Chief Executive Officer

The role of the Chief Executive Officer of the Adoption Authority of Ireland is to lead the organisation and support the Board of the Authority in carrying out its functions in relation to domestic and intercountry adoption in Ireland and the provision of birth and early life information to persons who were adopted, boarded out, nursed out, the subject of an illegal birth registration, or resident in a county or mother and baby institution.

The Chief Executive Officer will be responsible for leading the Senior Management Team to achieve the organisation's objectives, and will also be responsible for ensuring that the Board of the Authority is appropriately supported in carrying out its functions, in particular its quasi-judicial functions in relation to adoption.

The Chief Executive Officer will be required to be accountable to relevant Oireachtas Committees and to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee on appropriation accounts and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Main Duties of the job

• In tandem with the Board, lead the development of the AAI as an organisation, and continuously improve the quality of the service and the achievement of its objectives;
• Serve as a direct liaison between the Board and staff members of the AAI;
• Lead, manage and support the management team in the day-to-day management of the service ensuring that the members of the management team achieve their performance objectives;
• Lead, manage and support a team of staff, ensuring that the ethos, culture and values of the AAI are implemented and embedded throughout the organisation;
• Be the main spokesperson for the AAI to enhance its reputation and develop further services to the public, utilizing and developing appropriate communication channels
• Work with the Board to enable it to fulfil its governance functions and facilitate optimum performance by the Board and its Committees;
• Support the Authority in all functions of a judicial nature conferred on the Authority under the Adoption Act, 2010

The ideal candidate will have:

• 5 years senior management experience in any discipline in a multi-disciplined organisation including in the direct and indirect management of people;
• sufficient experience of evaluation of the practical impact and legal implications of exercising statutory powers and their use in a complex environment;
• a proven track record in leading teams under their control to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness;
• a proven capacity for innovative thinking, independent assessment and decision making and sound judgment;
• a career record that demonstrates to date a high level of competence in conceptual and analytical thinking with particular regard to strategic planning but also working within a complex legal framework;
• experience in vision development, long term strategic planning and strategic change management;

Information about the Organisation

The Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI), established on 1 November 2010 under the Adoption Act 2010, is an independent quasi-judicial body under the aegis of the Department of Children, Disability, and Equality (DCDE). The AAI is responsible for granting all domestic adoption orders and for granting all declarations of eligibility and suitability to prospective adopters in advance of their adopting abroad and in Ireland. The AAI is responsible for registering and supervising all adoption service providers and for maintaining the Register of Accredited Bodies, which is the list of providers accredited by the AAI. In line with the 1993 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, the AAI is also the central authority for intercountry adoption in Ireland. The AAI maintains the Register of Intercountry Adoptions (RICA) in which details of inter-country adoptions are entered.

The AAI also has functions under the Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022 (BITA). Under this legislation, all persons who were adopted, boarded out, nursed out, the subject of an illegal birth registration, or resident in a county or mother and baby institution can apply for access to their birth certificates birth, care and early life information. The BITA legislation also places the Contract Preference Register (CPR), maintained by the AAI, on a statutory footing, and creates a robust tracing service. The AAI is one of two state bodies providing these services under the BITA legislation, the other being Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.

Selection Process Details

Further information on this significant opportunity including a full list of essential and desirable requirements and details on how to apply, is available on our website via the button below.

The closing date for receipt of completed applications is 3pm on Thursday 29th January 2026.

If you feel you would benefit from a confidential discussion about this opportunity, please contact Sandra Cairns at

We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and encourage applications under all nine grounds of the Employment Equality Act.