Cafcass is England’s largest employer of children’s social workers. We support approximately 140,000 children in family court proceedings every year. Family Court Advisers (FCAs) and Children’s Guardians are independently appointed by the Family Court and employed by us to offer advice and recommendations about what is safe and in children’s future best interests. We are an arm’s length body of Government, sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, required to report annually to Parliament and regulated by Ofsted. Our strategic ambition is for every child in family law proceedings to say that they have had an exceptional experience, wherever in the country they engage with us and every time they do so. Working with families who find themselves in difficulty or who cannot agree about safe arrangements for their children, requires a commitment from everyone working at Cafcass to bring their best selves to work every day. The advice that Family Court Advisers and Children’s Guardians provide is significant and life – lasting. The support they need from leaders and in their working environment is critical to how well they are able to support children and families. Whilst we were judged as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in January 2024, we are proud to be working to improvement priorities that we hope will secure even better and more consistent effective work. Cafcass is an exciting and challenging place to work. We are recruiting for an Assistant Director for a fixed term contract to support Private Law arrangements across London. Working alongside an existing Assistant Director, the immediate focus of this role will be to stabilise, support, innovate and lead a region that faces many challenges. Working in partnership with a range of senior family justice system leaders and government officials will be a critical aspect of this role. Experience of leading system change in a large geographical area and managing the demands of corporate, board and ministerial expectations will be required. Additionally, this role will require the postholder to share the responsibility of managing our teams working across all three court areas in London as well as embedding and evaluating a new ‘fast-track’ approach in new court. Reporting to the Deputy Director for Operations and Improvement, responsible for London, we are recruiting to this post on a fixed-term contract for a minimum of 12 months and up to 18 months. If you join us, you will work closely with the Chief Executive, Corporate and Operational Management Teams, as well as Central and Local Government partners, the Judiciary and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service. Working with our existing Assistant Director, you will be expected to provide clear direction and leadership of continued performance improvement, exceptional experiences for children and their families and the London family strategy. Supporting our people who work in a challenging environment and helping them to balance competing and unrelenting demands will also be at the forefront of this role. To be considered for this position, as well as being a social work qualified senior professional (with current Social Work England (SWE) registration), you should have comprehensive relevant experience of leading and working effectively as a member of a senior management team preferably in a national organisation and at with sufficient seniority and credibility to lead success within this role. You will also be able to demonstrate: Excellent knowledge of best practice in safeguarding, child protection, public or private law for children and current practice in a large children’s social work organisation. Strong and recent experience in the quality assurance and oversight of children’s social work practice, particularly in respect of protection and care. Leadership skills in developing system wide solutions to enduring challenges, particularly in respect of ways of working and the design of effective children’s social work services. Ability to develop and implement business and improvement plans focused on the effective discharge of statutory responsibilities as they relate to children’s safety and welfare. An ability to operate effectively and sensitively within a corporate, political and judicial environment and to develop and maintain relationships that command respect, trust and confidence whilst retaining a focus on what is right for children. That you are an inspirational and motivated leader with high levels of resilience and the skill to secure the commitment of colleagues and partners. A collaborative team worker who can build positive relationships and an organisational culture that achieves results as well as being positive and motivated. As a senior leader you will be expected to be visible and accessible in London, and there may also be some additional travel and overnight stays in different parts of the country. If you join us, you will be well-supported through induction, supervision, learning and performance review. We offer an attractive reward package, flexible working to achieve that important work/life balance, and a comprehensive programme of support to maintain your wellbeing at work that includes 4 ‘wellbeing days’ in addition to a generous annual leave entitlement. You may also be able to bring your ‘continuous service’ with you, bringing further benefits. We are an organisation valuing, promoting and prioritising equality, diversity and inclusion and we especially welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds. We listen to and encourage feedback from families, children, our colleagues, and partners about how well we are doing in terms of understanding and celebrating uniqueness. Next steps Our provisional recruitment timeline is outlined below. Please indicate on your application any dates you are unable to attend or participate in the recruitment process which we will discuss with you as appropriate. Closing date for applications: 10th March 2025 Panel interviews: 24th March 2025 We also understand you may want to informally discuss the role with someone. If so, you are welcome to contact Rehana Hanif (Deputy Director for Operations and Improvement) via, providing your contact details and advising of suitable times to contact you. However, if the closing date for applications is approaching, we encourage you to apply before the deadline and if you subsequently decide not to progress, your application can be withdrawn. We look forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance for the time you take in submitting an application.