Head of Practice (Children's Social Work)

The Vacancy Our strategic ambition is for every child in family law proceedings to have an exceptional experience, everywhere in the country and every time. While we are proud that Ofsted judged us to be ‘outstanding’ earlier this year, there is always more to do to serve the best interests of children in public and private law proceedings across England. Our inspection outcome has energised us to keep getting better at what we do for children and families and the feedback from them tells us we are doing just that. Following recent internal promotions, we are pleased to be recruiting for a Head of Practice to be part of our leadership team for services covering Hampshire and Dorset. This role will be part of our team that focuses on public and private law . Should you join us, you will draw on your considerable experience to lead and inspire those around you to ensure the delivery of high-quality services and practice. Reporting directly to the Assistant Director, you will manage a team of Service Managers. You will also be part of our National Operations Management Team, leading on internal practice improvement, influencing local delivery partners while also working on a mix of strategic and operational matters. By ensuring Cafcass priorities, policies and plans are delivered to the highest possible standard, you and your teams will deliver positive outcomes for children and young people going through significant events. To be successful in this role you will be; A highly effective leader, able to influence others and lead change by providing assurance and inspiring confidence; Someone who thrives on the responsibility of ensuring quality of practice and service delivery across the operational area is not only sustained but continually improved; and Motivated to achieve performance standards by supporting (Senior) Service Managers to ensure strong, consistent performance management behaviours and processes are embedded. As you would expect, for such a key leadership role we have some key requirements: Significant post qualifying experience in a social work setting of working with children and families. Demonstrable experience of achieving positive outcomes for children through working in a family justice environment. Evidence of professional development to support your progression into a managerial role. That you are an inspirational and motivated leader with high levels of resilience and management skills that encourage commitment from others and promote a positive and motivated organisational culture. A collaborative team worker who can build positive relationships and work effectively across boundaries and achieve results through others. Proven experience of managing staff, services and budgets at a senior level across a wide range of functions, including supervisory and/or practice management experience. We are flexible on your location although as a senior leader you will be expected to be visible and accessible to your team and as such you should expect to be attend relevant offices in the areas for key meetings, 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, whether you are already at this level of leadership or are taking your next career step. 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. The Chief Executive and Corporate Directors sponsor our objectives in this regard, listening to and encouraging feedback from families, children, our staff, and partners about how well we are doing in terms of understanding and celebrating uniqueness. Next steps We have set out below our intended timeline for the recruitment to this role. Closing date for applications: 15th December 2024. Initial telephone conversation: w/c 16th December 2024. Panel interviews: w/c 6th or 13th January 2025. We also understand you may want to informally discuss the role. If so, please contact Spencer Hird, Assistant Director on 07771 946800 or email spencer.hird@cafcass.gov.uk . We look forward to hearing from you. Be Their Voice We are Cafcass – the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service – and we represent children in family court cases in England. Independently advising the family courts about what is safe for children and in their best interests, we speak up for over 140,0000 children every year when the family court makes critical decisions about their futures, ensuring their needs, wishes and feelings are heard. Watch our video to find out we don’t just listen to children’s voices but we can be their voice.