How to hire a director of social services

Director of social services hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring directors of social services in the United States:

HR departments typically spend 15% of their expenses on recruitment.
It usually takes about 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
It typically takes 36-42 days to fill a job opening.
The median cost to hire a director of social services is $1,633.
Small businesses spend an average of $1,105 per director of social services on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
There are currently 11,749 directors of social services in the US and 86,154 job openings.
New York, NY, has the highest demand for directors of social services, with 41 job openings.
New York, NY has the highest concentration of directors of social services.

How to hire a director of social services, step by step

To hire a director of social services, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a director of social services:

Here's a step-by-step director of social services hiring guide:

Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
Step 3: Make a budget
Step 4: Write a director of social services job description
Step 5: Post your job
Step 6: Interview candidates
Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new director of social services
Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a director of social services do?

A director of social services or social services director is an individual who works with the community to identify the suitable programs and services. Social services directors provide overall leadership for certain departments within organizations. Essentially, they take charge of the daily activities of a program or an organization. They perform as social services board secretary and executive officer. In nursing homes, the directors assess patients, develop care plans, and help patients adjust along with their respective families.

Learn more about the specifics of what a director of social services does

Post a director of social services job for free, promote it for a fee

Identify your hiring needs

Before you start hiring a director of social services, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

Determine employee vs contractor status

Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

Hiring the perfect director of social services also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

This list shows salaries for various types of directors of social services.

Type of Director Of Social Services	Description	Hourly rate
Director Of Social Services	Social and community service managers coordinate and supervise social service programs and community organizations. They manage staff who provide social services to the public.	$19-38
Communications Lead	The global senior program manager acts as a coordinator for the organization's projects and performs various tasks including supervision, account management, daily staff assignments, budget planning, cost control, and tracking program expenses by collaborating with various global departments to enhance all global programs. He/she should have excellent analytical, decision-making, leadership, and organization skills and knowledge about project management to be able to oversee and organize activities to ensure its compliance with the organization's goals.	$32-66
Youth Coordinator	A youth coordinator is mainly focused on developing and facilitating programs for children in various settings that enhance and support personal youth education and development. As a youth coordinator, you need to understand recreational and Educational Services and activities with strong leadership skills... Show more	$12-25

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Social Work
- Patients
- Discharge Planning
- Mental Health
- Rehabilitation
- Community Resources
- Long-Term Care Facility
- Nursing Home
- Psychosocial Assessments
- Home Health
- Social Care
- State Regulations
- Compassion
- Community Agencies
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Transform CRM system from measuring activities to managing business pipeline.
- Facilitate weekly or bi-weekly care meeting between patients, family members and staff to discuss physical progress and recommendations post rehabilitation.
- Provide educations for families and resident on available community assistance, hospice services, insurance benefits, Medicare and Medicaid education.
- Maintain WordPress articles using SEO, article tags, and categories.
- Conduct patient family, and staff interviews and ensure relevant MDS sections are complete.
- Train in first aid and CPR to help event goers until medical personnel arrive.
More director of social services duties

Make a budget

Including a salary range in your director of social services job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A director of social services salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

For example, the average salary for a director of social services in Hawaii may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level director of social services usually earns less than a senior-level director of social services. Additionally, a director of social services with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

Average director of social services salary

$56,932yearly

$27.37 hourly rate

Entry-level director of social services salary

$40,000 yearly salary

Updated December 16, 2025

Average director of social services salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Massachusetts	$72,116	$35
2	New York	$70,066	$34
3	Virginia	$66,269	$32
4	California	$63,111	$30
5	Illinois	$62,173	$30
6	Utah	$61,970	$30
7	Washington	$60,997	$29
8	District of Columbia	$60,919	$29
9	Ohio	$60,852	$29
10	Georgia	$58,731	$28
11	Minnesota	$54,912	$26
12	Nevada	$54,706	$26
13	Colorado	$53,610	$26
14	Indiana	$53,290	$26
15	Florida	$52,470	$25
16	Texas	$51,775	$25
17	New Mexico	$50,594	$24

