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Social work administrator skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Anna Frank,

Isaac Karikari Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical social work administrator skills. We ranked the top skills for social work administrators based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 32.9% of social work administrator resumes contained social work as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a social work administrator needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 social work administrator skills for your resume and career

2. Patients

Here's how social work administrators use patients:

Assisted patients with community resource planning-promotion of community centered services including education, advocacy, referral and linkage.
Developed and facilitated telephone groups for individuals with end-stage AIDS patients.

3. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how social work administrators use mental health:

Maintain an average caseload of fifteen children who may have extensive mental health and/or behavioral challenges.
Developed a protocol for the mental health and substance abuse treatment of federal offenders on probation.

4. Community Resources

Community resources are a set of resources that are used in the day to day life of people which improves their lifestyle in some way. People, sites or houses, and population assistance can come under the services offered by community resources.

Here's how social work administrators use community resources:

Assessed participants and family members psychological needs and provided limited counseling and referrals to appropriate community resources.
Maintained professional working rapport with facility interdisciplinary team and community resources and agencies.

6. Crisis Intervention

Here's how social work administrators use crisis intervention:

Provided crisis intervention responding to critical incidents including behavior management and emergency hospitalization.
Conducted routine assessments and delivered crisis interventions to all inmates as needed.

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7. Discharge Planning

Here's how social work administrators use discharge planning:

Facilitated discharge planning activities and assisted in departmental budget development, program planning and grants management.
Coordinated family intervention, financial arrangements, admissions and discharge planning.

8. Child Abuse

When a child who is under 18 is mistreated by an adult, it is considered child abuse. There are many forms of intentional harm and mistreatment for example physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, medical abuse, and neglect in providing adequate basic life necessities.

Here's how social work administrators use child abuse:

Coordinated family advocacy program services to include spouse and child abuse identification and intervention.
Completed child abuse and neglect reports and provide staff training in child abuse related areas.

9. Service Delivery

Service delivery means, having any contact with the public administration during which customers including citizens, residents, or firms, require or give data, handle their problems and perform their duties.

Here's how social work administrators use service delivery:

Collect, analyze and comply comprehensive reports on service delivery, budget execution and deliver presentations/briefings.
Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with community partners, service providers and others to ensure quality service delivery.

10. Federal Regulations

Federal regulations refer to the set of rules, both general and permanent that are published in the Federal Register by the agencies of the federal government and the executive departments. Federal regulations are the large body of rules that govern federal practice. Examples of these laws include taxes and financial regulation, discrimination law, wages law, and so on.

Here's how social work administrators use federal regulations:

Oversee all operations of long term care Facilty that accepted mentally impaired with medical illness Knowledge regarding state and federal regulations.
Developed policies and procedures to implement at Appalachia Counseling & Family Services to meet requirements of state and federal regulations.

11. Clinical Supervision

Clinical supervision refers to how practicing nurses get professional and moral support from their experienced colleagues. The practice aims to promote their ability to make a concrete decision that values the patient's well-being.

Here's how social work administrators use clinical supervision:

Provided assistance with clinical supervision of 8 military and civilian personnel.
Provided administrative and clinical supervision to a 20-bed adolescent unit.

12. Individual Therapy

Here's how social work administrators use individual therapy:

Conducted psychosocial assessments, evidence based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder and individual therapy for Soldiers and family members.
Facilitated group and individual therapy sessions for clients struggling with addictions.

13. Payroll

Payroll is the sum of all the compensation that an organization has to pay to employees at a specified time. Payroll is managed by the finance or HR department while small business owners may handle it themselves. Payroll isn't fixed as it varies every month due to sick leaves, overtime, etc.

Here's how social work administrators use payroll:

Coordinated weekly payroll and confidential personnel records.
Produced all contracts, prepared the work breakdown, trained staff and clients, did payroll and reporting for compliance

14. Community Agencies

Community agencies stand for the organizations operated to provide human service in the community.

Here's how social work administrators use community agencies:

Consulted with parents, teachers, administrators, service providers and community agencies.
Make and accept appropriate referrals to community agencies.

