Job description
Based at: Civic Office, Doncaster
Salary details: Grade 10, £48,227 - £52,414
Contract Type: Permanent
Hours: Full time, 37 hours per week
Closing date:13th April 2026
Enhanced Level DBS Disclosure is required for appointment to this post
The City of Doncaster Council is a confident, ambitious organisation which puts improving the life of its residents at the centre of everything we do. You have a opportunity to be part of this in the role of Adoption Panel Adviser.
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join One Adoption South Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) as an Adoption Panel Adviser. The post has arisen due to the reconfiguration of panel adviser roles across the South Yorkshire region that cover Barnsley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Rotherham.
The post holder will predominantly cover the Adoption panels in both Doncaster and Rotherham, whilst on occasion covering panels in Barnsley and Sheffield. You will join a dynamic, creative, confident and forward-thinking management team within the RAA to ensure consistent standards are met in terms of advice to both panels and Agency Decision Maker’s (ADM’s) in both the RAA and each respective local authority.
The person appointed should be a qualified social worker with at least 5 years post qualifying experience preferably with some management experience.
The panel adviser will provide advice to both the ADM of the RAA and to the adoption panels regarding adopter approvals and matches for children as well as local authorities and the Local Authority ADM’s regarding plans and matches for children in their care.
They will also provide advice to the adoption panel in relation to specific cases and more generally in terms of the agency’s policies and procedures, raise any pertinent issues and provide regular updates to panel in relation to any cases it has considered.
The role involves quality assurance of all paperwork submitted to the ADM in respect of plans and matches for children and all paperwork submitted to panel in respect of adopter approvals. This will include liaising with social workers and team managers in respect of that paperwork to quality assure child permanence reports, prospective adopter reports and adoption placement reports. The expectation will be that the panel adviser feeds back to the local authority/Trust in respect of the quality of reports and contribute to the overall planning of the service as well as providing some training for staff in area teams e.g. on the writing of child permanence reports.
They will arrange for the appointment, termination and reviews of all members of the RAA central list to panels and the constitution of panels. The post also includes induction and training of panel members and the overall administration of panels to ensure they run smoothly.
In return for your hard work and dedication, we can offer you the chance to be part of a great team dedicated to ensuring that all people in Doncaster thrive. You will also have access to a variety of attractive employee benefits including competitive leave entitlement, a generous local government pension scheme, a wide range of well-being support and development opportunities. You will also have access to a range of staff discount and benefits schemes. More information on the benefits available to you as a City of Doncaster Council employee can be found in the attached benefits book.
Please ensure you view the job summary and job profile as you will need to demonstrate in your application form how you meet the required criteria.
Shortlisting: week commencing 13th April 2026.
Interview date to be confirmed.
For an informal discussion, please contact Michael Richardson, Tel 01302 735477 or email .
If you require support with completing the application or with interview skills in general, please contact the Advance team via email or visit their website for further details.
This post involves working with children and therefore if successful you will be required to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service records check at an enhanced level. Further information about the Disclosure Scheme can be found at .
Doncaster Council is committed to meeting the needs of our diverse community where we strive to improve the quality of life for all. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults and expect all staff to share these commitments.
City of Doncaster Council is a disability confident employer committed to a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process. We offer interviews to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job, are flexible when assessing people so disabled applicants have the best opportunity to demonstrate they can do the job and make reasonable adjustments as required.