Service Manager

Cafcass; Croydon; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A family court advisory service is hiring a Service Manager based in Croydon. The role involves leading social work teams, ensuring child welfare in family court proceedings, and promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace. This fixed-term contract offers a monthly salary between £55,250 and £57,275, along with extensive benefits including a generous holiday allowance and wellbeing support.

Benefits

Generous holidays

Excellent pension

Flexible working

Exclusive discounts

Professional fees reimbursement

Car leasing schemes

Qualifications

• Registered with Social Work England.
• Organised, resilient, and empathetic.
• Able to work independently.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage social work teams effectively.
• Monitor and improve team performance.
• Advise family courts on children's best interests.

Skills

Expert knowledge of children's social work

Practice management or supervisory experience

Practice educator skills

Establish strong networks with other agencies

Change management experience

Job description

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

This vacancy is a Fixed Term Contract until the 31st March 2026.

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 Croydon, 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.

About the role

Being a Service Manager is very rewarding but, as you would expect, challenging too. As well as being registered with Social Work England you’ll be organised, resilient, empathetic, supportive and able to work independently.

What we’re looking for

• Expert knowledge of children's social work including safeguarding statutory and assessment frameworks
• A track record of highly effective practice management or supervisory experience
• Demonstrable experience of being a practice educator with the skills to continuously monitor, manage, develop and improve team and individual performance
• Proven ability to establish strong and effective networks with other agencies
• Experience of leading individuals and teams through change

Next steps / timelines

Closing date: 22nd September 2025

Initial Interview: TBC

Final Interview: TBC

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 children every year when the family court makes critical decisions about their futures ensuring their needs, wishes and feelings are heard.

Watch our video to find out we don’t just listen to children’s voices but we can be their voice.

Wellbeing

The wellbeing of our colleagues is something we are truly passionate about as demonstrated by everyone having four dedicated additional days per year when they are encouraged to spend time focusing on their health and wellbeing.

Colleagues can also have a health and wellbeing cash plan for which Cafcass pays the basic premium (you can upgrade to include family members) which allows them to claim back some costs of routine health expenses including dental check‑ups, eye tests, physiotherapy sessions and more.

Overall we foster a holistic approach to supporting our colleagues, benefiting physical, mental and financial health. This is led by a dedicated in‑house team whose benefits include targeted and specific support for the diverse needs of our workforce.

Our wellbeing offer is further strengthened by an external Employee Assistance Provider (EAP) that provides a free confidential support service 24 hours a day, giving you access to clinical and professional expertise.

We are also proud that over 125 colleagues have completed training and receive ongoing support to act as Health and Wellbeing Champions, with nearly 100 people trained as Mental Health Allies.

Diversity

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

We are a disability‑confident leader and invite people with disabilities, including non‑visible disabilities and mental health conditions, to join us. Our inclusive recruitment process accommodates reasonable adjustments as needed.

Our Diversity Networks provide a safe space for colleagues with shared aspects of identity and lived experience, supported by allies across the organisation. Current networks include:

• Ability Matters – colleagues with disabilities and long‑term health conditions
• Carers Network – colleagues with additional caring responsibilities for someone with a disability or long‑term health condition
• Faith Network – colleagues who are part of or have an interest in religious or spiritual faith communities
• Kaleidoscope Network – colleagues from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds
• Mental Health Network – colleagues who experience or have an interest in mental health issues
• Pride Network – colleagues who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT)
• Neurodiversity Network – colleagues who are neurodivergent or support someone who is

Together

Together with Children and Families (which we simply call Together) is the name of our relationship‑based practice framework. It applies to the work of every individual in Cafcass – from Social Workers to Leaders and includes our Corporate and Business Support teams. It is at the heart of what we do and includes our values, the tools to incorporate them into practice and the impact this will have on the children and families we serve.

Benefits

We know that if you join us you want to be rewarded in a variety of ways, including time away from work to spend with those important to you, managing your financial present and future, and maintaining a healthy work/life balance.

Generous holidays: 28 days holiday (including three for Christmas) rising to 33 days with five years of continuous service, possibly including your current employment. You can also sell any you do not need.

Excellent pension: 18.1% employer contribution to Local Government Pension Scheme, potentially building on your current pension.

Flexible working: Most colleagues work in a hybrid way, balancing office and home; we also accommodate flexible working requests (e.g. 9‑day fortnights).

Exclusive discounts: Generous discounts with a wide range of companies covering leisure, technology, travel, personal finance, fashion and supermarkets.

Professional fees: Social work colleagues have their annual Social Work England membership fees reimbursed.

Car leasing schemes: We have our own scheme for colleagues that travel a significant number of business miles, as well as an open scheme through a third‑party provider.

Pre‑engagement checks

Successful applicants will be subject to a range of pre‑engagement checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. In accordance with the DBS code of practice and our own policy, should an individual have a declared criminal offence, an individual assessment will be completed. Further information on what the assessment covers can be found in the Cafcass DBS policy.

Salary

Monthly Salary: £55,250 – £57,275

Employment type

Unclear (fixed‑term contract)

Required experience

Manager level experience.