Adoption Practice and Development Manager

Overview

In this national role you will lead and coordinate adoption practice improvement across England, partnering with regional agencies and the central team to embed changes into day-to-day social work. You’ll design implementation plans, track progress with KPIs, and support local champions to translate national guidance into practice. The role combines change leadership, stakeholder collaboration, and data‑driven decision making to raise outcomes for adopted children, adults and families. It offers a mission‑driven, cross‑agency impact at scale.

Pay / Benefits

• competitive salary
• annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays
• West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions
• flexible home working with in-person meetings as needed
• opportunity to work across England in a national role
• inclusive recruitment and diversity encouragement

Responsibilities

• Coordinate and manage national practice improvement projects with central team, lead and agencies
• Develop clear descriptions of practice changes and a communications plan; set and monitor KPIs with action plans
• Create a national implementation plan for rolling out new processes across England
• Work with local leaders to create realistic local plans, analyse current practice, identify gaps and bridge them
• Support change readiness, mobilise plans, and manage risks during implementation
• Co-design or develop national training courses and materials; tailor trainings to local needs
• Build and maintain relationships with agency leaders, staff, external partners and stakeholders, and involve them in change
• Lead meetings and groups; prepare reports and presentations for diverse audiences
• Analyse complex data to inform decisions; identify resources and manage budgets as needed
• Provide professional advice at senior level using data and evidence
• Foster productive cross‑team collaboration and maintain trust across organisations

Key requirements

• Qualified Social Worker with Social Work England registration
• Experience leading and managing projects involving cultural change in people, processes, budgets and technology
• Strong collaboration and time‑management skills; ability to meet conflicting deadlines
• Proven ability to build partnerships and influence across stakeholders
• Data collection, reporting, and presenting to diverse audiences
• Ability to prioritise, manage competing priorities, and adapt to changing circumstances
• Demonstrated leadership in promoting change and continuous improvement
• Knowledge of adoption and local authority children’s services; understanding of related legislation and guidance
• Financial awareness and ability to contribute to budgeting and financial planning
• Awareness of diversity issues and commitment to inclusive, anti‑discriminatory practice

• relationship building
• influencing across stakeholders
• leadership and change facilitation
• project management
• data analysis and KPI tracking
• implementation planning

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