Hull City Council
Adoption Panel Chair
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Number of Vacancies: 1
Time Type: Variable time
Worker Type: Appointed
Proposed Interview Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Hours of Work: 0
Hiring Manager: Claire Cooper
Contact Number: 01482 615710
Job Description Summary: Hull City Council is 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 the 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 be able to identify key issues, problems, and solutions and have some experience of chairing complex meetings.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
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 and 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.
- Deciding on the attendance of observers at Panel.
- Deciding on the participation of a Panel member who declares an interest in a case.
- Deciding when an extra Panel meeting may be necessary.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
The chair will be involved in preparing an annual report on the Joint Panel’s work.
HOW TO APPLY Candidate Pack - Adoption Panel Chair.docx
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.
Compensation Grades: DEFAULT
Pay Ranges: £0.00 - £0.00
Job Classifications: 3- Not Politically Restricted - Designated As Not Politically Sensitive (Politically Restricted Posts), Casual - (Travel Allowance Policy), No - (Childcare Disqualification Requirement), No - (Statutory Post)
Benefits of Working for 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.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location