Job Title:
Service:
Managing Director
Coram Kent Voluntary Adoption Agency
Reporting to:
Supervisory responsibilities:
Coram Group Chief Executive
Adoption Services Manager
Other project or programme leaders as agreed
Salary Range: Up to £80k with relocation and benefits
Coram Kent Adoption (CKA) is a new voluntary adoption agency formed by adoption specialist charity
Coram and Kent County Council. Building on two years of successful partnership working which has seen a significant increase in the number of children placed in the county, Coram Kent Adoption stands at the forefront of development in the adoption sector and is dedicated to sustaining and increasing service for adopters and outcomes for children applying best practice models such as concurrent planning and multiprofessional approaches to permanence planning and adoption support. The VAA will open in
Summer2015, offering the opportunity for a dynamic service director to shape from inception a new model
VAA working with local authority representatives and trustees.
Coram Kent Adoption is part of the Coram group of charities which draws upon a distinguished history and reputation for contemporary practice in creating better chances for children. With some 300 staff, a distinctive headquarters near King’s Cross and service delivery teams across the UK, Coram strives to be a credible, respectful, professional, dynamic and committed organisation where these values infuse all that we do to promote resilience for children.
CKAstaff are expected to work in line with our sharedvalues and management principles, in particular by:
 Building and maintaining meaningful, supportive, mutually empowering relationships with and between colleagues, partners, and children and young people.
 Creating and supporting a friendly and trusting working environment, working flexibly and supporting each other in times of high workload or when life gets difficult.
 Accepting personal responsibility for our work and being accountable for delivering results against those responsibilities.
 Recognising that we all have a role to play in all aspects of the organisation’s success, in particular promoting strong networking and outreach to attract new adopters and ensuring all children who need an adoptive family have the best chance of being successfully matched.
This role provides professional leadership and strategic planning for this new venturewhichis registered service with key statutory responsibilities for children looked after where adoption best meets their needs.
Benefiting from significant government start-up funding, the role will appeal to a dynamic and confident business and practice leader with clear vision to inspire others to achieve the aims of the organisation.
Managing Director, Coram Kent Adoption Agency
Created: January 2015
Issue: 1

Purpose of the role:
To lead and manage Coram Kent Adoption as a registered VAA, ensuring dynamic development of services for adopters and outcomes for children at best practice standards.
Main duties and responsibilities:
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 To be directly accountable as Responsible Individual for ensuring delivery of an effective service that is fit for purpose and meets statutory and regulatory requirements, ensuring OFSTED readiness at all times
 To provide management supervision of the VAA, taking budgetary and management responsibility as part of, and on behalf of, the organisation, working with the Chief Finance Officer and other group central services to ensure resilient operation.
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Lead and manage the VAA,developing the annual business plan for approval informed by local data and performance targets, within the agreed strategy and framework, working dynamically with the trustees, staff and partners to maximise their positive contribution and build understanding and support.
To work with the Children’s Service Director of Kent County Council and other partners on key aspects of adoption services in line with the authority’s corporate parenting duties and their accountability to elected members in securing safe and positive outcomes for children in their care.
 To develop and lead effective partnerships ensuring that they deliver high quality service and added value in permanence planning and enhancedsupport for children and adopters, modelling behaviour, applying best practice evidenced approaches and taking a continuous improvement approach to practice and performance
 Develop and deliver key performance indicators and data management tools and processes and utilise these to ensure maximum benefit from resources, fulfilling all requirements for reporting of the board of trustees and as required by Kent County Council under the Framework Agreement
 To provide updates and guidance on emerging trends affecting access to adoption services of children and young people including local and national practices that form part of solution strategies.
 To work with assigned staff responsible for quality assurance requirements including the reporting of performance data and management of complaints, safeguarding and accreditation, working proactively to support the development of services to national standards including by evaluation of services and feedback from adopters and partners
 To support the group Chief Executive in fulfilment of governance functioning and in the development of income and support to the agency and the Group, participating in the group management team as required
Managing Director, Coram Kent Adoption Agency
Created: January 2015
Issue: 1

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To be responsible for the health and safety of CKA staff; ensuring implementation of safe working practices and policies within localised areas of influence. All employees have a legal duty to ensure their own safety and the safety of others.
To represent the VAA and its partners as delegated to advance public understanding and the development of policy and practice as it affects looked after children. This will involve working with relevant functions to ensure that policy positions and public communications are consistent within the group.
 Any other duties within competence as agreed.
Managing Director, Coram Kent Adoption Agency
Created: January 2015
Issue: 1

Knowledge and experience
Essential
 Experience of managing distributed social care business and/or adoption services at a senior level including financial and performance accountabilities at seven figure levels.
 Experience of working with key senior figures at chief executive, chairman and board level and with government and local authority departments across a range of sectors to achieve joint delivery, address needs and build support.
 Proven experience of delivering against delivery timetables, client development and income targets at significant levels and of personal negotiation and matrix management.
 Thorough understanding of operational management, risk assessment, safeguarding and of the
 processes required to achieve development which leads to successful implementation.
Ability to lead on strategic and legislative change, transform services and engage stakeholders in implementing service transformations or improvement strategies operating with public scrutiny and transparency in delivery and financial effectiveness.
 Working knowledge of the law and indepth knowledge of the statutory framework for adoption, regulations and procedures, court processes and the legal rights of birth parents, adopters and children in receipt of services.
 Ability to lead and motivate managers, support and professional staff, effectively creating a climate of continuous learning and challenge in the promotion of excellence in the outcomes for children.
 Experience of consultancy, experience of change solutions and practice improvement, navigating differing contractual structures and deliveryprocesses.
Desirable
Experience of charity operation and leadership
Qualifications, skills and personal attributes
Essential
 Self-starter with high initiative who thrives on complexity and is able to navigate and succeed with matrix management to achieve organisational development and goals.
 Able to lead and motivate professional teams by example, including personal flexibility to managehigh pace activity and to travel and to attend occasional early morning or evening events.
Managing Director, Coram Kent Adoption Agency
Created: January 2015
Issue: 1

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Social work qualification or professional with post graduate management and leadership or clinical qualification with direct experience of adoption delivery and the statutory function
Professional executive approach to personal presentation with highly developed inter-personal skills.
Must be able to exercise discretion, responsiveness and authority and to achieve results by influence and persuasion as well as written argument.
 Strongly established management skills including financial compliance, business and marketing, planning and programme management with qualification or evidence of expertise at senior leadership level in the ability to develop and realise the delivery of agreed strategy.
 Excellent written and verbal communications skills including negotiation and influencing skills, and presentation to mixed audiences and stakeholders.
 High level of understanding of business IT systems including Microsoft Officeand financial systems.
 Financial fluencyacross budget setting, business planning and accountability at a strategic as well as a unit/project level.
 Competency in data provision and interpretation of relevant trends to inform development and business management.
 Willingness to get things done by effective team working and delegation and delivering a wide range
 of tasks directly as/when necessary.
Understanding of the continuing professional development framework for social work including the
 role of supervision and appropriate training.
A full driving licence and willingness to travel and to work flexibly including out of hours when necessary
Desirable

A leadership/management qualification at Higher Education level 3 or above
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Understanding and experience of media and social media implications and opportunities for business and in social care settings
Managing Director, Coram Kent Adoption Agency
Created: January 2015
Issue: 1