15. Front Desk

Here's how social work administrators use front desk:

Managed the front desk by having clients sign in, informing co-workers their clients have arrived, and answering phones.
Maintained and organized work stations at the front desk, and assisted with maintaining student academic records.

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What skills help Social Work Administrators find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on social work administrator resumes?

Dr. Anna Frank

Exercise Science, DePaul University

First, a degree from a highly respected university. Our graduates have been highly sought after. Experience working with a variety of individuals in a variety of settings is significant. Future professionals must then be committed to social justice, how are explicit in supporting the health and recreational needs of ALL individuals, not just those who can purchase a Peloton.

What soft skills should all social work administrators possess?

Isaac Karikari Ph.D.

MSW Program Director, Chemical Dependency Minor, Assistant Professor, University of North Dakota

By default, social work practice is integrative. The levels of practice, broadly speaking, the micro-and macro-levels, intersect in ways that may not always be apparent. The capacity for critical and analytical thinking in identifying the nuances, seeing how these levels intersect, and understanding the implications for clients is essential for effective practice.
Relatedly, social work practice involves working with a diverse array of people across different systems and levels. A social worker needs to be able to navigate these systems. Systems thinking and the person-in-environment perspective are relevant.
Good interpersonal and communication skills are essential in helping one build and make the needed connections. These skills apply across the micro and macro levels.
The capacity to work collaboratively and with interdisciplinary teams is important. Other skills include genuinely demonstrating respect, empathy, reliability, integrity, and adaptability. Forbearance and emotional intelligence are often understated.
Social workers also need to have grit. Achieving and maintaining successful outcomes can be challenging.

What hard/technical skills are most important for social work administrators?

Isaac Karikari Ph.D.

MSW Program Director, Chemical Dependency Minor, Assistant Professor, University of North Dakota

-Proficiency/competence in using technology.
-Analytical skills
-Task management and prioritization
-Writing and language skills
-Presentation skills

What social work administrator skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Emily Goodman-Scott Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Assistant Chair, Graduate Program Director, and School Counseling Coordinator, Old Dominion University

Getting experience working/volunteering in schools, and other capacities working/volunteering with youth: learn the culture of education, build rapport and be in relationship with youth and their families.

What type of skills will young social work administrators need?

Samantha Fletcher Ph.D.

Executive Director, National Association of Social Workers, New York State

The core skills of social work do not change over time. These skills include empathy, active listening, critical thinking, assessment, intervention, evaluation, advocacy, policy analysis, and adaptability. Social workers also need to evaluate the organizations they work in to assess for oppressive practices and policies. One of the profession's core values is social justice, which directs social workers to "pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people. Social workers' social change efforts are focused primarily on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice" (National Association of Social Workers, 2017). As a profession, social workers aim to dismantle racist, sexist, heterosexist, xenophobic, ableist, classist, and religiously biased systems and structures.

What technical skills for a social work administrator stand out to employers?

Madeline Lee Ph.D.

Associate Professor, California State University San Marcos

There are technical skills that may stand out to employers, but as social workers, I think those technical skills together with "soft skills," can make an applicant really stand out to employers; social workers can combine their research skills with evidence-informed care and organizational quality improvement efforts, while being able to lead, build relationships, and think critically. In the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, our graduates will need to be able to fluidly navigate between employing telehealth methods to performing their work safely in-person when engaging and helping clients. To be effective, social workers will also need to understand the reverberating effects of the deep-seated roots of racism in our country and be willing to honestly confront and address those issues in whatever role they assume. Social workers are needed now more than ever.

Do you want to know more?

List of social work administrator skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a social work administrator resume and required skills for a social work administrator to have include:

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

Front Desk
Family Therapy
Patient Care
PowerPoint
Clinical Services
Vital Signs
Group Therapy
Administrative Tasks
Medicaid
Appointment Scheduling
EMR
HIV
Veterans
Office Equipment

SQL Server
JavaScript
Computer System
Professional Development
Program Development
HR
XML
IIS
Domestic Violence
QuickBooks
Advocacy Program
Bank Deposits

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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