How to hire a social work administrator

How to hire a social work administrator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step social work administrator hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The social work administrator hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A social work administrator's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, social work administrators from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of social work administrator salaries for various roles:

   Type of Social Work Administrator	Description	Hourly rate
   Social Work Administrator	Social workers help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. One group of social workers—clinical social workers—also diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional issues.	$21-36
   Group Home Manager	As a group home manager, your job responsibility is to oversee the daily operations of the establishment. Depending on the organization, you may be in charge of the hiring and training of staff and developing budgets... Show more	$13-24
   Student Manager	Student managers are executives who assist in coaching staff with practice management and games. They are employed to ensure the efficient and safe operation of the organizations... Show more	$17-33

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Social Work
   • Patients
   • Mental Health
   • Community Resources
   • Social Services
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Discharge Planning
   • Child Abuse
   • Service Delivery
   • Federal Regulations
   • Clinical Supervision
   • Individual Therapy
   • Payroll
   • Community Agencies

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Collaborate with partners including public and private agencies to achieve permanency for children.
   • Have worked with private insurances as well Medicare, Medicaid and all Medicaid HMO's.
   • Advise hundreds of disable, retire, and transitioning veterans about VA, disability, education, and state benefits.
   • Provide therapeutic interventions for veterans and their families.
   • Handle patients' qualification & maintain application document securely.
   • Assist patients with community resource planning-promotion of community centered services including education, advocacy, referral and linkage.

   More social work administrator duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the social work administrator job description is a good way to get more applicants. A social work administrator salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a social work administrator in Florida may be lower than in New Jersey, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level social work administrator. Additionally, a social work administrator with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average social work administrator salary

   $58,404yearly

   $28.08 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level social work administrator salary

   $44,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 13, 2026

   Average social work administrator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Washington	$76,338	$37
   2	New York	$70,511	$34
   3	South Carolina	$63,277	$30
   4	Colorado	$63,164	$30
   5	California	$62,817	$30
   6	Massachusetts	$62,031	$30
   7	Texas	$61,548	$30
   8	Illinois	$60,810	$29
   9	Georgia	$59,353	$29
   10	Utah	$57,383	$28
   11	Ohio	$47,490	$23

   Average social work administrator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Tenet Healthcare	$86,452	$41.56	49
   2	University Hospitals	$84,165	$40.46	6
   3	Intermountain Healthcare	$75,931	$36.51	3
   4	New York University	$73,649	$35.41	10
   5	Hargrove Engineers + Constructors	$70,252	$33.77	1
   6	Saint Vincent Hospital	$69,520	$33.42	24
   7	Washington State University	$67,327	$32.37	2
   8	The Blackstone	$66,319	$31.88	3
   9	Atrium Health Floyd	$62,296	$29.95	48
   10	PFL	$61,179	$29.41
   11	Dartmouth	$60,847	$29.25	5
   12	Lorven Technologies	$60,269	$28.98	2
   13	The Menta Group	$59,459	$28.59	23
   14	Kettering Health Network	$58,334	$28.05	5
   15	USAA	$54,148	$26.03
   16	ManpowerGroup	$52,925	$25.44	35
   17	Iowa Department of Transportation	$52,642	$25.31

4. Writing a social work administrator job description

   A social work administrator 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. Below, you can find an example of a social work administrator job description:

   Social work administrator job description example

   We are looking for team members who are passionate about challenging and significant work for the good of every patient. We are searching for individuals who are compassionate, serve with a purpose, are dedicated to supporting their team, and who seek excellence every day.
   
   We are looking for a full-time days Social Worker to join our Community Outreach & Engagement Team supporting community outreach and social determinants of health. The Social Worker will partner with Community Health Workers to triage and address needs, with a focus on diverse, medically underserved populations. This role will work a 9am - 5pm schedule and collaborate closely with our health equity and integrated social work teams.
   Sound like a perfect match? Apply now - we can't wait to hear from you!
   
   The Social Worker effectively communicates and collaborates with all members of the health care team to facilitate the episode of care so the patient receives services in a safe and timely manner, and the patient and family are provided all necessary resources and education. Interprets and communicates complex patient/family needs and role models caring practices to other caregivers. Assess patients' and families' psychosocial risk factors through evaluation of prior functioning levels, appropriateness and adequacy of support systems, reaction to illness, and ability to cope. Counsels patients and families regarding emotional, social, and financial consequences of illness and/or disability; accesses and mobilizes family/community resources to meet identified needs. Provides mental health assessments of patients upon physician referral. Provides therapeutic intervention to facilitate complex discharge planning. Serves as the point person in child abuse/neglect, adult/elderly abuse/neglect, institutional abuse, and domestic violence. Serves as liaison between Indiana University Health and state and county child and adult protective teams. Provides intervention in guardianship (temporary/permanent), foster care, adoption, and mental health level II placements.
   
   Master's Degree in Social Work required.
   
   * CPI (Non-Violent Crisis Intervention) certification preferred.
   * Permanent LSW licensure required, LCSW licensure preferred.
   * Requires relevant health care, mental health or community-based experience.
   * Requires knowledge of the impact of the disease process and of human behavior to provide psychosocial assessments, short-term therapeutic counseling, and crisis intervention to patients, families and staff.
   * Requires knowledge of state and county adult and child protective legal mandates.
   * Requires knowledge of the principles of growth and development over the life span.
   * Maintains principles, practices and techniques of crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques.
   * Develop and maintain strong working relationships with the community, medical teams, law enforcement, APS/CPS, schools, probation and other agencies as indicated.
   * Requires proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Word.
   * 0-3 years of Medical Social Work experience required.
   
   Safeguarding our patients and each other is an important part of how we deliver the best care possible to the communities we serve. As a condition of employment, IU Health requires all new hires to receive various vaccinations, including the influenza and COVID-19 vaccines, barring an approved exemption. New hires will also be provided the option to submit proof of previous vaccination.
   
   We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity and inclusion at IU Health. IU Health does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, national origin, gender identity and/or expression, marital status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right social work administrator for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with social work administrators they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit social work administrators who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your social work administrator job on Zippia to find and recruit social work administrator candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting social work administrators requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new social work administrator

   Once you've decided on a perfect social work administrator candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new social work administrator. 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.

8. 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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