Caseworker - Working for Essex

About the role

Caseworker

Permanent, Full Time

£25,081 to £27,653 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Closing Date: 19th February 2026

This position has been classed as an anywhere worker role but has an expectation that the successful candidate will attend the office, in Chelmsford, 1 day per week, with the remaining time allowing for remote working if desired, in line with the organisation’s needs.

The Role

Essex Legal Services (ELS) provides high quality, professional, legal advice across the Council and to increasing numbers of external clients.

As a caseworker in the Children and Education Team you will assist the lawyers to provide a high-quality advice and litigation service to meet the Council’s corporate objectives and will support legally qualified and other colleagues, in providing routine admin and quasi legal tasks. Working directly alongside lawyers and paralegals, you will be commissioned to undertake various tasks such as preparing court bundles, organising meetings and administrative support. You will contribute to delivering a more efficient, professional service that is valued by our customers and improves their business.

The Children and Education legal team deal with highly sensitive, sometimes distressing, cases relating to child protection matters. You should therefore be resilient and empathetic. The team works at a very fast pace, often dealing with several urgent matters and it is therefore essential you are able to work under pressure and prioritise tasks.

To read more about our business area, please visit:

Corporate Services and Transformation

The Opportunity

You will support legally qualified colleagues in the delivery of all aspects of routine legal work within the Children and Education team across the Council and to external customers which will include:

Dealing predominantly with public law cases including care proceedings and adoption proceedings;
Responsible for the smooth and efficient running of your allocated lawyers’ files and activities;
Drafting and preparation of documents, such as C2 applications, on instructions from the allocated lawyer;
Collate and prepare bundles, take close and review files, maintain the electronic file;
Lodging documents with the Court and other parties via the Family Public Law online portal;
Coordinate meetings, court dates and lawyer’s diaries;
Liaising with external solicitors, barristers, courts and CAFCASS;
Participating in the duty caseworker rota to assist with urgent matters;
Organise, initiate, plan, prioritise and manage work activities to ensure that they are completed efficiently, on time and to an appropriate standard, both in relation to your own work and any work that you lead;

Accountabilities

Supports legally qualified colleagues in the delivery of all aspects of routine legal work across the Council and to external customers.
Good understanding of client needs and provides them with a service they value, which supports them in driving the delivery of productivity and efficiency improvements.
Supports colleagues in the development of current and future business opportunities, to promote the Essex Legal Services’ vision to the external market.
Responsible for delivering personal objectives in support of the function’s overall business plan.
Develops good working relationships across the Council, schools, other local authorities and the private sector, to ensure a quality service is provided to the customer.
Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

Essential

Experience of working in family law, preferably public law children act proceedings and preferably gained in a legal setting;
Able to cope with changing levels of work, with the ability to multi-task, work well and remain calm under pressure, while displaying tact and resilience;
Able to deal with highly sensitive and distressing material with cases involving child abuse, domestic abuse and neglect;
A confident telephone manner with good interpersonal skills;
Able to demonstrate excellent client care skills, integrity, empathy and professionalism;
Fully conversant with Word and Outlook;
Well presented, friendly and approachable;
Discrete and aware of the duties of confidentiality in respect of clients and the organisation;
Ability to self-reflect and willingness to adapt and learn.

Desirable

Familiar with computerised case management systems;
Familiar with the Family Public Law Portal.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email jamielea.wallis@essex.gov.uk

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