Adoption Practice Manager

Schools’ Choice; Northampton; On-site; GBP 49,593 - 66,124; Full time

Job summary

Northamptonshire Children's Trust is seeking an experienced Adoption Practice Manager to lead the Adopter Recruitment, Assessment and Family Finding Team in Northamptonshire. You will supervise social workers undertaking adopter assessments and family finding activities to secure timely permanency for children.

You will contribute to service development, quality assurance and practice improvements, embedding national reforms and trauma-informed, relational practice within a supportive management

Qualifications

• Social Work qualification and current Social Work England registration.
• Significant experience within Adoption Services.
• Strong knowledge of adopter assessment processes, family finding and permanence planning.
• Thorough understanding of Adoption Regulations, National Minimum Standards and relevant legislation.
• Experience supervising, mentoring or supporting social workers within a statutory setting.
• A proven ability to maintain high practice standards and drive service improvement.
• Excellent communication, leadership and relationship-building skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide supervision, guidance and support to social workers undertaking adopter assessments and family finding work.
• Oversee the recruitment, preparation, training and assessment of prospective adopters.
• Support the matching and placement process for children with adoption plans.
• Work collaboratively with Children's Services colleagues to promote effective permanence planning.
• Monitor and improve service performance through auditing, quality assurance and KPI oversight.
• Ensure practice remains compliant with Adoption Regulations, National Minimum Standards and statutory guidance.
• Support the implementation of service developments and practice improvements.
• Promote evidence-based interventions and relationship-based practice across the service.
• Develop and maintain effective partnerships with internal and external stakeholders.

Skills

Social Work qualification

Social Work England registration

Adoption experience

Adoption processes knowledge

Family finding

Permanence planning

Regulations & standards

Supervision

Leadership

Communication

Education

Social Work degree

Job description

About the Role

Northamptonshire Children's Trust is seeking an experienced Adoption Practice Manager to join its highly regarded Adopter Recruitment, Assessment and Family Finding Team. This is an exciting opportunity to join a service that continues to build on its recent success following a GOOD with Outstanding Features Ofsted judgement and play a key role in driving high-quality adoption practice and permanency planning.

As Adoption Practice Manager, you will work closely with the Team Manager to provide leadership, support and oversight across adopter recruitment, assessment, family finding and permanence planning services. You will be responsible for supervising and supporting social workers undertaking adoption assessments and family finding activities, ensuring that children achieve permanence without unnecessary delay and that prospective adopters receive a high-quality service throughout their adoption journey. The successful candidate will also contribute to service development, quality assurance and practice improvements, helping to embed innovative approaches aligned with national adoption reforms and best practice.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide supervision, guidance and support to social workers undertaking adopter assessments and family finding work.
• Oversee the recruitment, preparation, training and assessment of prospective adopters.
• Support the matching and placement process for children with adoption plans.
• Work collaboratively with Children's Services colleagues to promote effective permanence planning.
• Monitor and improve service performance through auditing, quality assurance and KPI oversight.
• Ensure practice remains compliant with Adoption Regulations, National Minimum Standards and statutory guidance.
• Support the implementation of service developments and practice improvements.
• Promote evidence-based interventions and relationship-based practice across the service.
• Develop and maintain effective partnerships with internal and external stakeholders.

Skills/Experience

• Social Work qualification and current Social Work England registration.
• Significant experience within Adoption Services.
• Strong knowledge of adopter assessment processes, family finding and permanence planning.
• Thorough understanding of Adoption Regulations, National Minimum Standards and relevant legislation.
• Experience supervising, mentoring or supporting social workers within a statutory setting.
• A proven ability to maintain high practice standards and drive service improvement.
• Excellent communication, leadership and relationship-building skills.

Why Apply?

• Competitive rate of £42 per hour
• Opportunity to join a high-performing adoption service.
• Work within a supportive and experienced management team.
• Contribute to achieving positive permanence outcomes for children and young people.
• Be part of a service committed to relational practice, trauma-informed approaches, systemic practice and Signs of Safety principles.

If you are passionate about improving outcomes for children and families and have the leadership experience to support and develop adoption practice, we'd love to hear from you.