Adoption Social Worker – Barnardo's
Do you want to make a genuine difference in the lives of children, young people, and families? If so, we'd love to welcome you into our passionate and supportive Adoption Service here at Barnardo's. We have a wonderful opportunity for a committed and creative Social Worker to join our Pan‑Wales Adoption Team. Working with us means joining a compassionate group of professionals who believe deeply in the power of safe, loving, and lasting family relationships—and who will value your contribution every step of the way.
Why join Barnardo's?
At Barnardo's, we believe in quality over quantity. You'll hold a manageable caseload that allows you to truly focus on the children and families you're supporting. You'll benefit from regular supervision, peer support, emotional wellbeing resources and a workplace culture built on kindness, reflection, and professional growth.
We offer hybrid working across Wales, giving you the flexibility to organise your work in a way that supports both your priorities and your wellbeing. We pride ourselves on providing a friendly, safe and supportive environment for all our staff.
About the role
As a Social Worker within our Adoption Service, you will:
- Recruit, assess and train prospective and approved adoptive parents as part of our CIW‑registered service
- Provide thoughtful, tailored pre‑ and post‑placement support to adoptive families
- Offer training and therapeutic, relationship‑focused interventions that acknowledge the impact of trauma, loss and early adversity
- Work with hope, creativity and empathy as you help families build secure and lasting connections
- Contribute to the ongoing development of our service through reflective practice, learning and professional curiosity
We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic, motivated, and passionate about achieving the very best outcomes for children. You'll be supported to work therapeutically and to grow your skills through ongoing development opportunities.
What we're looking for
- A qualified Social Worker with registration (or eligibility to register)
- Someone who embraces learning and wants to grow within a highly experienced team
- A compassionate, resilient practitioner who believes in children and in the power of family
Thinking of applying?
If this sounds like the next step in your journey, we'd be delighted to hear from you. Please refer to the Person Specification and Job Description when completing your application, reflecting on how your skills, experience and values align with the needs of the service.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Thank you!
Lloyds Bank Foundation
Strategic Lead for Systems Change
Starting Salary: £59,098 (if London-based); £55,587 (if not London-based)
Contract: Full-time, 2-year Fixed-Term Contract (we are open to conversations about flexibility - so please ask)
Location: Remote role - can be based anywhere in England or Wales with an expectation of regular travel across England and Wales including overnight trips to London
About Lloyds Bank Foundation
Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales is an independent charitable foundation, backed by Lloyds Banking Group and the people within it. We want everyone to be in a good place - personally, in a home that’s a good place to live, and in a community that’s a good place to belong.
We play our role by connecting and catalysing community-led change, providing the money, time, tools and connections that build organisations’ capacity and capability, to make people’s lives better and their communities stronger.
We back people and communities across England and Wales, to make that happen, because when you back brilliant people, brilliant things happen. Our communities are full of ambitious, energetic and determined people stepping up to make their neighbours’ lives better and their communities grow stronger. Day in, day out.
About the Role
This is a key role strengthening the Foundation’s ability to work confidently within complex local systems and to support systems change across England and Wales. You will play a central role in shaping and developing our systems change approach, ensuring it is practical, consistent and embedded across our work in places.
You will work closely with regional teams and partners to support effective collaboration within local systems, ensuring our work is well-informed by context and lived experience. A key part of the role is enabling others - building confidence, capability and practical understanding of systems change across the organisation.
This is not a delivery-heavy role. Instead, you will focus on enabling, coaching and strengthening practice so that colleagues and partners are better equipped to work within complexity and drive meaningful change.
About You
We are looking for someone with strong, practical experience of working within systems change, place-based work or complex multi-stakeholder environments. You will bring confidence in working across boundaries and supporting others to navigate complexity.
You will be skilled in coaching, facilitation and capability building, with the ability to translate systems thinking into practical approaches others can use. Strong relationship-building skills and the ability to work credibly with a wide range of stakeholders will be essential.
A commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging is essential.
How to Apply
Please click ‘Apply’ to be redirected to our website, where you can download the Candidate Information Pack and find details of how to apply.
For an informal conversation about the role and application process, please contact our recruitment partner, Atkinson HR via the information available in the Candidate pack.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We hold Disability Confident Employer status (Level 2) and are working towards full status by 2027. If you are a disabled applicant and your CV and application answers clearly demonstrate that you meet the essential criteria, we will invite you to interview.
We are committed to building a diverse team that reflects the communities we work with. We actively welcome applications from people under-represented in the charity sector, including Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities, disabled people, and those with lived experience of the issues our funded charities address.
Key Dates
Closing Date: Midday, Monday 8th June 2026
Optional Q&A Session: Wednesday 6th May 2026 at 09:00-10:00
First Interview: Wednesday 17th June 2026
Second Interview: Friday 26th June 2026
Registered Charity
21 - 50
We support small, local and specialist charities across England and Wales.
