Principal Officer, Care at Home

Job Description

NHS Highland is committed to delivering safe, compassionate, person centred care for every individual who relies on our services. We are seeking an exceptional Principal Officer within our Professional Leadership team to provide strategic leadership, strengthen professional practice, and support high quality care across our care at home sector.

About the Role

• Provide expert professional leadership to care at home managers and multidisciplinary teams.
• Champion high standards of care governance.
• Lead on quality assurance, improvement planning, and regulatory readiness.
• Support the development of a skilled, confident, and resilient workforce.
• Build strong partnerships with key stakeholders.
• Drive innovation, evidence based practice, and continuous improvement.
• Offer professional advice on policy, standards, and service development.
• Contribute to training, professional development programmes, and leadership capacity building.

About you

• A degree level qualification in a relevant health or social care profession, with current professional registration, is required.
• A postgraduate qualification in leadership, management, or quality improvement is desirable.
• Significant leadership experience within adult social care, nursing, or health and social care integration.
• A deep understanding of care at home operations, national standards, and regulatory landscape.
• Strong influencing skills and the ability to lead through collaboration.
• The ability to inspire others and foster a culture of learning and improvement.

This is a unique opportunity to shape and support the future of care at home provision across NHS Highland Care at Home services. You will play a pivotal role in improving outcomes for residents, supporting staff, and strengthening the quality and resilience of care services.

Informal enquiries can be made to Shona MacLean at

Equality and diversity

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.

Additional information for candidates

• Effective from 1st April 2026, the Agenda for Change full-time working week will be reduced from 37 to 36 hours. Part-time hours will be adjusted on a pro-rata basis. There will be an increase in the hourly rate to ensure that pay remains unaffected.
• You should apply for this post by completing the application process on Jobtrain.
• DO NOT upload a CV as this will not be used for short listing purposes
• Posts close at midnight on the indicated date
• For help to complete an application on Job Train please follow this link: (application process information)
• To view our accessibility statement, please follow this link: (accessibility statement)
• Please note that our correspondence method is by e-mail, therefore please ensure you enter your email address accurately
• Please check your e-mail regularly (including junk folders) and also your Jobtrain account for updates
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• Once you have submitted your application form you will be unable to make any amendments
• Some of our vacancies are for internal candidates only. If you are a member of staff, please ensure you update your Jobtrain profile to reflect that you are employed by NHS Highland

NHS Highland is geographically the largest of the 14 regional boards of NHS Scotland, covering an area of 12,500 square miles, across Highland and Argyll & Bute.

We employ over 10,700 people, making us one of the biggest employers in the area. As an organisation, we make a very significant contribution to the local economy.

Our staff are also important members of our communities. Our greatest asset is our workforce, and the way we go about our work comes from the values and behaviours we demonstrate on a daily basis. As a board we strive to ensure the environment is conducive to nurturing a positive culture, supported and delivered through our NHS and social care values.