CEO
Social Care Institute for Excellence
Homebased with national travel as required
c.£140,000
Thank you for your interest in becoming our next Chief Executive.
We exist because too many people who draw on social care still don’t get the choice, dignity or quality of support they should be able to expect – whatever their age, background or circumstances. The Social Care Institute for Excellence was set up to change that: to find out what genuinely works in social care, and to make sure that knowledge reaches the people who plan, fund, deliver and use care services – all to create a society which enables everyone drawing on social care, regardless of age, background or circumstance, to live fulfilling lives.
What sets us apart is how we go about that work. We don’t produce solutions and guidance from a distance, we build them together with people who have lived experience of care and support, ensuring that their voices lead the change alongside practitioners, commissioners and providers, so that what we publish actually reflects what works on the ground.
Once reliant almost entirely on Government funding, SCIE is now a quicker-moving, more visible and increasingly commercial organisation with a genuine claim to thought leadership in the sector. Our new Chief Executive will carry that transformation further – widening SCIE’s influence, building new commercial income, and making sure our evidence and our voice are heard wherever decisions about the future of care are being made.
Few moments in social care have offered as much room for genuine change as the current one. With the Casey Commission underway, growing political appetite for clearer national standards, and a sharper recognition across the sector that good evidence has real commercial value, our next Chief Executive has an unusually open field to work in.
THE ROLE
To make the most of it, we need someone with real strategic range: commercially sharp, fluent in the politics and practicalities of health and social care, and comfortable representing SCIE in rooms that span Whitehall, local government, providers, media and people with direct experience of care. Just as important is how you do it. We’re looking for someone whose judgement and presence earn trust quickly, and who can hold together a diverse sector under pressure.
Our amazing staff bring great depth of expertise and passion for the cause, and comprise of former social workers, practitioners, local authority professionals or researchers. Perhaps that’s why our care for real impact shines through: over 90% of our annual survey respondents felt that SCIE understands and cares about making a difference to the lives of people drawing on care. SCIE is in a strong position: strategically focused, widely respected and a trusted part of the social care system’s infrastructure.
At SCIE, we see the real-world results of our work in practice in better-trained staff, better-run services, and better outcomes for the people relying on them, across the country.
If that mission speaks to you, we’d love to hear from you.
INFORMATION
Download the candidate brief to find out about the role.
DOWNLOADHow to apply
To make an application, please click on the apply now button below, with the following prepared:
- Your CV (no more than three sides).
- A supporting statement (no more than two sides) that sets out why you think this role is the right move for you and how you meet the knowledge and experience criteria.
Closing date: Monday 12th October 2026
Preliminary interviews: w/c Monday 26th October 2026
Staff and Lived Experience Panel: Monday 16th November 2026
Final Panel Interview: Tuesday 24th November 2026