Fostering Panel Vice Chair

The Role

Do you have the leadership skills to support life-changing decisions for children in care?

Can you use your experience in fostering or children’s services to guide complex discussions?

Does the opportunity to shape high-quality, child-focused practice appeal to you?

If yes, we have the perfect role for you!

Our Fostering Service is looking for a dedicated and experienced Panel Vice-Chair to join our team and help make a lasting difference in the lives of children and young people.

About the Role:

As Southwark’s Fostering Panel Vice-Chair , you will play a pivotal leadership role in ensuring the smooth and effective operation of the Fostering Panel. You will deputise for the Panel Chair when required, chairing meetings and ensuring all panel business is conducted in line with fostering regulations, statutory guidance, and national minimum standards.

Key responsibilities include:

• Chairing fostering panel meetings in the absence of the Panel Chair.
• Scrutinising assessments and facilitating high-quality panel discussions.
• Supporting decision-making on fostering approvals, reviews, and de-registrations.
• Contributing to the recruitment, training, and performance review of panel members.
• Promoting anti-discriminatory practice and identifying areas for service improvement.
• Liaising closely with the Agency Adviser, Panel Administrator, and Agency Decision Maker.
• Ensuring recommendations are clear, evidence-based, and meet statutory requirements.

This is a sessional role , with panels typically held twice a month. It’s ideal for someone looking to take on a meaningful leadership position with flexible hours.

About You:

We’re looking for someone who brings a strong blend of professional experience and values-led leadership. To succeed in this role, you’ll need to have:

• Substantial experience in fostering, adoption, or wider children’s services.
• An excellent understanding of fostering legislation, regulations, and National Minimum Standards.
• Proven ability to lead and facilitate complex discussions and make well-reasoned recommendations.
• Experience chairing panels or multi-agency meetings, or strong potential to do so.
• Commitment to anti-discriminatory, child-centred practice.
• Confidence in decision-making and ability to challenge where necessary.
• Excellent communication, analytical and organisational skills.
• Willingness to stay up to date with legislation, best practice, and panel developments.

About the Team:

Our Fostering Panel plays a vital role in ensuring the safety, stability, and success of fostering arrangements across Southwark. The panel brings together experienced professionals and independent voices to review assessments and make well-informed, child-centred recommendations.

You’ll be supported by a committed team including the Panel Chair, Panel Advisor, and administrative staff, and you’ll have opportunities to contribute to wider service development and quality assurance through quarterly meetings and feedback loops.

For detailed qualifications and requirements, please review the job description and person specification located at the bottom of the advert.

Contact Information:

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Sophie James at [email protected].

Additional Information:

• This is a sessional role , with panels typically held twice a month
• This post requires a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) DBS check at Enhanced level.

Benefits and more information:

Recruitment timetable

Advert close date: 11:59pm on 16 th June 2025

Shortlisting date/s: 27 th June 2025

Interview date/s: 18 th July 2025

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme:

As part of our commitment to inclusion, we offer guaranteed interviews for specific groups of people. To qualify, you'll need to meet the minimum requirements for the role, and identify with one of the below criteria:

• Members of the Armed Forces and veterans
• Are currently in care, or have previously been in care
• If you consider yourself to be disabled or if you have a long-term health condition

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 programme . We particularly welcome applications from members of the Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities to increase representation at senior management level in the Council.