Adoption West is looking to appoint an Independent Chair to its Adoption Panel due to the retirement of one of its three Chairs at the end of March 2026. Adoption West is a regional adoption agency covering six local authorities in the South West. We are looking for a Chair who has a sound understanding and experience of the adoption process, the skills to chair an Adoption Panel and who can contribute to the overall performance of the Adoption Service. Adoption West have three panel Chairs, with each Chair usually chairing 20 panels a year. Our panels have been run virtually since April 2020 with a very occasional face to face panel held if needed. We also hold face to face training days twice a year for all panel members. The fee paid to the Chair is currently £571 per Adoption Panel. The fee includes preparation for and chairing the Panel meeting, quality checking the minutes of the Panel, involvement in Panel members' annual appraisals and contribution toward the 6 monthly reports as well as online attendance at meetings with the Adoption Advisers or Agency Decision Makers (currently four times a year and twice a year respectively). An additional fee will be paid for contribution towards any Panel training events and attendance at any SWAC (South West Adoption Consortium) meetings.