plan training and development for staff

Understand change management and impact

You should:

• understand the importance of effective change management
• understand how existing processes, procedures and policies can facilitate or hinder change
• understand change management methodologies that support effective implementation
• be able to lead the application of change management methodologies
• be able to identify which stakeholders will be affected by change
• be able to communicate planned changes clearly, effectively and with compassion
• be able to support others through the change process by fostering engagement and commitment
• be able to monitor and evaluate implemented changes to ensure intended outcomes have been achieved

Leading and promoting equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights in adult care

You should:

• understand equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights
• be able to support a culture that promotes, values and celebrates equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights

Oliver’s Training

Complete Oliver’s Training on Learning Disability and Autism: Tier 1 (if not done so already). Tier 2 can be undertaken in settings providing direct care to individuals with autism or a learning disability.

Role category persona

Hassan

Hassan has been working in adult social care for the last 7 years, supporting his organisation through business administration. Over time, Hassan has discovered that the part of this job he loves the most is supporting others, but he recognises that he does not feel that direct care provision is the right career choice for him.

After reflecting on how he wants to move forward with his career, and on the knowledge and skills he has, Hassan speaks to his supervisor about working in quality assurance and compliance. Hassan’s manager arranges for Hassan to do some shadowing with one of their existing compliance officers for him to learn more about what the role will entail. Through shadowing, Hassan learns about how to approach quality assurance in a collaborative, person-centred way, emphasising how quality assurance should be a team endeavour, and not just something undertaken by one person.

After spending time shadowing, Hassan is interviewed for the role of compliance officer, which he is awarded. After he starts the role, Hassan receives mentoring from the compliance lead, who supports him with the development of the knowledge and skills he will need to fulfil his role of compliance officer. Hassan is supported to develop knowledge on the appropriate regulatory frameworks, and he does eLearning online about the role of CQC in adult social care, something that previously he only had a general idea of. He initially supports 2 care homes, though this number gradually grows as he develops his confidence and understanding further. He undertakes internal training that develops his competency in quality assurance, managing data effectively and supporting inspection processes.

After 9 months within his role, one of the care homes he supports has an inspection from CQC. With support from his wider team, and the hard work from the staff in the care home, Hassan supports the process of the inspection and later receives the good news that the care home has been awarded ‘outstanding’. Hassan’s work is recognised by the inspectors, emphasising the quality of the data and quality processes in place within the care home.

Hassan continues to develop and, after 3 years, is delighted to be entrusted with supporting the quality assurance processes of all the organisation’s care homes within his region. He contributes to the continued expansion of the business and achieves several outstanding ratings from CQC across the care homes he supports. He gets involved in a quality improvement project, supporting the upskilling of staff to use digital systems to manage care logs and plans. His work is valued and respected by his leadership team and by the care staff he supports.

After a further 2 years working as a compliance officer, Hassan interviews for a compliance and quality manager role. He is again successful and he now has responsibility for leading quality assurance across all the care homes within the organisation. He starts to look at more strategic initiatives to better support quality assurance within his organisation, sponsoring and leading projects focused on improving care provision over time. He ensures he keeps up to date on regulatory changes, leading others in the implementation of policies to align care provision with these changes. He also leads and coaches his compliance officers and compliance leads, supporting them in their own development and upskilling.