Associate Family Court Adviser

Job description

The Vacancy

Cafcass is seeking talented, passionate, and experienced social workers to join us as Associate Family Court Advisers (FCAs) - a vital part of our national practice community.

As self-employed practitioners contracted by Cafcass, Associate FCAs play a key role in supporting our work with vulnerable children and young people, providing independent social work expertise to help families through some of the most challenging moments in their lives.

As an Associate FCA, you will be commissioned by local Cafcass teams across Bristol, Oxford, Reading, and Liverpool to undertake public and private law family court work. You will contribute expert case analysis, provide recommendations in the best interests of children, and help to manage caseload pressures while complementing the work of our employed practitioners.

Associates typically carry a mixed caseload, with thresholds set at 5 to 18 cases, ensuring workloads remain manageable and proportionate. There is also the opportunity to take on shorter-term work such as writing Work to First Hearing safeguarding letters.

Becoming a Cafcass Associate is ideal for practitioners used to working independently and who want to maintain high-level professional social work practice and shape their own workload. It also allows practitioners to combine working with Cafcass with other roles or commitments (e.g. ISW, IRO, lecturing, training, or other business interests) and obtain the balance they need to suit their personal circumstances, whilst undertaking challenging, rewarding practice that makes a real difference to vulnerable children across England

Cafcass currently contracts over 100 Associate FCAs, and with continued demand, this number is expected to grow. Our dedicated Associates team provides onboarding and contract support to ensure effective collaboration with our commissioning teams. We also provide a professional induction to all new Associates including access to specialist training and resources throughout your time as an Associate.

We are looking for Social Work England registered social workers with:

• Significant post qualifying experience
• Expertise in safeguarding, child engagement, and multi‑agency working
• Strong analytical, assessment, and recording skills
• Confidence working directly with families, professionals, and the family courts
• Capacity to fulfil the time requirements of the role - the Associate Family Court Adviser role is not compatible with remaining in a substantive or full-time role, as the demands of the position would make it difficult to dedicate sufficient time to the work and meet the standards we expect for children and young people.

As this is a self-employed role, you will need to manage your own tax and contribution arrangements. Cafcass assesses that Associate FCA work is not within IR35.

We look forward to receiving your application, which we recommend includes a current CV to outline your relevant career history.

We will review applications as we receive them and be in touch as soon as we can to advise if and how we intend to progress your interest in becoming an Associate FCA.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Should you wish to discuss the role informally before applying, please feel free to reach out to the Recruiting Managers via email, providing the best contact number and your preferred times for a call.

• WAFH: Richard Salmon - [email protected]

If you haven't done so yet, we advise you to spend a few minutes learning about the role of Associate Family Court Advisers at Cafcass. This will give you a clearer insight into what it means to be an Associate FCA, the remuneration, and the support that will be available to you.

Next steps / timelines

Please be aware that we do not accept applications or CVs via email. The application process requires you to answer some basic questions to show how you fulfil the requirements and to submit your up-to-date CV You are required to apply online. The process is straightforward and quick and the link can be accessed here: If suitable the interview process will then involve a telephone interview and a panel interview (Microsoft Teams).

If you have any queries regarding the recruitment process or compliance checks, please contact the Resourcing team at [email protected].

Finally, in anticipation of your application being successful, you might want to read about the compliance requirements. 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.

Be Their Voice

We are Cafcass - the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service - We represent the interests of children and young people in the family court throughout England.

We independently advise the family courts about what is safe for children and in their best interests. We focus on their needs, wishes and feelings, making sure that children's voices are heard and are at the heart of the family court's thinking and decision making.

Watch our video to find out we don't just listen to children's voices, but we can Be Their Voice.

If our purpose resonates with you, and you share our ambitions for children - exceptional experiences, for every child, everywhere and every time - then if you join us, you will work alongside like-minded people in a diverse, inclusive, and supportive organisation.

While we know Associate Family Court Advisers are not our employees, this does not dilute our responsibility to provide practical and practice support when it comes to our contract management, case management and oversight. We offer support and guidance throughout your initial engagement to help you get set-up with us and then throughout your relationship with us.

Whether you already work independently and are interested in being commissioned by us, or this is something you wish to explore, you can find further information at Cafcass Associates. We hope this will help you determine if this is the right opportunity for you before completing our short application process.

Wellbeing

The wellbeing of our colleagues is something we are truly passionate about, as demonstrated by everyone having four dedicated, additional days per year when they are encouraged to spend time focusing on their health and wellbeing.

Overall, we foster a holistic approach to supporting physical, mental and financial health. This is led by a dedicated in-house team, meaning support is targeted and specific to what our work force need.

Diversity

We represent children and families from diverse backgrounds and by having a diverse workforce this helps us to grow, evolve and innovate alongside fulfilling our responsibility authentically. Therefore, we welcome applications from individuals from diverse backgrounds as we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity of the children and families we work with.

Kaleidoscope Network

Colleagues from Black Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds.

Mental Health Network

Colleagues who experience, or have an interest in, Mental Health issues.

Pride
Network

Colleagues who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans - LGBT+.

Neurodiversity Network

Colleagues who are neurodivergent, or support someone who is

Together

'Together with Children and Families' (which we just call 'Together') is the name of our relationship-based practice framework. It applies to the work of every individual in Cafcass, from Social Workers to Leaders and includes our Corporate and Business Support teams.

It is at the heart of what we do and is made up of our values, how these values work in practice, the tools to use to incorporate these values in our work and the impact this will have on the children and families we serve.

This framework encourages us to be pro-active and to look for the strengths in ourselves and others. It also enables us to build positive relationships with our colleagues, our partners and most importantly, with the children and families with whom we work.