Menu

Independent Adoption Panel Member and Vice Chair

Job details
Posting date: 26 November 2025
Salary: Not specified
Additional salary information: Time commitment 2 to 4 panel sessions per year as Vice Chair with a payment rate of £400 per panel, and 4 to 5 sessions as a Panel Member with a payment rate of £200 per panel, plus reasonable expenses incurred.
Hours: Part time
Closing date: 05 December 2025
Location: Reading, Berkshire
Remote working: Fully remote
Company: Parents And Children Together (PACT)
Job type: Contract
Job reference:

Apply for this job

Summary

The time commitment will be approximately 2 to 4 panel sessions per year as Vice Chair with a payment rate of £400 per panel, and 4 to 5 sessions as a Panel Member with a payment rate of £200 per panel, plus reasonable expenses incurred. Attendance at 2 training sessions per year is required and travel expenses will be covered. Panel sessions are held online.

PACT is one of the UK’s leading independent adoption charities, placing children with secure and loving families and supporting them with specialist therapeutic support.

Our external Adoption Panel Members play a vital role at PACT by carefully considering applications from those wishing to become adoptive parents. We are currently seeking an independent Adoption Panel Member who can also act in the capacity of Adoption Panel Vice Chair when required, to ensure our panel makes fair, informed recommendation outcomes to a high quality standard. Panel sessions are held online.

You will bring an understanding of the adoption process, gained from professional or personal experience, and will be competently skilled in chairing complex meetings. You’ll be capable of facilitating active participation and ensure the panel operates within a clear regulatory and policy framework.

With an awareness of the richness of different kinds of families and their potential for meeting children/s needs, we would love to hear from you if you can bring different experiences, knowledge and perspectives to our panel member group.

We are actively working to ensure that equality and inclusion is embedded in everything that we do. It is central to our work with vulnerable children and families, and championed by our community. However, we know there is more we can do. We want to do all we can for our service users, and we want everyone at PACT to feel a sense of belonging. To support this aim, we are working proactively to develop a panel member group that it is representative of our diverse service users (both current and prospective), volunteer community and our wider eco-system. We also know the value of having panel members who champion inclusive values and bring a wide variety of perspectives to our organisation. We welcome people of all ages, backgrounds, cultures and experience to apply for this role.

If you would like to arrange an informal discussion about the role, please contact Sarah Stollard, Panel Advisor at sarah.stollard@pactcharity.org.

If you believe you can contribute to the skills and diversity of our panel as an Independent Panel Member, and act as an Independent Adoption Panel Vice Chair when required, please apply here today to join a dedicated team who are part of something truly meaningful. We look forward to hearing from you!

Early applications are encouraged as we may review and appoint on an earlier basis if a successful candidate is secured.

Closing date for applications: 9am, Friday 05 December 2025
Interviews will be held on: Wednesday 17 December 2025

Other roles you may have experience of could include: Independent Adoption Panel, Adoption Panel Member, Adoption Panel Representative, Adoption Panel Chair, Adoption Panel Vice Chair, etc.

Safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do at PACT. We have robust measures and best practices in place to safeguard and protect the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and we take pride in maintaining outstanding safeguarding standards.

Anyone joining our team is subject to PACT’s safer recruitment pre-appointment enquiries, including a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS). The role description provides information on what our safer recruitment enquiries include and the level of DBS required to work in the role.

All opportunities with PACT are based in the UK.

Apply for this job