Experienced Adoption Support Social Worker

Career Choices Dewis Gyrfa Ltd; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 31,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional adoption agency in Manchester is seeking an experienced Adoption Support Social Worker to join their Keeping in Touch Team. The role involves supporting contact arrangements, conducting assessments of adoption support needs, and working collaboratively with families. Applicants should have a Social Work Degree and experience working with trauma-affected children. The position offers a competitive salary, full-time hours, and a hybrid working model, allowing for flexibility between home and office work.

Qualifications

• Experience working with children who have faced trauma.
• Understanding of contact arrangements post-adoption.
• Ability to support adoptive and birth families.

Responsibilities

• Provide support for adoption contact arrangements.
• Deliver training related to adoption practices.
• Undertake assessments of adoption support needs.

Skills

Good communication

Teamwork

Understanding of trauma

Education

Social Work Degree

Job description

Experienced Adoption Support Social Worker - Keeping in Touch Team

Employer:

Location:

Manchester, M22 5RG

Pay:

Competitive

Contract Type:

Permanent

Hours:

Full time

Disability Confident:

No

Closing Date:

18/02/2026

About this job

Experienced Adoption Support Social Worker

• Keeping in Touch Team SO3 (£31,889 - £36,072 per annum)
  29.6 Hours, part Time Temporary, 12 months Etrop Court, Wythenshawe, Manchester.

Adoption Counts follow a Hybrid model, so the successful candidate would have the opportunity to work from home as well as from the office.

Application Deadline: 11:59pm 1st February 2026 Please be aware that we may close this vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received.

We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Shortlisting Date: 4th February 2026 Interview Date: 24th/25th February 2026 Interview Type: In person While we embrace the use of AI as an innovative tool to maximise our services at Stockport Council, we are looking for authenticity in applications we receive.

We therefore ask you to think carefully if choosing to use AI when completing your application and ask that you ensure you read all instructions carefully and that your application is written by you and reflects your skills, knowledge and enthusiasm.

Join us at Stockport Council MJ Local Authority of the Year 2025 Your Role An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Adoption Support team who provide adoption support to families in our area.

The role will predominantly sit within our Keeping in Touch Team (KITT) who support Keeping in touch (contact) arrangements within our region.

The post holder will work alongside our skilling team of family support workers within the Keeping in touch team, and be supported and supervised by our KITT Team Manager.

Our KIT team is committed to supporting positive relationships between adoptive and birth families.

The National Practice standards for staying in touch set out clear expectations for how agencies can support adopted children to maintain safe, meaningful connections with the people who are important to them.

You will take a lead in supporting Adoption Counts and Local Authority social work colleagues in embedding these standards into practice.

The role will therefore include opportunities to deliver training, and be part of developmental work within our region.

The role will include undertaking of assessments of adoption support needs, at different stages of the adoption journey.

You will be expected to have the skills to support adopted families as well as birth families, and to ensure children’s views are represented and that their needs are at the centre of any assessment.

You may be required to support adopters to access additional support through in house provision and through the Adoption Support Fund if required.

About You We are looking for an experienced social worker who has a good understanding of the issues faced by children who have suffered trauma and the qualities needed in adoptive families to meet those needs.

You should have understanding of contact after adoption and supporting positive meaningful relationship between adoptive families and birth parents.

You should be a good communicator, a team player and be passionate about achieving positive outcomes for children.

About Us Adoption Counts is a Regional Adoption agency, delivering adoption services in Cheshire East, Manchester, Salford, Stockport and Trafford local authorities.

The agency was one of 5 national demonstrator projects and was the second agency to go “live” in July 2017 and continues to play a lead role in national developments and have strong links with the DFE. Covering a large geographical area, we function in a hub and spoke model.

Hub functions such as recruitment, marketing, performance management, panel management and finance are based in Wythenshawe.

The area is then covered from three geographical spokes-the northern spoke being in Salford, central in Wythenshawe, and south based in Wythenshawe and Middlewich.

Adoption Support social workers are based in Wythenshawe at Etrop Court.

We offer a high level of management support while challenging ourselves to provide services that strive to be the very best.

Stockport local authority who are the host agency will employ staff, who therefore benefit from all Stockport terms and conditions.

If you are passionate about adoption, work to the highest standards and want to join a forward thinking agency, then this is an exciting opportunity not to be missed.

At Stockport Council we are one ambitious team on a mission to create opportunities for everyone who lives, works and spends time in the borough.

Working at Stockport Council means contributing to one of the most thriving towns in the North.

We’re keen to recruit people with the right values and behaviours that can help us ensure our workplace values are at the heart of everything we do.

We are proud to be recognised under the Good Employment Charter as an organisation committed to the wellbeing of our colleagues.

As members of the charter, we have been recognised as a great place to work for all colleagues and pledge to pay the real living wage, engage staff in key decisions and endorse fair and flexible working conditions.

If you would like to find out more about the role please contact Alice Taylor, Kristen Roberts or Melissa Ruffy via email alice.tayloradoptioncounts.org.uk kristen.robertsadoptioncounts.org.uk melissa.ruffyadoptioncounts.org.uk who would be happy to arrange an informal discussion about the role.

The successful applicant’s appointment will be subject to satisfactory pre-employment clearances including a Disclosure and Barring Service check.

Stockport Council holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not currently qualify.

Please note that we have made a commitment to improve the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, care leavers and ex-military personnel.

As part of the Guaranteed Assessment Scheme you will therefore be guaranteed to be shortlisted for Assessment if you meet both the criteria for the scheme and the essential job role criteria.

Find out if you meet the criteria here: https://www.greater.jobs/our-guaranteed-assessment-scheme Privacy Notice Follow our recruitment team on X , Instagram and Facebook for updates on our vacancies and recruitment events.

Stockport Council is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workforce culture

• a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and communities to join our workforce.

We want our employees to have a good work life balance and in many job roles we can offer a range of flexible/hybrid working arrangements.

We also have inclusive employment policies and staff engagement forums to support our diverse workforce.

We will listen to, learn from, and develop our workforce.

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