Family Court Adviser - South Wales/Gwent

Job summary

Cafcass Cymru is operational – advising the court on cases where a child’s 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 child’s future is at the heart of every recommendation made and every action taken by Cafcass Cymru.

Please find more information on WG job site.

Job description

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 child’s 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 child’s wishes and feelings are appropriately considered and reported upon in a timely and high-quality fashion throughout the assessment of the child’s 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 Government’s 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.

Person specification

In Cafcass Cymru we want to invest in continuous learning, helping to inspire and motivate our staff to develop in their roles and be the best they can be within a dynamic, diverse, and open organisation.

The role of Family Court Adviser offers substantial opportunities to play a key role in the management, development, and improvement of an All-Wales service, including liaison with a variety of agencies and organisations.

Qualifications

Diploma in Social Work (or Social Care Wales registered equivalent)

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £47,675, Welsh Government contributes £13,811 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• 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%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

A reserve list may be held for this opportunity. Any candidate who is successful in being offered a reserve status, will remain on the reserve list for 12 months.

If successful at Stage 1, you will be provided with a written assessment task based on Experience criteria 2 to complete ahead of your interview. The panel will take this assessment into 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.

Starting Salary: A starting salary between £47,675 and £52,557 will be offered to the successful candidate based on their skills, knowledge and experience and performance at interview. This range is not negotiable.

Location: Our Family Court Advisers work flexibly, whether this is in court, at home, in the office or of course, with children and families, and we provide the technology to enable you to do this effectively. As a Family Court Adviser, you will be assigned to one of our 5 geographic operational areas with a base office within that area and you should be prepared for regular travel within a reasonable distance of this.

This advert covers vacancies in the South West Wales area (Swansea office).

There may be additional posts in this area that will become available during the recruitment process, and we will appoint to these posts.

Employee benefits

Cafcass Cymru is a Division of the Health, Care & Prevention Group within the Welsh Government and a career with us offers many civil service benefits including:

• Pay progression based on annual incremental advance.
• Full-time holiday entitlement of 31 days annual leave, plus 10 public and privilege days’ leave
• Access to numerous training opportunities.
• A civil service pension.
• Reimbursement of Social Care Wales Fees.
• Flexible working arrangements.

An allowance of £1,000 per year is available if you use your own car for all official business travel and cover in excess of 2,000 statutory miles per year. A valid driving licence and motor insurance is required.

If you want to find out more, or if you’re interested in applying, we strongly encourage all potential candidates to contact us prior to completing an application to discuss the role and recruitment process.

Please email CafcassCymruHR@gov.Wales with your contact details, noting the area you are interested in working in and the best times to contact you.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : CafcassCymruHR@llyw.cymru
• Email : CafcassCymruHR@llyw.cymru

Recruitment team

• Email : SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales