Adoption Agency Adviser

Key Responsibilities and Reporting Relationships

You will be responsible for recruiting, assessing and supporting prospective adopters and foster carers across the region, improving the quality and speed of matching for children, providing high quality support to children and their families, ensuring regulatory compliance with Adoption requirements, and working closely with the Service Manager for Adoption and specialist advice & guidance teams.

• Make best use of collective resources to recruit, assess and support prospective adopters and foster carers.
• Improve the quality and speed of matching for children through better planning and a wider choice of families.
• Provide high quality support to children and their families through direct provision and effective partnerships.
• Provide all children and families with the right support at the right time through a consistent permanency support offer available across the region.
• Respond to regulatory requirements in respect of Adoption, including non‑agency and inter‑country adoption.
• Report to the Service Manager for Adoption and provide specialist advice & guidance to the Agency Decision Maker (ADM).
• Quality assure Child's Permanence Reports and adoption decision making, maintaining statutory adherence.
• Strategically contribute to policy development, shaping adoption services aligned with local and regional objectives.
• Monitor performance, audit adoption cases, prepare comprehensive reports, and proactively address risks.
• Maintain accurate records of children with adoption plans, collaborating with social work teams and multi‑agency partners.
• Provide cover where required to ensure effective functioning of Adoption Panels within the regional arrangement.

As the Adoption Agency Advisor you will work within Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, providing expert guidance and oversight on adoption cases, quality‑assuring Child's Permanence Reports on behalf of the ADM where the Care Plan is adoption, and combining operational management, strategic planning and policy development to promote children’s welfare and statutory compliance.

• Provide specialist advice to the ADM in considering adoption recommendations for children in Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council.
• Review and evaluate adoption / permanency panel recommendations and supporting documentation, ensuring decisions align with statutory regulations.
• Offer professional guidance and advice to social workers and managers regarding adoption planning, care planning and permanency options.
• Provide cover for Adoption Panels where required for effective functioning of specific Adoption Panels across the Together4
  
  Children Regional Permanency Arrangement.
• Quality assure the Child's Permanence Reports, providing complex high‑quality professional advice to the ADM on matters relating to individual cases when required.
• Provide clear, well‑reasoned and timely written decisions following adoption / permanency recommendations.
• Work alongside Strategic Leaders to contribute to strategic planning for adoption services, ensuring alignment with objectives of the Local Authority and Regional Adoption Agency.
• Provide insight and recommendations on service development, policy implementation, and local and regional initiatives to improve outcomes for children.
• Embed high standards of practice within the agency whilst promoting learning and reflective practice.
• Undertake continuous reviews of practice and outcomes, consistent with internal and external regulations, policies, procedures, guidance and practices.
• Conduct regular and systematic audits of adoption cases to assess quality, timeliness and compliance of decision‑making processes.
• Prepare and present comprehensive performance reports on adoption activity, monitoring key performance indicators.
• Respond to changes or developments in legislation, statutory guidance and alert senior managers and teams to changes that could impact on the authority.
• Maintain accurate and up‑to‑date records of all children who have a plan of adoption, monitoring progress through assessment, matching, placement and adoption order stages.
• Develop, review and update…