Assistant Director Strategic Programme Development and Change Leadership (Children's Social Work)
£106,944 - £114,014
Location: Flexible across the country
Cafcass is England's largest employer of children's social workers. We support c140,000 children in family court proceedings every year. Family Court Advisers (FCAs) and Children's Guardians are independently appointed by the court to offer advice and recommendations about what is safe and in children's future best interests.
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' in January 2024, there is always more to do to serve the best interests of children in public and private law proceedings across England.
We are looking for an individual with the leadership skills to change a national system while influencing local practice with children and families. Substantial knowledge of private law proceedings is a requirement alongside a highly developed understanding of social work practice leadership in the family justice system.
Working to the Deputy Director Special Projects, the National Director of Operations and Chief Executive, the Assistant Director for Strategic Programme Development and Change Leadership will be responsible for the successful development of an effective and sustainable private law model that can be implemented in England over the next five years. Key principles include seeing children earlier in proceedings, presenting the court with reports about their experiences, earlier resolution of family difficulties, and a safer response to domestic abuse.
The post-holder will lead the Cafcass programme in each region, overseeing preparation, transition, and implementation phases, while providing mentoring and oversight of fidelity to the model after local handover.
The post-holder will work closely with senior managers, practitioners, and corporate colleagues within Cafcass and external partners to create effective local partnerships for a successful transition from the Child Arrangements Programme to a new model.
The post-holder will represent Cafcass nationally and locally, preparing and presenting performance and progress reports, and identifying and mitigating risks to programme delivery.
If you are an experienced and senior leader of services for children and families with the commitment to lead major transformation and improvement programmes, this could be the role for you.
Key to being part of the Cafcass leadership team is inspirational, inclusive leadership and a commitment to continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of practice through collaborative partnerships across the family justice system.
Directly accountable to a Deputy Director Special Projects, the post-holder will develop a close working partnership with the Pathfinder project team in the Ministry of Justice and serve as a Cafcass single point of contact for the Department for Education and Association of Directors of Children's Services.
Central to this role is the leadership of system, process, and practice change in respect of private law proceedings, public law, and social work practice systems more generally. The role will be reviewed in two years, with a view to assuming responsibility for other complex change and improvement programmes.
You will be expected to provide clear project direction and leadership that supports effective performance and creates a culture of continuous improvement.
You will support and lead your team, manage competing demands, and work effectively through others, maintaining a focus on exceptional experiences for children and families.
To be considered for this role, you should have:
Proven knowledge and extensive experience of best practice in safeguarding, child protection, and current practice in a large children's social work organisation.
Experience of successfully leading and implementing complex innovation and change programmes.
An ability to operate effectively within a political and judicial environment, developing and maintaining relationships that command respect, trust, and confidence.
Credibility in presenting at board or committee meetings, including writing executive reports for public meetings.
Inspirational leadership with high resilience and management skills to promote a positive organizational culture.
A collaborative team worker who can build positive relationships and achieve results through others.
As a national organisation, we are flexible on your location, but you should expect to attend relevant offices for key meetings, with some additional travel and overnight stays required.
If you join us, you will be supported through induction, supervision, learning, and performance review. We offer an attractive reward package, flexible working, and a comprehensive programme of support for your wellbeing.
We value, promote, and prioritize equality, diversity, and inclusion and welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds.
Next steps
The timeline for recruitment to this role is detailed below.
Closing date for applications: Sunday 5th January 2025.
Initial interviews: Between 13th and 17th January 2025.
Panel interviews: 23rd/24th January 2025.
If you wish to discuss the role informally, you may contact Sarah Parsons (Deputy Director Special Projects). However, we encourage you to apply before the deadline.
We look forward to hearing from you.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
£106,944 - £114,014
Location: Flexible across the country
Cafcass is England's largest employer of children's social workers. We support c140,000 children in family court proceedings every year. Family Court Advisers (FCAs) and Children's Guardians are independently appointed by the court to offer advice and recommendations about what is safe and in children's future best interests.
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' in January 2024, there is always more to do to serve the best interests of children in public and private law proceedings across England.
We are looking for an individual with the leadership skills to change a national system while influencing local practice with children and families. Substantial knowledge of private law proceedings is a requirement alongside a highly developed understanding of social work practice leadership in the family justice system.
Working to the Deputy Director Special Projects, the National Director of Operations and Chief Executive, the Assistant Director for Strategic Programme Development and Change Leadership will be responsible for the successful development of an effective and sustainable private law model that can be implemented in England over the next five years. Key principles include seeing children earlier in proceedings, presenting the court with reports about their experiences, earlier resolution of family difficulties, and a safer response to domestic abuse.
The post-holder will lead the Cafcass programme in each region, overseeing preparation, transition, and implementation phases, while providing mentoring and oversight of fidelity to the model after local handover.
The post-holder will work closely with senior managers, practitioners, and corporate colleagues within Cafcass and external partners to create effective local partnerships for a successful transition from the Child Arrangements Programme to a new model.
The post-holder will represent Cafcass nationally and locally, preparing and presenting performance and progress reports, and identifying and mitigating risks to programme delivery.
If you are an experienced and senior leader of services for children and families with the commitment to lead major transformation and improvement programmes, this could be the role for you.
Key to being part of the Cafcass leadership team is inspirational, inclusive leadership and a commitment to continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of practice through collaborative partnerships across the family justice system.
Directly accountable to a Deputy Director Special Projects, the post-holder will develop a close working partnership with the Pathfinder project team in the Ministry of Justice and serve as a Cafcass single point of contact for the Department for Education and Association of Directors of Children's Services.
Central to this role is the leadership of system, process, and practice change in respect of private law proceedings, public law, and social work practice systems more generally. The role will be reviewed in two years, with a view to assuming responsibility for other complex change and improvement programmes.
You will be expected to provide clear project direction and leadership that supports effective performance and creates a culture of continuous improvement.
You will support and lead your team, manage competing demands, and work effectively through others, maintaining a focus on exceptional experiences for children and families.
To be considered for this role, you should have:
Proven knowledge and extensive experience of best practice in safeguarding, child protection, and current practice in a large children's social work organisation.
Experience of successfully leading and implementing complex innovation and change programmes.
An ability to operate effectively within a political and judicial environment, developing and maintaining relationships that command respect, trust, and confidence.
Credibility in presenting at board or committee meetings, including writing executive reports for public meetings.
Inspirational leadership with high resilience and management skills to promote a positive organizational culture.
A collaborative team worker who can build positive relationships and achieve results through others.
As a national organisation, we are flexible on your location, but you should expect to attend relevant offices for key meetings, with some additional travel and overnight stays required.
If you join us, you will be supported through induction, supervision, learning, and performance review. We offer an attractive reward package, flexible working, and a comprehensive programme of support for your wellbeing.
We value, promote, and prioritize equality, diversity, and inclusion and welcome applications from people with diverse backgrounds.
Next steps
The timeline for recruitment to this role is detailed below.
Closing date for applications: Sunday 5th January 2025.
Initial interviews: Between 13th and 17th January 2025.
Panel interviews: 23rd/24th January 2025.
If you wish to discuss the role informally, you may contact Sarah Parsons (Deputy Director Special Projects). However, we encourage you to apply before the deadline.
We look forward to hearing from you.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
