Qualified Children's Social Worker

Please note: If you apply on or after Sunday 14 December, we will try to priorities your initial telephone interview ahead of the festive period, however if we are unable to do accommodate this, we will communicate with you to organise an interview early in the new year.We are excited to offer a Professional Joining Incentive of £4,000 for some of the roles that are advertised within this vacancy. You can find out further information about this payment prior to applying for the role - check vacancy documents.Please note: vacancies within our Work to First Hearing Team will not attract a Professional Retention Payment.We are hiring Children's Social Workers for our converged Public and Private Law teams.Working within the converged team made up of Private Law, Public Law and Pathfinder, Children's Social Workers (or as we will professionally call you - Family Court Advisers) are involved in a combination of cases where either the families require the assistance to agree on the best arrangements for the welfare and safety of the child(ren) involved or the local authority has serious concerns and requests the involvement of Cafcass in the case.Children's Social Workers Key Responsibilities IncludeConducting assessments and directly engaging with children to understand and represent their views and wishes to the court. Using expertise in robust risk assessment and mediation will be essential as you advocate for arrangements that prioritise the best interest of the children.Who We're Looking ForRelevant Social Work qualification is essential You must be registered with Social Work England regulator You'll ideally have a minimum of 3 years' experience working with children and families in a social work capacity Experience in Family Court proceedings and understanding of Private and/or Public Law would be an advantage Organised and resilient with ability to work independently and managing workload effectivelyLocationWhile these roles are contractually based in our Birmingham or Worcester office, we support flexible and remote working and want you to work in a way that suits you best. Therefore, your proximity to the office doesn't need to be a deciding factor, however, there will be monthly dedicated office time where we come together for team meetings and group supervision.During the induction period, your frequency of required office time will be to support you in your new role, connect with peers and managers to ensure you feel supported and a valued member of our team.Please note, whilst your contractual office location will be either Birmingham or Worcester, there will be a requirement to travel for this role to meet with children and families and attend court covering the following geographical area: Birmingham, Black Country and Staffordshire.Roles We Are Recruiting ForConverged team based in Birmingham - covering Public law, Private Law and Pathfinder - £4,000 Professional Joining Incentive appliesConverged team based in Worcester - covering Public law, Private Law and Pathfinder - £4,000 Professional Joining Incentive appliesWork to First Hearing Team based in Birmingham - £4,000 Professional Joining Incentive is not applicable for these rolesWe provide the resources, equipment, and support, so that individually and collectively, we can be the voice of children and young people when the family court makes critical decisions about their futures.We provide extensive wellbeing support for colleagues, as well as excellent benefits, all of which we hope encourages you to work within our dedicated team.The advertised salary reflects our 2024/25 pay award. We are awaiting confirmation of our 2025/26 when salaries will be updated to reflect this.Next steps / TimelinesBelow we have given you an indication of a timetable we are hoping to work towards, although dates are subject to change.Closing Date15 December 2025Telephone interviews:To be confirmedFinal InterviewTo be confirmedVacancy Contact - paola.evans-solar@cafcass.gov.ukIn anticipation of your successful application, we encourage you to review our offer and pre-employment checks process. You are welcome to raise any questions or concerns about these checks during your application, with the assurance that this information will remain confidential.Successful applicants will undergo various pre-engagement checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS). In line with the DBS code of practice and our policy, if a criminal offence is declared, an individual assessment will be conducted. For further details regarding this assessment, please refer to the Cafcass DBS policy.We look forward to receiving your application