We are excited to offer a Professional Retention Payment of £4,000 for those who join one of our teams in this area. You can find out further information about this payment prior to applying for the role - check vacancy documents. We are hiring Children’s Social Workers for our Private and Public Law teams and Work to First Hearing Team. Working in the Private and Public Law teams, 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. Within the Work to First Hearing team you will play a key role in ensuring Cafcass only intervenes in the lives of those children who needs a service. This role is fast paced, draws on Child Protection expertise and requires analytical and effective risk assessment to identify key issues for the court and make safe recommendations in the best interests of the child. You will predominantly achieve this through effective telephone interviews with applicants and respondents and by assessing information received from other agencies. You will then collate this to allow you to succinctly and expertly communicate advice in the court through clear, evidence-based reports and representations, which will occasionally mean attending initial Court Hearings to ensure that children remain central to all decision making. Children’s Social Workers key responsibilities include: Conducting 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 for Relevant 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 effectively Willingness to travel Location Whilst you may see these roles have contractual base in our Nottingham and Derby offices, our teams work flexibly and remotely, your proximity to the office doesn’t always have to be a critical consideration. This hopefully will allow you to work in a way that suits you best. You will be required to attend the office daily during the first few weeks of your induction, you will need to attend team supervisions and team meetings in person, and required to attend court in both Nottingham and Derby. We 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 / Timelines Below we have given you an indication of a timetable we are hoping to work towards, although dates are subject to change. Closing date: XXXXXX XX/XX/XXXX Telephone interviews: w/c XX/XX/XXXX Final Interview: XX/XX/XXXX Vacancy Contact - In 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!