Qualified Children's Social Worker - Pathfinder

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative organization is seeking qualified Children's Social Workers to join their team in Leeds. This role focuses on improving family justice and ensuring children's voices are heard in critical decisions. With a commitment to exceptional outcomes, the organization offers a supportive environment where social workers can thrive. Join a diverse and inclusive team dedicated to making a meaningful impact on the lives of children and families. If you are passionate about social work and want to contribute to positive change, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Wellbeing support

Excellent benefits

Qualifications

• Must hold a valid Social Work England membership.
• Experience in child protection and assessment is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Support children and families in a social work capacity.
• Advise family courts on children's best interests.

Skills

Social Work England membership

Experience with children and families

Child protection and assessment

Report writing skills

Organizational skills

Resilience

Education

Social Work qualification

Job description

Qualified Children's Social Worker - Pathfinder

Location Leeds

Closing Date 11th May 2025

The Vacancy

At Cafcass, we are always keen to hear from qualified, Social Work England registered Children’s Social Workers who share our ambitions for children - exceptional experiences, for every child, everywhere and every time.

Have you heard about Pathfinder?

It's an innovative approach to improving family justice, supporting us to keep children at the heart of decisions.

At Cafcass, we're committed to creating an environment where social workers can achieve exceptional outcomes for children, giving you the chance of a more fulfilling and effective way of working, that enables you to do your best work for children and families.

Who we’re looking for

Candidates who possess the following qualifications and skills:

1. A valid Social Work England membership is required.
2. You should have previous experience working with children and families in a social work capacity, ideally in child protection and assessment context.
3. Familiarity with Family Court proceedings and an understanding of Private and/or Public Law would be advantageous.
4. You should be organised and resilient, with the ability to work independently while effectively managing your workload.
5. Strong report writing skills are essential.

Location

Our teams work flexibly, your proximity to the Leeds office doesn’t always have to be a critical consideration. This hopefully will allow you to work in a way that suits you best.

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 deliver extensive wellbeing support for colleagues, as well as excellent benefits, all of which we hope encourages you to work within our dedicated team.

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.

11th May 2025

As and when suitable candidates are shortlisted

Final Interview:

Vacancy Contact - [e-mail]

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!

Be Their Voice

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

Independently advising the family courts about what is safe for children and in their best interests, we speak up for over 140,000 children every year when the family court makes critical decisions about their futures, ensuring their needs, wishes and feelings are heard.

If our purpose resonates with you, and you share our ambitions for children - exceptional experiences, for every child, everywhere and every time - then if you join us, you will work alongside like-minded people in a diverse, inclusive and supportive organisation.

Whether you join us in one of our social work roles that work directly with children and families or our corporate and business services teams who provide technology, support and expertise, you will have the chance to make a difference for children and families. You can also find out more at www.cafcass.gov.uk/careers.

Diversity

We represent children and families from diverse backgrounds and having a diverse workforce helps us to fulfil this responsibility authentically.

It also helps us to grow, evolve and innovate, so we particularly welcome applications from individuals from diverse backgrounds as we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity of the children and families we work with.

We are also a Disability Confident Leader, which further underlines our commitment to employ, train, retain and develop the careers of colleagues with disabilities.

For more information watch our video here.