IT Project Manager

While predominantly known for the role Cafcass takes in supporting almost 140,000+ children and young people in family court cases, what may be less well known is that our targeted use of technology is a key factor in ensuring we are at the forefront of our sector.

A digital organisation rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2024, our IT team, in collaboration with our private sector partners, provides the technology that is a critical enabler for our diverse, flexible, mobile workforce. We are proud to work hand-in-hand with colleagues to provide the tools and services that ultimately benefit children and families.

Whilst technical expertise is important, what really sets us apart, and what we’re looking for each and every member of our team, is personal values and qualities that align with the important work Cafcass does.

About the role

We are seeking an IT Project Manager to support the successful delivery of a portfolio of IT projects and programmes across Cafcass.

Working closely with the IT team, our partners and stakeholders from the wider business, you will lead the delivery of a number of IT projects, provide leadership to project teams, and ensure that agreed outcomes and benefits are delivered to time, cost and quality. Whilst we already achieve a 95% staff satisfaction with our technology, we have an ambitious programme in place to make it even better.

We would also like to invite you to register to meet some of our team and find out more about this role and working at Cafcass. If you would like to join this session that we’ll host on Teams, please click here.

We hope this will help you decide if this is an opportunity that interests you or not.

Key responsibilities

Lead and manage IT projects from initiation through to implementation.

Provide visible leadership to project teams.

Plan and manage multiple projects concurrently within agreed governance.

Select and apply appropriate delivery methodologies (e.g. Agile, Waterfall)

Manage project budgets, risks, issues and dependencies.

Ensure project benefits are clearly defined, tracked and realised.

Challenge assumptions and provide assurance on plans, delivery and outcomes.

Report progress, risks and finances to sponsor boards and senior leaders.

Build strong partnerships with business stakeholders, Project Management Office and suppliers.

About you

You will be a confident and experienced IT Project Manager with strong leadership capability and a track record of delivering change in demanding environments.

You will have:

Substantial IT project management experience, including risk, issue and budget management.

Experience of leading project teams and working with external suppliers.

Distinctive blend of business, IT, financial and communication skills, because this is a highly visible position with substantial impact.

In depth theoretical and hands-on experience of project management methodologies e.g. agile, waterfall.

Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills.

Experience working with sensitive and confidential data.

A strong desire to have a positive impact on the support we offer Children and Families.

Desirable:

Practitioner-level project management qualification.

Degree-level qualification (preferably IT-related).

What we offer

In addition to a competitive salary, we offer generous annual leave (28 days rising to 33 days with 5 years’ continuous service, and it may be possible to recognise your current service), a Local Government Pension Scheme with significant employer contribution and a range of other financial and non-financial benefits to support your financial, physical and mental wellbeing.

Where you will work

If you join us, whilst your contractual office base will be one of the 30+ offices we have across England, it is highly likely you will work remotely as you will be part of a team based around the country. However, you can expect some level of national travel for things like meetings with your team, project stakeholders and key suppliers.

Timeline

Here is an indicative timeline for the recruitment process:

Meet the team and find out more

12th October 2026

Closing date

14th October 2026 *

Initial interview (remote via Teams)

21st to 23rd October

Final interview (in-person, Coventry)

3rd November

• If you commence your application by no later than 18:00 on the closing date, you can then complete, review and submit your application until 23:59 the same day.

Whilst we hope to follow the above timeline and process, but both are subject to change if we deem it necessary. For example, the initial deadline isn’t too far away, but we reserve the right to extend. If we do, this doesn’t necessarily reflect the quality of anyone that has already applied, only that we wish to extend to allow more people to apply and give ourselves the broadest pool of applicants to consider.

While we don’t wish to discourage you from using AI as a support tool, applications should reflect your own thinking, experience and voice. An overreliance on AI-generated content may limit our ability to assess your suitability and the values and qualities you may bring not only for the role, but also the organisation, so please take this opportunity to set out what is unique about you.

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.

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 look forward to hearing from you.