Our goals:
As a learning organisation, Cafcass Cymru is strongly committed to continuing to invest in our staff to maintain consistent levels of quality, develop our services and innovate and continuously improve in response to future challenges. Our goals are to:
+ Provide the best quality service to support improved outcomes for every child, young person and family we work with
+ Create an environment and learning culture where staff feel valued, and their well-being is supported.
+ Share our knowledge, learn from partners and use our collective influence to improve the family justice system and childrens social care in Wales.
The role
The role of Cafcass Cymrus Family Court Advisers is to represent the wishes, feelings and best interests of children and young people involved in family court proceedings in Wales, providing high quality, independent social work advice that protects and promotes their welfare, leading to safe outcomes., As a Family Court Adviser, you will be working directly with vulnerable children and families, to advise the family courts on the best course of action for the child or young person. You will work with parents, relatives, local authorities, and the courts, and demonstrate your understanding of what the child needs, wants, and feels.
Your key tasks will include:
+ Carry a case load of private and/or public law cases.
+ Provide professional social work advice and assistance to Courts to achieve a timely conclusion to proceedings and secure the best possible outcome for the child based on their individual needs and best interests.
+ Provide high quality evidence (orally and in writing) to the Court.
+ Ensure that the childs welfare is paramount throughout proceedings, including ensuring the child is safeguarded in line with organisational requirements and the All-Wales Child Protection Procedures.
+ Ensure the appointment and instruction of legal representation for the child as required and in line with statutory and organisational requirements.
+ Ensure the childs wishes and feelings are appropriately considered and reported upon in a timely and high-quality fashion throughout the assessment of the childs needs as part of family proceedings.
+ Advise and assist parents and other relevant parties, in dispute, aiming to reduce conflict and minimise the need for court intervention.
+ Work effectively with partner organisations, stakeholders and people who use our service, whilst maintaining the required independence as part of proceedings.
+ Keep up to date with changes in legislation, guidance, court rules, policies, procedures, and best practice developments.
+ Comply with organisational policies, procedures, statutory requirements, and court rules in the delivery of services to children and families involved in family proceedings.
+ Be responsible for personal learning and development in accordance with the requirements of Social Care Wales and the Welsh Governments performance management process.
+ Work as a team member, attend relevant meetings and contribute to the effectiveness and wider planning of Cafcass Cymru as required.
+ Provide management information on workloads, practice and performance as required.
+ Use ICT effectively for case planning and recording and to support service delivery.
+ Represent Cafcass Cymru and the Welsh Government in a professional manner conducive to always promoting a positive image.
What the organisation will expect:
+ You will be responsible for managing defined areas of work using your specialist knowledge or experience to exercise sound judgement when interpreting complex or conflicting information weighing up all evidence to produce innovative solutions to problems.
+ You will be adaptable, flexible, open to, and accepting of change affecting you and your area of work and deal with that change efficiently and professionally.
+ You will show political awareness and an understanding of the political landscape when considering the impact of your decision and work on the wider business area and when formulating proposals for Senior Managers and Ministers.
What your team will expect:
+ You may be required to manage a team setting clear direction on achieving their objectives. You will support team members in their work such as complex areas of work; work allocation and prioritisation; performance management; training and development; mentoring and coaching.
+ You will value diversity and inclusion, creating an environment where individuals feel safe to challenge, share ideas and express concerns adopting an inclusive leadership style.
+ You will be responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining systems or processes ensuring excellence or value for money.
What key stakeholders will expect:
+ You will take the lead in creating, building and maintaining constructive relationships at all levels.
+ You will be able to tailor and adapt your communication style (written and oral) to advise, guide, influence and persuade internal and external stakeholders as appropriate., We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Leadership
+ Delivering at Pace
+ Managing a Quality Service, This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
To apply, you'll need to complete the online application form, answering the following 2 questions based on the experiences listed above.
1. Using an example from your practice, demonstrate your understanding of the needs of children subject to family proceedings and explain why timely reporting and decision making is critical to ensuring good outcomes for children. (Max 500 words)
2. Using a specific example, tell us about when you have used evidence-based practice to inform your analysis and how this led to safe recommendations and the best possible outcome for the child or young person you were working with. (Max 500 words)
Please note, you do not need to provide a written response in relation to the behaviours. These will be tested at interview stage.
Once youve submitted your application form, the selection process will consist of the following stages:
+ Stage 1 Shortlisting based on responses to the above 2 questions.
+ Stage 2 Written Assessment & Panel interview. If Successful at stage 1, you will be provided with a written assessment task to complete ahead of your interview. The panel will take this assessment in to consideration at the interview stage where you can expect to be asked further questions about your submission. The panel interview will be based on the behaviour and experiences listed above.
Number of Stages: 2 stage process
Stage 1 Application Form
Stage 2 Interview
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
+ UK nationals
+ nationals of the Republic of Ireland
+ nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
+ individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
+ Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
To be a Family Court Adviser you must hold a recognised social work qualification social and already registered with, or eligible to be registered with Social Care Wales. You must have knowledge and experience of safeguarding children and young people within a statutory sector.
Our work is demanding; therefore, you will need to be resilient and organised, can work proportionately, with strong IT skills and excellent verbal and written communication skills.
If this is the type of culture and organisation you think you can thrive in and you are motivated by making a difference for children and families, Cafcass Cymru would welcome your interest.
We are actively committed to becoming an increasingly diverse organisation with a workforce that reflects the diversity of the children and families we work with. We particularly welcome applications from individuals from diverse backgrounds with a range of lived and professional social work experiences. This is supported by our dynamic approach to learning and development and there are several Diversity networks which staff can participate in, which include The Minority Ethnic Staff Network, PRISM LGBTI+ Network, and the Women Together Network., I can confirm that I have a Diploma in Social Work (or Social Care Wales registered equivalent)
Cafcass Cymru is operational advising the court on cases where a childs welfare is at stake and is also part of Welsh Government. We therefore have the best of both worlds service delivery and the ability to shape and influence. We are an organisation that lives and breathes its values. We are an organisation that is genuine in its desire to improve outcomes for the children we work with. We are an organisation that puts Wales on the map in the worlds of social work and family justice. We want you to be part of this exciting journey of putting the child first and making a difference.
In Cafcass Cymru we support thousands of children and families in family court proceedings each year. Our purpose is to safeguard the child and ensure their voice is heard within the family justice system. The childs future is at the heart of every recommendation made and every action taken by Cafcass Cymru.
+ Learning and development tailored to your role
+ An environment with flexible working options
+ A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
+ A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%