Service Manager Private Law

Cafcass; York and North Yorkshire; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A children's advocacy service is seeking a Service Manager for the Private Law team in the York area. The role involves assisting the family court in making child arrangement decisions through effective assessments and reports. Candidates need knowledge of children's social work, strong leadership skills, and experience in practice management. The position offers flexible hybrid working, a supportive wellbeing environment, and various benefits including generous holidays and a competitive pension.

Benefits

Generous holidays

Health and wellbeing cash plan

Employee Assistance Programme

Car lease scheme

Qualifications

• Expert knowledge of safeguarding statutory frameworks.
• Demonstrable supervisory experience in practice management.
• Skills to monitor and develop team performance.

Responsibilities

• Assist the court in agreeing child arrangements.
• Conduct effective telephone interviews for assessments.
• Prepare evidence-based reports for court representation.

Skills

Knowledge of children’s social work

Effective practice management

Experience as a practice educator

Building networks with agencies

Leadership through change

Education

Registered with Social Work England

Job description

Overview

We are recruiting for the role of Service Manager in our Private Law team covering the Durham Teesside North Yorkshire York and Lancashire 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.

This role can be based in one of our office locations from Blackburn, Middlesbrough or York. Our teams work flexibly and 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 which 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.

Role responsibilities

Let us tell you a bit more about the role

Being a Service Manager is rewarding but challenging. You will be organized, resilient, empathetic, supportive and able to work independently. As well as being registered with Social Work England, you will be involved in Private Law work where Family Court Advisers are required to assist the court in agreeing the best child arrangements for the child(ren) involved. This includes direct work with children, gaining their views and wishes, and representing these to the court via written reports and providing evidence and advocacy for arrangements in the child’s best interests. The role draws on robust risk assessment and mediation skills and requires analytical and effective risk assessment to identify key issues for the court and make safe recommendations in the child’s best interests.

This is predominantly achieved through effective telephone interviews with applicants and respondents and by assessing information from other agencies. You will collate this information and clearly communicate advice in the court through evidence-based reports and representations, which may occasionally include attending initial Court Hearings to ensure children remain central to decision making.

What we’re looking for

To succeed and truly make a difference, you should be someone who:

• Has expert knowledge of children’s social work including safeguarding statutory and assessment frameworks
• Has a track record of highly effective practice management or supervisory experience
• Has demonstrable experience as a practice educator with skills to monitor, manage, develop and improve team and individual performance
• Can establish strong and effective networks with other agencies
• Has experience leading individuals and teams through change

Next steps / timelines

If you are ready to apply, our application process is straightforward and quick to complete. You don’t need to complete your application in a single visit—you can start it and come back to amend responses or update your CV. Please return before the closing date to submit.

Closing date: 14 December 2025

Initial Interview: 6 January 2025

Final Interview: 15 January 2025

Wellbeing and benefits

The wellbeing of our colleagues is a priority. We offer four dedicated wellbeing days per year, a health and wellbeing cash plan (with optional family upgrade), and a holistic approach to supporting physical, mental and financial health. We also provide access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) 24/7, and well-being champions and Mental Health Allies through internal networks.

Benefits also include generous holidays (28 days rising to 33 with service), a competitive pension (Local Government Pension Scheme with 18.1% employer contribution), flexible/hybrid working, exclusive discounts, reimbursement of Social Work England membership fees, and a car lease scheme.

Diversity and inclusion

We represent children and families from diverse backgrounds and actively welcome applications from individuals who can contribute to a diverse workforce. We are a disability-confident leader and strive to accommodate reasonable adjustments in our recruitment process.

Our diversity networks include: Ability Matters, Carers Network, Faith Network, Kaleidoscope (BAME), Mental Health Network, Pride, Neurodiversity Network, and Together, the relationship-based practice framework used across Cafcass.

For more information watch our video and learn about Together, our values and how they are practiced in work with children and families.

Additional information

Disclosures: Successful applicants will be subject to pre-engagement checks including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Further information on the DBS assessment is provided in our Cafcass DBS policy.

About Cafcass

We are Cafcass, the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, representing children in family court cases in England. We speak up for children to ensure their needs, wishes and feelings are heard in court decisions.

We look forward to hearing from you.