Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service)
Head of Practice
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Head of Practice
We are recruiting for a Head of Practice to be part of our senior leadership team in North-East England and the surrounding areas.
You will lead and support teams covering Tyneside, Northumberland, Teesside, and Durham who are based from our Newcastle, Durham, and Billingham offices.
About the Role
As a Head of Practice, you will draw on your considerable, professional Social Work experience to lead and inspire those around you to ensure the delivery of high-quality services and practice.
You will set high standards and combine this with high levels of support so the Service Managers you lead can create the conditions for our Family Court Advisers, who engage directly with children and families, to deliver exceptional experiences.
Reporting directly to the Assistant Director - who has overall leadership responsibility for the two operational service areas that covers Tyneside, Northumberland, Durham Teesside, North Yorkshire, Cumbria, and Lancashire - you will lead on internal practice improvement as well as influence 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 including care proceedings, adoption, and parental separation.
More detailed information about the role responsibilities can be found in the job description, which you are encouraged to read prior to applying.
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What We’re Looking For
We are looking for someone who can demonstrate their experience and capability as a highly effective Leader who guides, influences, and inspires others to consistently fulfill their responsibilities and to identify individual and collective opportunities for professional improvement.
You will also thrive on the responsibility of ensuring quality of practice and service delivery across the operational area is not only sustained but continually improved. You will be motivated to achieve performance standards by supporting Service Managers to ensure strong, consistent performance management behaviors and processes are embedded.
Further Information
Whilst you can expect to work remotely some of the time, reflecting the seniority of the role there is a requirement for some national travel.
Similarly, as a Senior Leader, you will be expected to have a regular, visible office presence not only for formal meetings but to also model the importance and value of staff using office spaces to connect and collaborate.
As a guide, it is reasonable to expect you may be in the Newcastle office - or other offices across the service areas - twice per week, on average. Therefore, whilst you don't necessarily need to live close to the office(s) this may be something for you to consider.
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.
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Below we have given you an indication of a timetable we are hoping to work towards, although dates are subject to change.
Closing Date
{Expiry Date}
Initial Interview
Friday 16th October (c30 mins via Teams)
Panel Interview
Friday 23rd October (c75 mins via Teams)
We understand that considering a new role is a big decision, and you may require further information before applying. If so, please contact Rachel Anderton-Abeyie (Assistant Director) providing your contact details and best times to contact you.
However, whilst Rachel will try to respond as quickly as possible, we wouldn’t want you to miss the closing date before you're able to speak with her. Therefore, if the closing date is approaching, we recommend you apply and as part of your application you can ask questions, and this may allow us to contact you and provide you with the required information that will help you decide if you still wish to be considered.
Please note to submit your application, you will need to have started your application by no later than 12pm on the closing date stated above. As long as you have started your application by this date / time, you will have until 23:59 the same day to complete, review, and submit your application.
We look forward to hearing from you.
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