Deputy Team Manager - Adoption in Merseyside in Liverpool

Location: Liverpool, UK

Salary: 53,051 - 58,543 per year

Employment: Full time

Category: Social Care

Job introduction

A bit about us:

Liverpool is home to vibrant, energetic, and engaged communities, people who take real ownership of their local area and are passionate about making our city a better place. We've got ambitious targets to meet and we need people who are driven, dynamic and ready to deliver the very best for our communities. Public service is more important than ever, and this role represents a real opportunity to make a difference to our communities by transforming the way we work and placing our residents at the heart of everything we do.

Working at Liverpool City Council provides an opportunity to contribute to your community and make a positive impact on the lives of residents. Our values shape how we work to deliver public services, and how we communicate with the residents we serve. We care about the best outcomes for local people, through our public services.

Our Practice Model – “Our City, Our Children, Together” – was chosen by colleagues, parents and carers, children, and young people to reflect our collective commitment to working collaboratively. It is more than just a practice model; it is a shared vision. Every part of this model has been co-produced with the people who access and deliver our services. It represents our values, our relationships, and our belief that, by working together, we can create the best outcomes for children, young people, and their networks.

This is a model we can be proud of and one that truly belongs to all of us. Join a service that's really making a difference. Liverpool Children's Services is proud to be rated "Good" by Ofsted, with inspectors recognising the positive impact of our work for children, young people and families across the city.

Liverpool City Council Children and Young People's Services has recently undergone its Ofsted ILACS inspection, achieving a positive outcome across all four judgement areas (three judgement areas securing a ‘Good’ outcome), with inspectors praising stronger social work practice, a more stable workforce, and improved outcomes for children, young people and their networks.

The Ofsted report specifically highlighted improvements to Liverpool's social work workforce, with the council moving from relying predominantly on temporary staff to employing a majority permanent workforce. Reduced workloads have enabled practitioners to develop more meaningful relationships with children and families, while social workers told inspectors they felt well supported and appropriately challenged by managers, with morale described as high.

Jenny Glennard, Corporate Director of Children and Young People’s Services, said the inspection reflected both the commitment of the workforce and a renewed focus on children and young people's experiences. "I am very proud of our workforce, our schools, and our partners who work tirelessly to support the children of the city. There is always more to do, and we will continue to build on this progress."

The full report can be viewed here: Ofsted Report

This achievement reflects the dedication, passion and expertise of our workforce, and our commitment to delivering high-quality services that help children thrive. If you're looking to build your career in a supportive and ambitious organisation who are striving for excellence, we'd love to hear from you!

Adoption in Merseyside (AiM) is a Regional Adoption Agency that covers four local authorities – Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley and Wirral. The successful candidate will be seconded into Knowsley as the host authority.

Adoption in Merseyside provides a full adoption service and is dedicated to finding loving, stable homes for Merseyside’s children and providing first class support to our adopters.

Adoption in Merseyside’s comprehensive service includes full support from experienced adoption social workers and specialist support workers who deliver a wide range of general advice and information to direct work with children and young people including full adoption assessments, as well as training for parents and group work, including support meetings.

This post is within the Recruitment and Assessment Team whose responsibility is recruitment, preparation, assessment, matching and support of adopters.

For further information please see - The role:

• You will be a qualified, SWE actively registered social worker and experienced within Children’s Social Care as a senior social worker or above, within adoption.
• As the Deputy Team Manager, you will have a deep and robust understanding and application of all Children’s Safeguarding legislation, particularly in relation to Adoption and Adoption Panels, along with strong knowledge of all statutory guidance, regulations, frameworks and processes to be able to support and guide your team members.
• As the Deputy Team Manager, you will need to be experienced and knowledgeable in understanding children and young people’s whole journey, ensuring that they are protected from significant harm, alongside having the ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with key partners and multi-agencies across Merseyside to achieve the best possible outcomes.
• You will support the Team Manager to embed and maintain a high-performance culture by supporting your team and volunteer panel members to continually develop their skills to ensure optimum service delivery. Through regular reflective supervision with team members, you’ll champion their personal and professional growth and health and wellbeing, ensuring an inclusive approach.
• You will support the Team Manager to provide clear oversight of all children and young people, ensuring quality standards are maintained, championing good practice to reduce risks, build on strengths and achieve consistent positive outcomes together.

Our offer to you:

• At least 27 days holiday, plus bank holidays rising to 32 after 5 years’ service (pro rata if part time) - option to purchase further days.
• Agile working (role dependent) - a “Flexibility First” approach to agile working, where flexibility is the norm rather than the exception.
• Part of the Local Government Pension Scheme – option to join the AVC Scheme.
• Progression - opportunities and training through a wide range of high quality learning.
• Health and Wellbeing - offer including Employee Assistance Programme.
• Cycle to Work and Travel Pass Schemes.
• Drive Time – a salary sacrifice car lease scheme.
• Family friendly policies with enhanced leave.
• Discounted Gym Memberships.
• Employee Volunteering Scheme.

Next steps:

Closing date: Midnight Sunday 27 September 2026

Shortlisting date: Wednesday 30 September 2026

Interview date: Thursday 8 October 2026

Interview type: Face-to-face.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early. Once the role has closed, you will not be able to submit an application, and we are unable to reopen the vacancy for you to complete it. We strongly recommend submitting your application well in advance of the closing date to avoid disappointment.

If you would like any further information or an informal discussion, please contact Elaine Jamieson, Recruitment and Assessment Team Manager Adoption in Merseyside.

Liverpool City Council is committed to fostering a workforce representative of the communities we serve. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we believe in appointing candidates based on their skills, experience, qualifications, and abilities. To support this commitment, we guarantee an interview to candidates from under-represented groups who meet the minimum essential criteria for the role.

If you require any reasonable adjustments in line with the Equality Act 2010, such as an application form in a different format or additional time to complete your application, please contact us.

Eligibility to work in the UK will be verified in the final stages of the selection process. All candidates must either already have a right to work in the UK before commencing employment or meet the Home Office criteria for Visa sponsorship. Candidates who require sponsorship should evaluate the Home Office eligibility criteria for a Skilled Worker visa before applying.