Adoption Panel Chair

Hull City Council are looking to recruit an enthusiastic and motivated person/s to chair the Joint One Adoption North and Humber panel for the regional adoption agency, One Adoption North and Humber. This agency comprises of five local authorities: Hull City Council, North East Lincolnshire Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, City of York Council and North Yorkshire County Council all of whom work together to provide services for children who are in need of permanent homes outside of their family and families who can provide these homes.

One Adoption North and the Humber have two joint panels: the North panel and the Humber panel. The North panel services children and families from the York and North Yorkshire areas and the Humber panel serves the children and families from the Hull, North East Lincolnshire and East Riding areas. This post is specifically for the Humber region, and the successful candidate/s will sit on the Beverley panel, but they will require some level of flexibility to support panel in the other areas.

The joint adoption panel makes recommendations on cases presented which includes plans of adoption for children, adopter approvals and matches between children and adoptive families. The panel has an important function in the quality assurance of reports and ensuring a degree of independent scrutiny over cases presented and reporting back to the agency. We are committed to providing the best service for adoptive families, children and their birth families. We are determined to drive forward best practice across our region with creativity and innovation, the adoption panel has an important role in this. We are committed to improving our service through listening to the voice of our service users.

The panel chair is paid a fee per panel which is set at £400. This includes all reading of papers and preparation for the panel, chairing of the meeting and finalising of the minutes. The chair manages panel members in the meeting and completes annual reviews of all members alongside the agency advisor. The panel chair is supported in their role by vice chairs. There are additional fees paid for any training or attendance at meetings.

Who can apply?

Candidates will need a sound knowledge of adoption. This needs to include an understanding of permanency planning for children, the impact of trauma and loss and the lifelong nature of adoption. You will need to understand the recruitment and assessment of adopters and adoption support. A working knowledge of relevant legal frameworks, national standards and regulations is required. You will also need to demonstrate the excellent communication and interpersonal skills necessary to deal with sensitive situations and be able to analyse and explain complex information. You will require excellent interpersonal skills, oral and written communication skills and can identify key issues, problems and solutions and have some experience of chairing complex meetings.

Role of – ADOPTION PANEL CHAIR/ VICE CHAIR

• To chair Adoption Panel meetings, ensuring that all items of business are covered and that the Panel operates in accordance with Regulations and Guidance and the policies and procedures of the Agency.
• To prepare for Panel meetings, reading Panel papers carefully, identifying key issues and alerting the Agency Advisor if necessary to ensure, as far as possible, that the case is adequate for submission to Panel.
• To facilitate the active participation of all Panel members in contributing to the Panel’s consideration of cases and to the making of clear and well-evidenced recommendations with the reasons for these.
• To ensure that all those attending Panel are treated with respect and courtesy.
• To address diversity issues and to promote anti-discriminatory practice at all times.
• To ensure that clear and accurate minutes are written, which record any serious reservations which Panel members may have, and to be involved in checking and agreeing the minutes with other Panel members before they are sent to the Agency Decision Maker.
• To liaise with the Agency Decision Maker and with other senior managers as required.
• To ensure, with the Agency Advisor, that senior managers are aware of issues of concern, in relation both to individual cases and to more general matters.
• To be involved, as appropriate, in the recruitment and appointment of central list and Panel members and in any consideration about terminating the appointment of a Panel member.
• To review, with the Agency Advisor, the performance of central list and Panel members as the need arises, and at least annually.
• To assist in developing, promoting and monitoring policies and procedures and high standards of work in adoption and permanence services in the Agency.
• To assist in planning training for members and to participate in this at least one day per year.
• To safeguard the confidentiality of all Panel papers and Panel discussions.
• To be involved in deciding whether a case is adequate for submission to Panel.
• To be involved in deciding on the attendance of observers at Panel.
• To be involved in deciding on the participation of a Panel member who declares an interest in a case.
• To be involved in deciding when an extra Panel meeting may be necessary.
• The chair will be involved in preparing an annual report on the Joint Panel’s work.

HOW TO APPLY

For an informal chat please contact Suzanne Pinder, Adoption Service Manager, One Adoption North and Humber on 07922420299. Suitably qualified applicants are requested to email their CV and supporting statement to Suzanne.pinder@hullcc.gov.uk. Please note, this is an Office Holder position and therefore not subject to Hull City Council Terms and Conditions of employment.

Benefits of Working of Hull City Council:

• A competitive salary
• An excellent pension through the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Initially 23 days annual leave depending on length of service. You will also get eight public holidays per year, and three additional days off, one in May/August and one during the Christmas/New year period
• Career development and learning experiences from a range of training courses and learning methods
• Supportive and forward-thinking culture
• Great career development opportunities

Please ensure that you complete and submit your application by midnight prior to the closing date. Please ensure that your application demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria against the person specification as listed in the job description. We are committed to increasing the diversity, equality, and inclusion within our workforce to represent the people we serve and build an environment in which everyone can feel like they belong. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply. We adopt a ‘name blind’ approach to shortlisting. Recruiting managers will not have access to personal information, including your name and contact details, until a shortlisting decision has been made. Equality monitoring information is not accessible by recruiting managers at any stage.

We reserve the right to amend the dates associated with this advert, which may include closing the advert early where required. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. Online searches, including social media, may be carried out as part of the recruitment process.