How to hire a social worker lead

How to hire a social worker lead, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the social worker lead you need to hire. Certain social worker lead roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   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 worker lead 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 worker lead that fits the bill.

   This list shows salaries for various types of social workers lead.

   Type of Social Worker Lead	Description	Hourly rate
   Social Worker Lead	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.	$5-39
   Case Manager	A case manager is responsible for giving advice, handling plans for the client's recovery, and connecting with other human service professionals to ask for further options and recommendations for the client's concerns. Case managers should have excellent communication and listening skills to evaluate the client's needs, ensuring that they will have the utmost care and safety through efficient advocacy... Show more	$14-29
   Clinical Case Manager	A clinical case manager is responsible for providing high-quality care services for patients by researching treatment plans and developing efficient medications through various methodological approaches and data analysis. Clinical case managers review the medical histories and needs of patients to determine appropriate treatment programs and resources and prepare treatment reports upon actual applications... Show more	$18-32

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Social Work
   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • Mental Health
   • Interdisciplinary
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Discharge Planning
   • MSW
   • Social Services
   • Substance Abuse
   • Facebook
   • Group Therapy
   • Compassion
   • Psychosocial Assessments

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Collaborate with partners including public and private agencies to achieve permanency for children.
   • Provide patients and families with social services ranging from emotional support, psychiatric assessment, family interventions and accessing community resources.
   • Develop, implement and overseen the learning objectives of BSW and MSW student interns as well as provided clinical guidance.
   • Schedule all out-patient appointments -Provide individual and group supervision to MSW students
   • Obtain authorization from patients and their insurance providers for services and answering questions pertaining to select services.
   • Coordinate admissions of active duty service members and veterans to the inpatient rehabilitation/medical unit after suffering a new spinal cord injury.

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, social workers lead' average salary in florida is 64% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level social workers lead 87% less than senior-level social workers lead.
   • Certifications. A social worker lead 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 worker lead's salary.

   Average social worker lead salary

   $14.52hourly

   $30,197 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level social worker lead salary

   $11,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

4. Writing a social worker lead job description

   A social worker lead 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 worker lead job description:

   Social worker lead job description example

   Part art. Part science. All passion. Our marketing and advertising teams bring a unique blend of skills to tell the DISH story with invention. Whether coordinating high-level messaging for the C-suite, interacting with journalists to drive our own breaking news or launching a campaign around our latest innovation, our team lends their voice to the future of communication.
   Job Duties and Responsibilities
   
   We are looking for a creative and tactical thinker who synthesizes opportunities from programmers, partners, and brand objectives into socially-centered campaigns and content executions. Monitors social creative and brand trends to execute breakthrough social creative across the brand's channels to impact customer attitudes, behaviors and perceptions. Implements influencer engagement activities within campaign and content development. Ensures that all social content fits the brand and social objectives.
   
   In partnership with DISH brand leaders and programmers, generate creative territories for the development of socially-centered campaigns, influencer engagement, Brand campaign extensions, and day-to-day drumbeat content. Regularly, and in collaboration with internal brand leaders, develop inspirational and strategic creative briefs that align with brand goals and communication objectives. Lead all social creative briefings with internal agency, influencers and/or external creative partners. Manage the creation of ideas and executions that drive conversation and engagement among targets within and outside of DISH brand social channels. Regularly, and in collaboration with social analyst, develop monthly, quarterly and campaign reporting against agreed upon KPIs. Manage implementation of insights and optimization approaches identified in collaboration with social analyst.
   Skills, Experience and Requirements
   
   Proven experience identifying opportunities and leading social creative with agencies; 3+ years working in a creative or strategic agency, or within a brand marketing team, to deliver social media for consumer brands. Proven success directing content planning and influencer engagement, writing copy and creating posts, stories and social experiences for consumer brands using assets from TV productions, shoots and/or partners; deep expertise on all social channels including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube Reddit, and Pinterest. Deep understanding of social post and ad formats across all channels; highly collaborative problem solver who thinks creatively to find and execute solutions; excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to iterate quickly during the editing process. Expertise in interpreting and building on feedback/criticism; ability to manage responsibilities and priorities in a fast-paced, time-critical environment. Proficiency in Word, Excel, and standard blogging platforms; experience in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript a plus; experience in image editing a plus; experience with AB testing management a plus. Bachelor's degree (B. A.) from four-year college or university; or two years related experience and/or training; and two plus years of experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
   Salary Range
   
   Compensation: $65,800.00/Year - $105,000.00/Year
   Benefits
   
   From versatile health perks to new career opportunities, check out our benefits on our careers website .
   
   Candidates need to successfully complete a pre-employment screen, which may include a drug test.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find social workers lead 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 social workers lead they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level social workers lead 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 social worker lead job on Zippia to find and recruit social worker lead candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit social workers lead, 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 worker lead

   Once you have selected a candidate for the social worker lead position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   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 worker lead. 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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