Panel Advisor Fostering

**Job number**

LBC03076

**Contract Type**

Permanent

**Posting End Date**

1 September 2024

**Job Area**

Children's Social Care

**About the job**:
**Salary: £44,428 - £47,420 a year pro rata**
**Hours per week: 14.8**
**Contract type: Permanent**

The Fostering & Adoption service has developed a strong team ethos and along with the manager, provides mutual support/supervision to a large team group ensuring they comply with legislative, regulatory requirements, national minimum standards, government initiatives and local targets.

This role involves working strictly to policy and procedures of the Borough Council, involvement in extremely high risk decision making and the exercise of a high level of judgement and personal responsibility for the safety of children. You'll lead the Council’s Adoption, Fostering and Permanence Panel to ensure that adoption and fostering work is coordinated effectively within legal requirements and policies.

You'll also be advising and supporting the Agency Decision Maker (ADM) and Children’s services staff and other stakeholders on adoption and fostering matters, initial and on-going assessment and selection of carers to whom the council can safely entrust its cohort CIC to enable better outcomes for children, young people and their families.

**Please note, this role does not provide sponsorship.**

**About you**:
We are looking for someone with experience of working directly with children, young people and their families with in-depth experience of advising and supporting decisions relating to the approval of carers to support CIC.

You'll have the ability to support and challenge social services team to consistently achieve high levels of submissions for panels to adjudicate.

Throughout this role you'll be supporting the ADM with the appointment, termination and review of both approved carers
and of members of the adjudicating panels so we need someone who can negotiate and influence staff at all levels, elected members and other professionals, both internal and external.

You'll have substantial knowledge of statutory legislation regarding foster and adoption carers approval and substantial knowledge of legislation and statutory responsibilities relating to Children and Family Services, including appropriate Quality standard

We do ask that you are registered with Social Work England and have a relevant professional Social Work Qualification.

**About us**:
Our ambitious **Luton 2040 Vision **- that no-one in Luton will have to live in poverty - is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our people are remarkable, talented, committed and passionate about serving our residents.

The people of Luton depend heavily on this council - and that means our workforce Are you ready to realise the remarkable and help us deliver our vision?

**Application process**:
**Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare all unspent cautions and convictions; and also any adult cautions (simple or conditional), and spent convictions that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020). A person’s criminal record will not in itself prevent a person from being appointed to this post. Applicants will not be refused posts because of offences which are not relevant to, and do not place them at or make them a risk in, the role for which they are applying. However in the event of the employment being taken up, any failure to disclose such offence, as detailed above, will result in dismissal or disciplinary action by the Authority.**

**Additional information**:
We offer a range of excellent staff benefits which include:

- **From 25 to 32 days’ annual leave**: linked to length of service and grade
- **Buying annual leave scheme**:buy up to 20 days additional annual leave
- **Career Pathways**: step up in your career or move into a specialist area
- **Pension scheme**:with generous employer contributions of up to 20.2 per cent (at July 2023) and 3x salary death in service grant
- **Employee Assistance Programme**: a free, 24/7 confidential counselling and wellbeing support service available to all employees, their partner or spouse and dependent children over 16 still living at home
- **Work/life balance**: flexible working options including working from home where possible. We welcome requests for flexible working arrangements including part-time hours and alternative working patterns
- **Training and support**:unlimited access to development courses, mentoring and support and clear career pathways
- **Staff offers**: includes discounts on your MOT, gym and fitness, restaurants and salons
- **Arriva Travel Club**: great value savings on local bus travel