Adoption Panel Adviser

Recruitment Hub; Northampton; Presencial; GBP 32.000 - 42.000; Jornada completa

Ventajas ofrecidas por este puesto de trabajo

28 days annual leave

Bank Holidays + 8 days (pro rata)

Life cover (3x salary)

Life Assurance + ill-health protection

Purchase up to 25 days leave

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee discounts

Flexible and family working

Career development

Subsidised town centre parking

Descripción de la vacante

Northamptonshire Children's Trust is seeking an Adoption Panel Adviser to support the Adoption Panel, Panel Chair and Agency Decision Maker. You will ensure legal compliance, rigorous practice and positive outcomes for children, sharing expert guidance across the service.

This is a 3‑month fixed‑term role for a qualified social worker with registration in Social Work England, offering local government benefits and opportunities to influence safeguarding and policy.

Formación

• Qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England.
• Experience in children's social care, adoption and fostering services.
• Strong knowledge of legislation and policy related to adoption and children's services.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Good professional judgement and ability to challenge where needed.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines.
• Commitment to safeguarding, equality and inclusion.

Responsabilidades

• Provide professional advice to the Adoption Panel, Panel Chair and Agency Decision Maker on legislation and practice.
• Quality assure reports and documentation for the panel and support social workers.
• Attend panel meetings and contribute expert input.
• Coordinate agendas, panel membership and statutory requirements with the Panel Administrator.
• Identify practice issues and feed back to managers and teams for improvement.
• Oversee timely production of panel minutes and documentation.
• Arrange induction, development and training for panel members.
• Offer specialist advice on panel readiness and regulatory requirements.

Conocimientos

Qualified Social Worker

Registration with SWE

Knowledge of legislation

Experience in fostering/adoption

Communication skills

Professional judgement

Negotiation skills

Safeguarding commitment

Educación

Social Work qualification

Registration with Social Work England

Descripción del empleo

Our benefits

We are committed to continuous improvement, building a skilled, knowledgeable, and flexible workforce alongside promoting innovation and creativity whilst keeping children, young people and families at the heart of all we do.

We really value our workforce and offer you a great benefits package including:

• 28 days annual leave, plus 8 Bank Holidays (pro rata for part time) and an additional 5 days, after 5 years
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health pension protection.
• Opportunity to purchase up to 25 days annual leave
• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
• Flexible and family working arrangements including enhanced maternity benefits
• A permanent, supportive and inclusive management team where you will be empowered to make good professional decisions
• Extensive Learning & Development and career development opportunities
• Subsidised town centre car parking scheme

About the role

Are you an experienced social work professional with a passion for achieving the best outcomes for children? Do you have the confidence to provide expert advice, challenge practice where needed, and help ensure robust decision‑making within adoption services?

As our Adoption Panel Adviser, you will play a pivotal role in supporting the Adoption Panel and Agency Decision Maker, helping to ensure that panel processes are legally compliant, professionally rigorous and focused on securing positive outcomes for children. You'll be a trusted source of expert guidance, influencing practice across the service and helping maintain the highest standards of quality and safeguarding.

This is a 3 month fixed term opportunity to use your specialist knowledge of adoption, fostering and children's social care to make a lasting impact while working collaboratively with social workers, managers, panel members and senior leaders.

We welcome the opportunity to speak to any interested candidates so please feel free to email: [e-mail] and they can agree a mutually agreeable time to call you

What will you be doing?

• Provide professional advice and guidance to the Adoption Panel, Panel Chair and Agency Decision Maker on legislation, regulations, policy and practice relating to adoption.
• Quality assure reports and documentation presented to panel, ensuring high standards and supporting social workers and managers to address any identified gaps.
• Attend panel meetings, contributing your professional expertise and ensuring key issues are identified and considered during discussions.
• Work closely with the Panel Administrator to coordinate agendas, panel membership and statutory requirements, ensuring panels are appropriately constituted and able to conduct business effectively.
• Support continuous improvement by identifying practice issues arising through panel activity and feeding these back to managers and teams.
• Oversee the quality and timely production of panel minutes and documentation in line with statutory timescales.
• Arrange induction, development and training opportunities for panel members, helping maintain an informed and effective panel.
• Provide specialist advice to practitioners and managers on panel readiness, adoption processes and regulatory requirements.

About you

To be successful in this role, you'll be a qualified Social Worker registered with Social Work England and bring substantial experience working within children's social care, alongside a strong understanding of adoption and fostering services

You'll also bring:

• A recognised Social Work qualification and registration with social work England.
• Strong knowledge of current legislation, regulations, statutory guidance and national policy relating to adoption and children's services.
• Experience of working within fostering and adoption services, including the application of adoption and fostering regulations and national minimum standards.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build credibility and influence a wide range of stakeholders.
• Strong professional judgement, analytical skills and the confidence to provide constructive challenge where necessary.
• Effective negotiation skills and the ability to work independently while managing competing priorities and deadlines.
• A commitment to safeguarding, equality, inclusion and delivering the highest standards of practice for children and families.

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore subject to an enhanced DBS certificate. It is also a regulated activity and will be subject to a Barred List check

About us

At Northamptonshire Children's Trust, children, young people and families are at the heart of everything we do. Every decision we make and every action we take is guided by our commitment to delivering high‑quality services that make a lasting difference to the lives of children, young people and families across Northamptonshire.

We know that our people are our greatest strength. Our workforce is at the centre of our success, and we are committed to creating an environment where colleagues feel valued, supported and empowered to do the best job of their lives every day. We foster a culture built on kindness, collaboration and trust, where achievements are recognised, ideas are welcomed and innovation is encouraged.

We are proud of the positive impact we make together and delighted that our work has been recognised by Ofsted, with an Outstanding rating for Leadership and Management and Good ratings across Help and Protection, Children in Care and Care Leavers.

At NCT equality, diversity and inclusion are part of us and in everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and thrive in our organisation. We are a Disability Confident employer and have a commitment to care leavers, who we guarantee an interview if they meet the essential criteria.

If you are passionate about making a difference and want to be part of an ambitious, supportive and forward‑thinking organisation, Northamptonshire Children's Trust could be the place for you.

Supporting Children - A Career That Matters

Attached documents

• JD_PS Adoption Panel Adviser .pdf - Job description and Person specification