Service Manager in Nottingham

We are recruiting for the role of Service Manager covering the Nottinghamshire 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.

Whilst this role is part of a team based from our office in Nottingham, 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.

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.

In Work After First Hearing teams, Family Court Advisers – we call our Social Workers – typically have a mixed Public and Private Law caseload. In Public Law, this will include them telling the court about the child’s journey and experiences and explaining their wishes and feelings, while also carrying out independent enquiries, scrutinising the work of the Local Authority, and representing the child in court, alongside their appointed solicitor.

In Private Law, Family Court Advisers are involved where families require the assistance of the court to agree on the best child arrangements for the child(ren) involved. Family Court Advisers are typically involved with children for a period of assessment for the court, undertaking direct work with children, gaining their views and wishes, and representing these to the court via written reports and giving evidence and advocating for arrangements that are in their best interests. This will draw on robust risk assessment and mediation skills.

Alternatively, in the Early Intervention Team, Family Court Advisers play a key role in ensuring Cafcass only intervenes in the lives of those children who need a service. This role is fast-paced, draws on Child Protection expertise, and requires analytical and effective risk assessment to identify key issues for the court and make safe recommendations in the best interests of the child. This is predominantly achieved through effective telephone interviews with applicants and respondents and by assessing information received from other agencies. They then collate this and succinctly and expertly communicate advice in the court through clear, evidence-based reports and representations, which will occasionally mean attending initial Court Hearings to ensure that children remain central to all decision making.

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

If and when 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 and amend your responses/update your CV, just make sure you come back before the closing date to submit.

Below we have given you an indication of a timetable we are hoping to work towards, although dates are subject to change:

• Closing Date: 22nd February 2026
• Initial Interview: 25th & 27th February 2026
• Final Interview: 9th / 10th & 13th March 2026

We understand that starting a new role is a big decision, and you may require further information before applying. You can find out more about the role in the Job Description and there is a wealth of information about Cafcass on our Cafcass Careers page.

If you wish to speak with a member of the team for more specific information, you can contact our HR Resourcing team, providing your contact information and best times/methods to get hold of you. Whilst we will always try and respond as soon as possible, we wouldn’t want you to miss the closing date before we are able to. If this is the case, we recommend you apply and as part of your application you can ask questions, and this may allow us to contact you and provide you with the required information that will help you decide if you still wish to be considered.

Finally, in anticipation of your application being successful, you might want to read about the offer and pre-employment checks process. As part of your application, you can highlight any concerns or questions about the pre-employment checks and we encourage all applicants to do so, safe in the knowledge such information will not be shared with individuals involved in the selection process.

We look forward to hearing from you. Please be advised successful applicants will be subject to a range of pre-engagement checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS). 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 by viewing the Cafcass DBS policy.