Head of Adoption Fostering Kinship

Head of Adoption Fostering Kinship

Permanent, Full Time

£73,883 to £86,921 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Working Style: Fixed-base worker

Closing Date: 21st December 2025  (midnight)

Interview Date: 16th January 2025 

Interviews will be held on Friday 16 ^th January 2026 at County Hall, Chelmsford, Essex.

About the role  

This role is pivotal in ensuring the effective delivery of high-quality placement services for children and young people, providing strategic direction to enhance fostering, adoption, and kinship care. The Head of Adoption, Fostering, and Kinship Care will play a crucial leadership role in shaping policy, practice, and partnerships to deliver lasting positive outcomes for vulnerable children and families.

Job Purpose

To provide strategic leadership and operational oversight of Adoption, Fostering, and Kinship Care services, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, child-centred placement solutions that promote stability, permanence, and positive outcomes for children in care. The role will drive policy implementation, service improvement, and partnership working across multi-agency stakeholders to enhance the overall effectiveness of children's placement services.

Key Accountabilities

1. Strategic Leadership: Develop and implement a strategic vision for Adoption, Fostering, and Kinship Care services, ensuring alignment with national legislation, regulatory frameworks, and local authority priorities.
2. Operational Management: Oversee the delivery of effective recruitment, assessment, approval, and support for foster carers, adoptive parents, and kinship carers, ensuring high standards of safeguarding and practice.
3. Performance & Quality Assurance: Establish robust quality assurance frameworks, setting performance targets and ensuring continuous improvement through data analysis, inspections, and user feedback.
4. Financial & Resource Management: Lead budget planning and resource allocation to ensure cost-effective service delivery while meeting the needs of children and carers.
5. Workforce Development: Provide leadership, professional supervision, and development opportunities for staff to build a skilled, resilient, and high-performing workforce.
6. Partnership & Stakeholder Engagement: Foster strong relationships with government bodies, regional adoption and fostering agencies, and third-sector organisations to drive collaborative service improvements.
7. Risk & Compliance: Ensure adherence to statutory regulations, safeguarding policies, and best practice guidelines to mitigate risks and promote the safety and well-being of children.
8. Innovation & Service Development: Drive the development of innovative approaches to placement stability, therapeutic support, and post-adoption services to improve long-term outcomes for children.

Skills & Competencies

• Problem Solving: Ability to address complex service challenges through strategic thinking, evidence-based decision-making, and innovative solutions.
• Impact & Influence: Skilled in negotiation, advocacy, and influencing policy at local and national levels.
• Decision Making: High-level autonomy in managing services, with accountability for critical safeguarding and placement decisions.
• Leading People: Ability to inspire, mentor, and develop professional teams to achieve high performance and service excellence.
• Change Leadership: Proficiency in driving organisational change, implementing service improvement plans, and adapting to evolving policy landscapes.

Knowledge, Qualifications, and Experience:

• Extensive experience in children's social care leadership, particularly within fostering, adoption, and kinship care.
• In-depth knowledge of the Children Act 1989, Adoption and Children Act 2002, Fostering Services Regulations 2011, and other relevant legislative frameworks.
• Strong track record in strategic planning, policy development, and operational management within a local authority or relevant public sector setting.
• Demonstrable experience in leading multi-disciplinary teams, improving service delivery, and managing complex budgets.
• Proven ability to work with senior stakeholders, elected members, and external agencies to drive service transformation.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Improved placement stability rates and reduced placement breakdowns.
• Increased recruitment and retention of foster carers and adopters.
• High levels of compliance with regulatory inspections (Ofsted ratings of Good/Outstanding).
• Effective budget management and cost efficiencies
• Positive feedback from children, carers, and key stakeholders.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Children & Families

Please take a look at our ‘No Magic’ Children & Families video

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex . With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025 , Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR ) on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles , including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email Jane.smith2@essex.gov.uk

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