Family Court Adviser – South Wales/Gwent in Cardiff

Family Court Adviser – South Wales/Gwent

ID 4248

The Welsh Government operates name-free recruitment. The recruiting panel will not see personal information such as a candidate's name and address during the sifting process. This policy is in line with our commitment to end bias and promote equality and diversity.

Vacancy title: Family Court Adviser – South Wales/Gwent

29/10/2026, 16:00

Advertising basis Permanent

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.

Salary range or pay band SEO £47,675 to £56,445

No

Work pattern Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)

Group Health, Care & Prevention Group

Directorate Cafcass Cymru

Branch South Wales/Gwent

Location (s) Cardiff, South East Wales

Main office base Cathays, Cardiff

Purpose of post: 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.

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 children's social care in Wales.

The role

The role of Cafcass Cymru's 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.

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.

Key tasks

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.

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.

Other vacancy related information

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.

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.

Vetting level Enhanced

Number of posts 1

Welsh language requirements

Welsh language requirements 3 - Welsh language skills are not essential for this opportunity; you do not need Welsh language skills to apply. However, as the Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation, Welsh language skills are desirable and will be considered if two or more candidates receive the same score at the application or interview stage.

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 AI candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection Process and Stages

Welsh Government, like all other Government Departments use Success Profiles when we recruit. For each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job. It raises performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

The selection process and stages are:

Number of Stages:

2 stage process

Stage 1 Application Form

Stage 2 Interview

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these Behaviour criteria during the selection process.

Behaviour 1: Making Effective Decisions

Analyse and use a range of relevant, credible information from internal and external sources to support decisions

This will be tested at stage 2: Interview

Behaviour 2: Communicating and Influencing

Share information as appropriate and check understanding

This will be tested at stage 2: Interview

Behaviour 3: Delivering at Pace

Act promptly to reassess workloads and priorities when there are conflicting demands to maintain performance

This will be tested at stage 2: Interview

Experience

We'll assess you against the following Experience criteria during the assessment process.

Evidence to provide Experience questions

Experience 1: Using an example from your practice, demonstrate how you have applied trauma informed understanding when assessing the needs of children subject to family proceedings? (Max 500 words)

This will be tested at Stage 1: Application Form

This will be tested at stage 2: Interview

Experience 2: Using a specific example, where domestic abuse was at least one of the issues in

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