Average director of social services salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Icma-rc	$96,120	$46.21	6
2	Senior Living Properties	$76,891	$36.97
3	CarDon & Associates	$73,678	$35.42
4	Care Initiatives	$73,242	$35.21	4
5	Mission Health Services	$71,903	$34.57	8
6	Meadowview Healthcare & Rehab	$70,304	$33.80	1
7	Legacy Health	$70,266	$33.78	14
8	BridgePoint Healthcare	$68,711	$33.03	2
9	Three Rivers Health	$68,203	$32.79
10	Mission Regional Medical Center	$68,105	$32.74	41
11	BronxWorks	$67,094	$32.26	12
12	Careerstaff Unlimited - A Genesis Healthcare Company	$66,530	$31.99
13	American Senior Benefits	$65,386	$31.44
14	North Shore Healthcare	$64,932	$31.22	6
15	Avalon Health Care Group	$64,792	$31.15	2
16	Benedictine Health System	$64,686	$31.10	11
17	Massachusetts General Hospital	$64,455	$30.99
18	Kaiser Permanente	$64,161	$30.85	92
19	Ethica Health & Retirement Communities	$63,937	$30.74
20	Ciena Healthcare	$63,536	$30.55

Writing a director of social services job description
A director of social services job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a director of social services job description:
Director of social services job description example
- BSW or BA in related field required. LSW in social work and five years experience or LMSW and two years experience preferred.
- Experience in Long Term Care or Home Health settings preferred.
- Experience in social service delivery to senior client populations and program management preferred.
- Preferred 2-3 years experience with senior adults in the long-term care setting providing assessment, casework, and care planning for residents and families.
- Ascribes to Christian values and principles.
- Works with little supervision, is self-motivated, flexible, organized, and exercises ethical and professional judgment in service delivery and maintenance of confidentiality.
- Ability to work cooperatively within the interdisciplinary team.
- Ability to develop and maintain positive rapport with residents and families.
- Proficient in the use of computer, printer, keyboard and software for Word, Excel, e-mail, and database applications.
- Be organized in planning work load of their own duties as well as those of the Volunteers/Interns.
- Ability to use up to 50 pounds of force.
- Ability to walk frequently and occasionally stand and/or sit for prolonged periods of time.
- Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.
- Ability to problem-solve, prioritize multiple tasks and organize work for short term and long term planning.
- Ability to work under stress and remain flexible in changing situations.
- Ability to travel occasionally and get to appointments in a timely fashion.
The same way we treat our employees is how we treat all applicants – with respect. Buckner is an equal opportunity employer (EEO is the law). You will be treated fairly throughout our recruiting process and without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status in consideration for a career at Buckner.
Post your job
To find directors of social services for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:
- Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
- Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any directors of social services they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level directors of social services with the right educational background.
- Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.
Post your job online:
- Post your director of social services job on Zippia to find and recruit director of social services candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
During your first interview to recruit directors of social services, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.
You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new director of social services
Once you've found the director of social services candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.
It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.
Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new director of social services. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.
Go through the hiring process checklist
- Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
- Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
- Define job responsibilities and requirements
- Establish budget and timeline
- Determine hiring decision makers for the role
- Write job description
- Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
- Promote the job internally
- Process applications through applicant tracking system
- Review resumes and cover letters
- Shortlist candidates for screening
- Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
- Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
- Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
- Conduct background checks on top candidates
- Check references of top candidates
- Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
- Extend offer to top candidate(s)
- Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
- Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
- Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
- Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a director of social services?

Before you start to hire directors of social services, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire directors of social services pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $56,932 per year for a director of social services, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for directors of social services in the US typically range between $19 and $38 an hour.

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Director Of Social Services
How to hire a Director Of Social Services

Updated December 16, 2025

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How to hire a director of social services