We have several Family Court Adviser - Social Worker roles available in the South West of England.

The roles are available in:

- Plymouth - covering Cornwall

- Exeter - covering Devon and Torbay

- Either Plymouth or Exeter - covering Cornwall, Devon and Somerset

*** Whilst these roles have contractual base in either of the locations, our teams work flexibly and remotely, your proximity to the office doesn’t always have to be a critical consideration. ***

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.

We provide extensive wellbeing support for colleagues, as well as excellent benefits, all of which we hope encourages you to join us.

Let us tell you a bit more about the roles…

Working in the Public and/or Private Law team, Family Court Advisers are involved in a combination of cases where either the families require the assistance to agree on the best arrangements for the welfare and safety of the child(ren) involved or the local authority has serious concerns and requests the involvement of Cafcass in the case. Family Court Advisers are typically involved in 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 the best interests of the child(ren) involved.

… and who we’re looking for.

Being a Family Court Adviser is very rewarding – but it’s not for everyone. You must be a Social Work England registered social worker who’s organised, resilient and able to work independently. Confident in your abilities, you’ll have demonstrable experience of working with children and families over a sustained period as a Social Worker, potentially supplemented from relevant experience from earlier in your career also.

Next steps / timelines

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:

29 September 2024

Telephone interviews:

2 and 3 October 2024

Final Interview:

7 October 2024

If you wish to speak with a member of the team for more specific information you can either contact Monika Stenka (monika.stenka@cafcass.gov.uk) from our HR Resourcing team if your query is HR related or to do with the recruitment process, or one of the hiring managers:

Stephanie Coole (stephanie.coole@cafcass.gov.uk),
Sophie Wheatley (sophie.wheatley@cafcass.gov.uk)
Philippa Smethurst (philippa.smethurst@cafcass.gov.uk)

if your questions relate more to the role, providing your contact information and best times / methods to get hold of you.

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.

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.

Cafcass jobs

Family Court Adviser - Social Worker