Matt Dunkley was previously a director of children's services in East Sussex, but has been working in Australia for the past three and a half years. He was ADCS president in 2011/12 and was made a CBE in 2014 for his services to children and families.
Norfolk County Council said Dunkley will join the local authority next month as interim executive director of children's services, taking over from current interim director Andrew Bunyan.
The council is currently trying to turn around standards within children's services after provision was rated "inadequate" by Ofsted for the second time in the space of two years in October 2015.
As part of plans to improve services, Barnardo's is in line to help run looked-after children's services in Norfolk, in what is thought to be the first arrangement of its kind in England.
A review published last August, which was put together current ADCS president Dave Hill, who was appointed as commissioner of children's services at Norfolk to oversee improvement efforts, concluded that Norfolk continues to have significant challenges, particularly with services for looked-after children and care leavers, but there has been "demonstrable progress" in other areas, particularly child protection.
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