Practice Manager - Adoption

Northamptonshire Childrens Trust; Northampton; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

SWE Registration paid yearly

Relocation costs up to £8,000

28 days annual leave + 8 bank holidays

Local Government Pension Scheme + life

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee discounts

Flexible working arrangements

Career development opportunities

Subsidised town centre parking

Job summary

Northamptonshire Children’s Trust is recruiting a Practice Manager for the Adopter Recruitment, Assessment and Family Finding Team in Northamptonshire. You will supervise social workers conducting adopter assessments and drive family finding for children with adoption plans, building practice developments aligned with Ofsted standards.

The role entails leading on assessments, developing service practice, and ensuring high-quality interventions with children, young people and families in a

Qualifications

• Experience of adoption assessment work, service development and knowledge of Adoption Regulations.
• Qualified social worker registered with Social Work England.
• Ability to supervise staff and work with internal/external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Recruit, train and assess prospective adoptive parents and support matching.
• Lead on family finding and permanence planning for children with a plan of adoption.
• Supervise social workers undertaking adopter assessments.
• Ensure practice standards and KPI monitoring in collaboration with leadership.

Skills

Adoption assessments

Staff supervision

Stakeholder collaboration

Relational Practice

Education

Social Work degree

SW England registration

Job description

The following content displays a map of the jobs location - One Angel Square, Northampton

Working Hours:

37

Location:

One Angel Square, Northampton

Closing Date:

23/09/2026

Job Category:

Social Worker - Children

Organisation:

Northamptonshire Children's Trust

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:

• SWE Registrationpaid yearly (social care colleagues)
• RecruitmentWelcome Bonus of £
• Relocationcosts of up to £8,000
• 28days 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 andcareer development opportunities
• Subsidised town centre car parking scheme

About the role

An exciting opportunity has arisen for the role of Practice Manager within the Adopter Recruitment , Assessment and Family Finding Team within Northamptonshire Children’s Trust Voluntary Adoption Agency.

As a practice manager you will supervise and support social workers undertaking adopter assessments and family finding for children with a plan of adoption and implementing practice developments in line with local and national needs and the modernising adoption agenda, building on the progress made in achieving the Ofsted judgement of GOOD with outstanding features in February 2025.

You will be joining a motivated and skilled team of practitioners and managers who aspire to developing and delivering services in line with learning from research, feedback and best practice models.

In person interviews are planned for 30th September

What will you be doing?

You will work with the team manager to support the service in its role of recruiting, training, and assessing prospective adoptive parents and supporting them through the matching and placement process and work closely with colleagues with the Children’s Trust in respect of leading on family finding and permanence planning for children with a plan of adoption.

As a practice manager, you will supervise and support social workers undertaking adopter assessments and family finding for children with a plan of adoption to ensure the promotion of high quality, evidenced based interventions for children, young people and their families.

You will maintain an oversight of practice standards and compliance using case auditing and monitoring of service KPI’s and work collaboratively with the service and team manager to develop and improve practice in line with the service plan.

About you

We are looking for someone who is passionate about developing and delivering high quality services for Children, Young People, and their Families. Northamptonshire Children’s Trust have a Relational Practice Approach and the pillars that empower best practice include Trauma Informed Approach, Systemic Practice and Signs of Safety.

You will need to have experience of adoption assessment work, service development and understand the legal framework and associated NMS in relation to care planning and adoption for children.

We are looking for someone who can develop and maintain respectful, collaborative working relationships with key stakeholders both internal and external to the agency.

You will have had previous experience of working within a social care setting including within adoption services and as such a working knowledge of the Adoption Regulations, NMS and the legislative framework within which Adoption services operate. Including permanence planning for children.

Experience of providing supervision to staff and or students would be beneficial.

You will have a qualified social worker registered with Social Work England

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