An exciting opportunity has arisen for you to join Adoption Now, a busy, committed and experienced adoption service. We are keen to have an energetic and motivated social worker to join us within our Regional Adoption Agency. Adoption Now is a partnership with Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, Tameside, Bury and Blackburn with Darwen Councils. The role will be based in the Adoption Support workstream of the agency and is based in Bolton. You will be an employee of Tameside Council and you will be seconded to Bolton MBC. Adoption Now has an ambitious plan for our Adoption Support service that includes a range of enhanced training opportunities. These opportunities currently include approaches such as Theraplay, DDP, NVR and Therapeutic Life Story Work to support and assess the needs of adoptive families.

We are looking for an enthusiastic committed Social Worker to join our team. You must be a qualified Social Worker, registered with Social Work England and preferably have post qualifying experience in a statutory child care setting. We provide adoption support services to families from the time of match through until their children reach adulthood and beyond. We also work with adopted adults choosing to access their adoption records. We are seeking an applicant with good assessment skills, who is familiar in working with families that may be under pressure or experiencing difficulties. We are additionally seeking someone who is comfortable delivering workshops to adoptive families, either face to face or virtually. All applicants should have the skills and experience to work independently but also be willing to contribute to the development of the wider services that we offer. You will need to demonstrate knowledge of relevant legislation, statutory guidance and minimum standards., Our employees' skills, experience and knowledge are essential to our success along with their happiness, wellbeing, commitment, enthusiasm and motivation to be the best they can be. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults and expect all staff to share this commitment. This position is subject to Enhanced with Barred List Disclosure Procedures. All appointments will be to the bottom salary point in the grade with annual incremental progression each April until the grade maximum is reached. Where an individual can provide evidence that their existing salary in a relevant role surpasses the grade starting salary, a higher entry salary will be considered, subject to the professional grade development criteria also being met if that point is higher than the bar point.

• This post is classified as being in a professional job category. As such the grade for the job has a professional grade development bar which employees can progress through subject to meeting the following criteria:
1. Relevant professional qualification for the job role at Level 6 or above, AND 2. Minimum of 2 years post qualification experience in the role, AND 3. Maintained membership of a regulated body where this is a requirement to practice in the role where applicable, AND 4. Professional standards practised to the highest expected level.

Message from Jill Colbert, Director of Children's Services "I joined the council at the beginning of 2025 and was instantly charmed by the warmth, openness, and energy of colleagues. "I came to Tameside for one reason; because I know we can do fantastic things for our families here. "We're a children's service on a significant improvement journey. We know what needs to be different for our children and families and we're ambitious to deliver that change. "We have a growing range of specialist services for children, where you can test and grow your skills and practice. We have a Social Work Academy that is led by people who bring passion to learning and who know that the DCS' of the future are right in front of them. We are working on our progression pathways so that staying in Tameside is rewarded and recognised. We have investment in innovation and improvement from the council so that we can grow services and support for families that we can sustain, from family hubs through to complex safeguarding. "I am so certain that we can build a proud, inclusive and safe climate for great practice to flourish in Tameside. I'd love you to join me on the journey here at Team Tameside." At Tameside, we are committed to ensuring all our Citizens lead long, fulfilling and healthy lives. We are committed to supporting economic growth, providing high quality health and care services, protecting our most vulnerable and creating strong and supportive, self-sufficient communities. We recognise that our people drive our success and enable the organisation to deliver on its vision, purpose and priorities, and that our people are our most important resource and asset. Our values underpin our practice and behaviours, and are at the heart of everything that we do; and we understand that how we do things is just as important as what we do. We pride ourselves on living by our STRIVE values of Support, Trust, Respect, Integrity, Value Diversity and Engage. Our values underpin our practice and behaviours and are at the heart of everything that we do. How we do things are just as important as what we do.