Adoption Social Worker

About Southwark:

Southwark is a large, ambitious and progressive council with a 'can do' attitude and enviable reputation. As a Council, we are successful, passionate and forward thinking. We are committed to our 'Fairer Futures for All' promise, which ensures that our residents and businesses are central to everything we do. If you want to make a difference at a local level, apply to Southwark Council today.

The Adoption London South - Regional Adoption Agency

Adopt London South is a forward-looking Regional Adoption Agency partnership, working across 10 South London councils. This is an exciting time to join ALS, now that Greenwich has joined and there will be opportunities to join Adopt London projects.

The Roles:

Join our committed, stable and diverse adoption social work teams preparing or supporting families for South London children. We are looking for qualified social workers who have completed their ASYE, with experience of planning for permanence for vulnerable children and with an interest in developing and honing their skills in the adoption process.

Adoption social workers work to assess and prepare adoptive families to meet the needs of our children who are looking for stable and secure homes to grow and thrive in. We work with adoptive families and children, adopted adults and birth parents. In the post adoption team, the focus will be on helping families to access therapeutic help from the Adoption Support Fund and providing support through difficult times.

Reducing race disparity in adoption is a key objective for everyone in ALS, ensuring we have the right adopters for our children. In the assessment team and pre-order support teams 34 South London children have benefited from Early Permanence and a new London wide project is developing this further.

There will be opportunities to develop your group work and training skills in preparing adopters to meet the therapeutic needs of children affected by early traumatic events and the experience of loss.

There are vacancies in South West Assessment and Pre-order Support Team and in the Post Adoption Team. Our base office is in vibrant London Bridge at Tooley Street but meetings can take place at venues across our region of 10 South London authorities and surrounding areas. Agile working is established in ALS, with home visits often from home. These are social worker roles at grade 10, salary ranging from GBP38,148 - GBP45,381 dependent on experience.

Recruitment timetable

Application Closing date: 17th July 2022 at 11:59 PM

Shortlisting: 22nd July 2022

Interviews and Assessment: week commencing the 8th August 2022

We are an organisation who is passionate about our people and understands that richness of diversity is a requirement to provide the best possible services to our communities. This is demonstrated through our council-wide ambitious commitment to tackle racial inequality in our communities and workforce through our Southwark Stands Together initiative. We particularly welcome applications from members of the black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.

Additional salary details

Our Offer:

• A systemic framework of social work practice.
• A vibrant place and Service to work with and a diverse community.
• Strong commitment to partnership working with our Local Authority colleagues.
• Commitment to Personal Development.

To find out more, please e-mail Sarah Tulloch - Team Manager at or Nicola Sadler - Team Manager at .

Benefits and more information: