After graduating from Bradford University School of Management in 2001 Shadim spent 15 years working in industry and cofounded an international fashion distribution and ecommerce business. After seeing the plight of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking (UASC) and refugee children, he felt compelled to use his skills, knowledge and networks to improve outcomes for these young people and in 2016 made the move to the third sector.

Shadim is CEO of My Foster Family, a community interest company he founded in 2019, and he successively launched My Adoption Family, a faith-sensitive and diverse fostering and adoption recruitment and training organisation that supports agencies to find the best placements to meet the needs of children coming into care.

He spearheaded the much-acclaimed Muslim Fostering Project, achieving positive change for UASC and Muslim children living in care. The work was acknowledged in two government reports as innovative at supporting under-represented groups and communities:

  • Department of Education and Home Office - Safeguarding Strategy Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking and Refugee Children- 2017
  • Department of Education - Fostering Better Outcomes Report- 2018

He is involved in key national working groups on adoption and sits on boards of community organisations in his home city Bradford in West Yorkshire:

  • National Adoption Recruitment Steering Group
  • Adoption & Special Guardianship Leadership Board Racial Disparity Task Group
  • Bradford Foundation Trust
  • Race Equality Network

Shadim is married with four daughters and a keen cyclist, often taking part in charity bike rides. He is passionate about social issues and hopes to ensure the voices of ethnic minority and faith communities are represented and empowered to influence policy through active participation in key civil society organisations.