Adoption Social Worker

Wigan Council; Wigan; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 47,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Exclusive rewards and benefits

Job summary

Wigan Council is seeking a social worker with adoption or fostering experience to recruit, assess and support prospective adoptive parents across the regional adoption agency.

Based in Warrington with agile and flexible working across five local authorities, the role involves adopter assessments, guiding placements and supporting families through the adoption journey while developing the service and ensuring best practice.

Qualifications

• Qualified social worker with experience in adoption or fostering.
• Excellent communication with a wide range of agencies.
• Sound knowledge of adoption legislation and guidance.

Responsibilities

• Engage in the initial and comprehensive assessments of adopters and support them through the matching process.
• Support placement of children and the journey until the adoption order is granted.
• Attend recruitment campaigns, deliver information sessions and prepare training for adopters.
• Work across Locality teams and partner agencies to represent the Regional Adoption Agency.

Skills

Qualified social worker

Education

Social Work qualification

Job description

Priority Candidates will be considered in the first instance

Times Square Warrington

Salary: Grade 9, £41,177 - £46,579 per annum.

We're on a journey to build a workforce reflective of our Borough.

We are committed to fostering diverse teams where everybody can bring their authentic selves to work and feel that they belong. If you want to work for a Council where everybody is encouraged to meet their full potential and make a difference in our neighbourhoods, we would love to hear from you!

Together for Adoption’ is a Regional Adoption Agency for Wigan, Warrington, Halton, St Helens and Cheshire West and Chester local authorities. We are looking for a social worker who is experienced in fostering or adoption to play a vital role in the recruitment, assessment and support of prospective adoptive parents.

The post holder will work directly with adoptive families throughout their journey to adoption. In addition, the successful applicant will contribute by supporting and promoting the development of the service and maintaining a high standard of professional practice.

Your role:

This will include engaging in the Initial and comprehensive assessments of adopters and supporting them through the matching process, placement of child/ren and until the adoption order is granted. You will also have the opportunity to attend recruitment campaigns, provide a duty recruitment system, deliver Information sessions, preparation training for adopters and additional training programmes as required.

To build strong working relationships with Locality teams and with partner agencies to best represent the Regional Adoption Agency and children who have adoption plans.

A role within the Recruitment service will be varied and interesting and will give the opportunity to develop different skills and experience.

About you:

We are keen to hear from you if you have a genuine interest in this rewarding, challenging and interesting area of work. We require a qualified social worker who has a professional background in adoption or fostering work, with a varied range of skills and experience in childcare and assessment-based work.

Applications are welcomed from qualified social workers with the relevant experience. You are required to have excellent communication skills and be able to work effectively with a wide range of agencies. You are required to have a sound knowledge base around adoption legislation and guidance and will be expected to apply consistently high standards to ensure better outcomes for children and their families. We need a social worker who enjoys a varied daily workload within a stable and well supported team.

The central hub for Together for Adoption is based in Warrington, however a worker would be agile working and expected to work across the 5 local authorities that the regional adoption agency represents. The role also may at times include some work outside of main office hours to support the flexibility of meeting children and adopter’s needs.

About us:

The post holder will join a lively, supportive and committed team and will be supported to further develop their skills, knowledge and experience through effective training and regular supervision.

The work will be varied and will give the opportunity to develop skills around devising and delivering training and also the opportunity to be part of developing a service based on adopter’s feedback.

The post holder will work in conjunction with 5 local authorities giving the opportunity to develop professional working relationships.

Wigan is an energetic and dynamic council widely celebrated for being innovative and forward thinking in a backdrop of established relationships with our partner agencies. We are an enthusiastic team, who are fully committed to helping our residents by providing robust mechanisms to safeguard and protect the most vulnerable members of our community, implementing a person-centred approach to achieve the best possible outcomes.

The Progress with Unity plan is a place movement for change for the next decade, bringing a new era for Wigan Borough. It draws on the strengths of our individual organisations, recognising that together we can achieve much more for our communities by delivering on our 2 place missions; create fair opportunities for all children, families, residents and businesses and make our towns and neighbourhoods flourish for those who live and work in them.

Here at Wigan, we are proud to support flexible working patterns, when the service can accommodate this. We also take a blended approach to where we work, depending on the work we do. This may include working from home, the office, or the community. We like to thank our employees for their hard work and commitment by giving them the opportunity to access a range of exclusive rewards and benefits to find out more about working for TeamWigan

To be appointed to this role you must be able to prove your right to work in the UK, and you must maintain a valid (active) right to work. Please note, at present we are not a licenced sponsor. Please visit the link below to check you qualify to apply. Prove your right to work to an employer: Overview - GOV.UK Prove your right to work to an employer

Wigan Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people, and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility. As part of this commitment, Wigan Council operates robust Safer Recruitment procedures

For further information, please contact Louise Rawsthorne Principal Manager on 01942 487272.

Priority Candidates Interview date: Friday 2nd October 2026

All other Candidates: Thursday 8th October 2026

This role is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure Procedures plus Child and Adult barred list check.

The employer is committed to safeguarding