How to hire a social work supervisor

How to hire a social work supervisor, step by step

Here's a step-by-step social work supervisor 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 supervisor job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new social work supervisor
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a social work supervisor do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your social work supervisor job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a social work supervisor for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a social work supervisor to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a social work supervisor that fits the bill.

   This list presents social work supervisor salaries for various positions.

   Type of Social Work Supervisor	Description	Hourly rate
   Social Work Supervisor	Social and human service assistants provide client services, including support for families, in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. They assist other workers, such as social workers, and they help clients find benefits or community services.	$22-39
   Case Manager Lead	A Case Manager Lead is responsible for providing an assessment, implementation, and overall evaluation of individual patient needs. They also assess patients satisfaction and the quality of the care provided.	$13-26
   Foster Care Case Manager	A Foster Care Case Manager provides social work counseling to foster children, families, and foster parents. They plan and coordinate treatments for the required children in accordance with specified requirements.	$14-23

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Social Work
   • Patients
   • MSW
   • Child Welfare
   • Social Services
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Clinical Supervision
   • Community Resources
   • Protective Services
   • DHS
   • Foster Care
   • Substance Abuse
   • Discharge Planning
   • Rehabilitation

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Collaborate with partners including public and private agencies to achieve permanency for children.
   • Provide training and weekly supervision to MSW and BSW level staff in the traditional and therapeutic foster care programs.
   • Provide ongoing adjustment to illness support to patients and families through hospitalization, bereavement counseling, and crisis intervention.
   • Input data from assessments into the MDS system for submission to Medicare.
   • Spearhead hospital-wide projects, including roll out of new CMS regulations and forms.
   • Provide ongoing and current education regarding CMS issues like ABN process and implementation.

   More social work supervisor duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your social work supervisor job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A social work supervisor can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, social work supervisors' average salary in south dakota is 39% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level social work supervisors 43% less than senior-level social work supervisors.
   • Certifications. A social work supervisor with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a social work supervisor's salary.

   Average social work supervisor salary

   $62,939yearly

   $30.26 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level social work supervisor salary

   $47,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 31, 2026

   Average social work supervisor salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$80,025	$38
   2	Nevada	$69,393	$33
   3	Illinois	$67,623	$33
   4	Connecticut	$66,244	$32
   5	Washington	$64,398	$31
   6	Virginia	$64,219	$31
   7	New York	$62,700	$30
   8	Texas	$61,971	$30
   9	Ohio	$61,945	$30
   10	Florida	$61,752	$30
   11	Wisconsin	$61,747	$30
   12	Colorado	$60,887	$29
   13	Massachusetts	$58,701	$28
   14	Minnesota	$56,917	$27
   15	Pennsylvania	$56,874	$27
   16	Maryland	$56,223	$27
   17	North Carolina	$55,027	$26
   18	Missouri	$54,392	$26
   19	Iowa	$51,594	$25
   20	Oklahoma	$50,291	$24

   Average social work supervisor salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Chaplaincy Health Care	$87,384	$42.01	1
   2	University of California-Berkeley	$78,754	$37.86	3
   3	Wpp Us Holdings Inc	$71,834	$34.54	15
   4	Baystate Health	$68,913	$33.13	17
   5	Norman Regional Health System	$68,474	$32.92	2
   6	Brattleboro Retreat	$68,146	$32.76	9
   7	Fallon	$67,887	$32.64
   8	Omnicom Media Group	$67,375	$32.39	3
   9	Mount Sinai Health System	$67,269	$32.34	27
   10	University of Washington	$67,258	$32.34	19
   11	Monroe County	$66,968	$32.20	7
   12	Horizon Media	$66,727	$32.08	4
   13	Zenith	$65,638	$31.56
   14	Denver Health	$64,716	$31.11	9
   15	Broward County Public Schools	$64,006	$30.77	1
   16	Innovative Holdings LLC	$63,550	$30.55
   17	Partners Healthcare Solutions Inc	$63,550	$30.55
   18	Embrace Families	$63,550	$30.55
   19	Canvas Worldwide	$63,352	$30.46	2
   20	Providence Health & Services	$62,977	$30.28	37

4. Writing a social work supervisor job description

   A social work supervisor 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 supervisor job description:

   Social work supervisor job description example

   At CMCS (Cardinal McCloskey Community Services), our mission is to protect, empower and promote independence for at-risk children and families and those with developmental disabilities through quality community based services. A COA Accredited Agency, CMCS has provided services in locations throughout Westchester and Rockland Counties, as well as the Bronx and Manhattan since 1946.

   
   

   We are currently seeking experienced and passionate Social Work Supervisor for our Family Treatment and Rehabilitation program. The FT/R program is designed to assess the safety and wellbeing of children in high-risk families throughout the borough of the Bronx when a caretaker or child’s substance use or mental health disorder places the child at risk of foster care placement or replacement. The Supervisor is expected to assume the overall responsibility for supervision of case planning and other supportive staff to ensure appropriate and timely intervention with all families. Supervises up to 4 Social Workers and 2 case aides, each one managing caseloads of up 8 families.
   
   Education & Experience:
   - LMSW or MSW with the intent to obtain a license.
   - At minimum 1 year of managerial experience in an ACS contracted prevention program.
   - Counseling experience with children and families.
   
   Additional Requirements :
   - Working knowledge of ACS Prevention Standards and Policies, as well as CONNECTIONS and PROMIS data systems.
   - Flexibility to meet changing needs and demands
   - Fluency in Spanish and English a Plu s
   - COVID-19 Vaccine Required!!
   

   
   

   CMCS offers an excellent, comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, retirement plan, generous paid time off, in-service training, flexible work schedules, and competitive salaries. At CMCS, we believe in creating progressive career paths for our staff and provide advanced training to promote constant growth and change.

   We encourage you to join our dedicated and diverse workforce by applying today!

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right social work supervisor 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 supervisors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit social work supervisors 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 supervisor job on Zippia to find and recruit social work supervisor candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit social work supervisors, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   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 supervisor

   Once you've found the social work supervisor 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new social work supervisor. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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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How much does it cost to hire a social work supervisor?