Assistant Service Manager

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading organization is seeking an Assistant Service Manager in Bristol to manage a team of Family Court Advisers. This role involves safeguarding children, providing reflective supervision, and promoting high standards of practice. The ideal candidate will be registered with Social Work England and possess strong communication and emotional intelligence skills. Join a diverse and inclusive team dedicated to representing children's voices in family court cases.

Benefits

Wellbeing support

Flexible working

Professional development opportunities

Health and wellbeing cash plans

Qualifications

• Experience in supervising, coaching, or mentoring social workers.
• Good understanding of Public and Private law cases.
• Organized and resilient.

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of Family Court Advisers.
• Safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
• Provide high-quality reflective case supervision.

Skills

Communication

Emotional Intelligence

Coaching

Resilience

Education

Registered with Social Work England

Job description

We are recruiting for the role of Assistant Service Manager in our team(s) covering the Bristol area.

We trust and empower colleagues to work in a hybrid way, providing 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.

Whilst this role is part of a team based from our office in Bristol, our teams work flexibly and remotely; your proximity to the office doesn’t always have to be a critical consideration.

We are a diverse, inclusive organisation that is a safe space for colleagues with shared aspects of identity and lived experience, which helps ensure we provide a service that promotes the diversity and uniqueness of children and families from all backgrounds. We especially welcome applications from people from diverse backgrounds as we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity of the children and families we work with.

We provide extensive wellbeing support for colleagues, as well as excellent benefits, all of which we hope encourages you to join us.

Let us tell you a bit more about the role…

Being an Assistant Service Manager is very rewarding but also challenging. You will manage a team of Family Court Advisers and have a good understanding of what good looks like in Public and Private law cases.

Through your own practice and reflective/case supervision of colleagues, you will consistently reflect and champion the values and core practices of our framework, ‘Together with Children and Families’.

As an Assistant Service Manager, it is your duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and to support colleagues in achieving high standards of safeguarding practice.

You will be responsible for providing high-quality reflective case supervision and for the quality and impact of the practice standards of the Family Court Advisers you manage.

… and what we’re looking for.

You should be registered with Social Work England, organized, resilient, and have experience in supervising, coaching, or mentoring social workers.

You will promote resilience and wellbeing at work, maintain morale, and be confident in managing employees with diverse professional experience.

You should be a good communicator, both orally and in writing, with emotional intelligence, especially when interacting with children.

Next steps / timelines

Our application process is straightforward and quick. You can start your application, save it, and return to amend responses or update your CV before the deadline.

Indicative timelines are provided, although dates may change. Initial and final interview dates will be communicated accordingly.

If you need more information, you can contact Kiera Manuel ([e-mail]) for recruitment-related questions or Rachel Wakely ([e-mail]) for questions about the role.

We encourage you to apply and include questions in your application to help us assist you better before the closing date.

In case of successful application, you may need to complete pre-employment checks, including a DBS check, with further details available in our policies.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Successful applicants will be subject to pre-engagement checks, including a DBS check, in accordance with our policies and the DBS code of practice.

Be Their Voice

We are Cafcass – the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service – representing children in family court cases in England.

We advise the courts on what is safe and in the best interests of children, speaking up for over 140,000 children annually.

Watch our video to see how we listen to children’s voices and can be their voice.

If our purpose resonates with you, join us to work with a diverse, inclusive, and supportive team. You will work flexibly and independently, with access to excellent technology and resources, and opportunities for professional development.

Learn more at www.cafcass.gov.uk/careers.

We prioritize our colleagues’ wellbeing, offering additional days off, health and wellbeing cash plans, and support for various health conditions.

Our external Employee Assistance Provider offers confidential support 24/7. Over 125 colleagues are trained as Health and Wellbeing Champions, and nearly 100 as Mental Health Allies.

Diversity

We value diversity and inclusion, which helps us serve children and families better. We welcome applications from diverse backgrounds and are a Disability Confident Leader.

Our Diversity Networks support colleagues with shared identities and experiences, fostering an inclusive environment.

Our practice framework, ‘Together with Children and Families’, guides our work, emphasizing proactive, relationship-based practice and the importance of positive relationships with children, families, and colleagues.

We look forward to sharing more about this framework if you join us.

We offer a range of benefits, including time off, financial wellbeing support, and policies to support colleagues and their families. Further details will be provided during the recruitment process.