A girl outwardly competent and very charming (8)
I believe the answer is:
adorable
'very charming' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'a girl outwardly competent' is the wordplay.
'a girl' becomes 'Dora' (girl's name).
'outwardly' indicates putting letters inside (some letters go outside others).
'competent' becomes 'able' (similar in meaning).
'dora' put into 'able' is 'ADORABLE'.
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for adorable that I've seen before include "Worthy of worship" , "Lovely and attractive" , "Winsome" , "sweet" , "Loveable" .)