Participation Lead – Adoption Experienced Adult

About the job

Key information

Fixed Term 2 Years
Variable hours 10 hours per month

Adopt South West:

Adopt South West is the Regional Adoption Agency that undertakes adoption functions on behalf of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (since 1st April 2024), Devon, Plymouth, Somerset, and Torbay local authorities. The Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) is hosted by Devon County Council.

Whilst each local authority retains overall responsibility for their adoption services and continues to retain overall responsibility for their cared-for children, most adoption functions are delegated to Adopt South West. The detail of this is outlined in our Statement of Purpose.

Adopt South West has responsibility for recruiting, assessing and supporting prospective adopters, for non-agency adoption work including partner adoptions and for intercountry adoptions.

Adopt South West is responsible for family finding for all children with adoption plans in the Adopt South West region. Adopt South West provides support to all parties affected by adoption, including adopters, adoptees, adoptive families, adopted adults and birth relatives.

Governance and Scrutiny of Adopt South West .

The Operational Board meet as regularly as is necessary to perform its role, but in any event no less than every six weeks.

The Board membership is made up of the delegated Service Director/Divisional Director from each of the five partner local authorities, the appointed Independent chair (non-voting) and Adopt South West Head of Service (non-voting).

The Strategic Partnership Board meet as regularly as is necessary to perform its role, but in any event no less than six monthly. The core membership of the board are the Director of Childrens Services for each of the five partner local authorities, the lead member for children’s services for each of the five partner local authorities, the Independent chair of the Operational Board (non-voting) and Adopt South West Head of Service (non-voting).

Within each of the partner local authorities there is an operational senior manager who takes the lead role for adoption. This group of managers meet with the Adopt South West Operational Managers quarterly to review regional practice.

Adopt South West is one of 34 RAA’s across the country, the RAA leaders collaborating through Adoption England.

What will I be doing?

Key purpose of the role

• To work alongside Adopt South West staff and management to increase the participation in service development of adoption experienced people, and to ensure their voice is heard.
• To encourage participation groups and develop innovative ways of maximising the contributions of adoption experienced people to service development
• To attend the Operational Board four times a year immediately prior to Strategic Board meetings in a non-voting capacity to directly contribute the views of adoption experienced people.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the five local authorities to embed participation and engagement principles, raise the profile of the work and extend opportunities for colleagues to support participation.
• Demonstrate an inclusive approach, ensuring that adopters and adopted people from a with a range of experience and needs have their views represented to the agency.
• Assist in the development of groups for adoption experienced persons, both in person and via social media.

Anticipated outcomes of post

• Enable and provide opportunities for all adoption service users to have an opportunity for their voice to be heard
• Work collaboratively with adoption experienced people and ASW staff to develop innovative and creative solutions in relation to service improvement.
• Improve services by contributing to a schedule of participation work and projects, which aid feedback from anyone who is a service user of Adopt South West.

Key duties and accountabilities of the role

• To attend all Strategic Board meetings (approximately 4 a year) to provide the views of adoption experienced people, and ensure they are consulted on all aspects of their service provision.
• To attend Operational Board as required to provide the views of adoption experienced people, and ensure they are consulted on all aspects of their service provision.
• To work with Adopt South West staff for planning events and activities offering opportunities for service user feedback.
• To lead identified participation groups with adoption experienced people to seek views on current policy and procedure and service delivery.
• To feed back to senior management in respect of ongoing service development, having collated and analysed responses.
• To work with Adopt South West staff to develop methods of obtaining views from adoption experience people who do not wish to attend groups or organised events.

Specific information for the role

• This role will initially be for a two-year term with the possibility to mutually extend for a further 12 months.
• This role will involve working with Adopt South West staff and groups of adoption experienced adults either through face-to-face meetings in ASW offices across the region or through Microsoft teams.
• On occasions there may be one to one meetings with people across the region.
• This is a developing role, and additional tasks may be identified as the role progresses

Key contacts and relationships

External

• Adoption Experienced People

Internal

• ASW staff – Support to the post will be provided by Quality Assurance Team Manager

What kind of experience or qualifications do I need?

Note for all candidates

The supporting statement on your application form will be used to assess ability to meet the essential requirements of the role, so you should explain how you meet each of the essential requirements within your supporting statement.

In a competitive situation, the desirable criteria may be taken into consideration, so you are encouraged to show how you also meet each of the desirable criteria.

Candidates who consider that they have a disability

Reasonable adjustments will be made to the job, job requirements or recruitment process for candidates with a disability.

If you consider yourself to have a disability you should indicate this on your application form, providing any information you would like us to take into account with regard to your disability in order to offer a fair selection interview.

Where ever possible and reasonable we will make adjustments and offer alternatives to help you through the application and selection process.

If you have indicated that you have a disability on your application form you will be guaranteed an interview if you clearly demonstrate in your supporting evidence how you broadly meet the essential requirements of the role.

Essential skills and effectiveness

• The ability to understand and reflect on personal experience of adoption so this does not impact on the need to convey the views of others.
• Ability to engage positively with adoption experienced people
• Ability to build effective relationships with a wide range of individuals
• Effective communication/interpersonal skills
• Effectively gather individual views, collate, analyse and present these
• Confidence to speak and present in a range of settings
• Ability to confidently and competently facilitate groups
• Ability to work effectively in a team
• Ability to produce and maintain accurate records and reports and organise own workload.
• Ability to work effectively on own initiative, prioritise workload and manage time to meet deadlines.
• Ability and willingness to acquire new knowledge to ensure knowledge base is up to date
• Aptitude for using IT
• Evidence of consistent pattern of learning from education, training and experience
• The post holder must reside in the ASW area.

Desirable skills and effectiveness

• Experience of communicating with a wide range of individuals.
• Advocacy skills.

Essential knowledge

• Understanding of Adoption
• Knowledge of participation and engagement principles.
• Self-awareness of own strengths and how you are received by others.

Essential experience and achievements

• Good communication skills and the confidence and ability to facilitate group discussions.
• Experience of analysing information and providing written reports and summaries

Desirable experience and achievements

• Experience of group work

Essential – Other requirements of the job role

• Demonstrates a commitment to developing adoption services
• Residence in the area of Adopt South West
• Ability to attend eight 2-hour virtual meetings a year within normal working hours
• Ability to undertake participation work outside of normal working hours.
• Ability to accommodate homeworking, inclusive of access to IT equipment

Supporting documents and information

For an informal discussion please contact Mark Berry mark.berry@devon.gov.uk

Interview Date: September 2025

Apply on the Devon County Council website

Apply now