Social Work Program Manager

Salary: $77,310.98 - $96,155.53 Annually
Location : 810 S. Walker Street, Burgaw
Job Type: Full-Time Permanent
Job Number: 2025--00054
Department: SOCIAL SERVICES
Opening Date: 03/07/2025
Closing Date: 3/17/2025 11:59 PM Eastern

General Definition of Work

The Social Work Program Manager is responsible for managing all child welfare social work programs. at the Department of Social Services, along with ensuring compliance with applicable polices, laws and regulations.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to complete each essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodations. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individual with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Essential Functions

• Provides program management, supervisory oversight, personnel management, strategic planning and preparation to all Child Welfare Units.
• Position will have administrative responsibility for all child welfare programs and directly supervise all Child Welfare Social Work Supervisors, who have day to day responsibility for the functioning of their units.
• Position will have management responsibilities for other staff in the units.
• Planning: establish goals and objectives, policy development, negotiate agreements with outside sources for services, participate in planning groups and committees for development of child welfare.
• Organization and Directing: to include interpreting local, state and federal laws, regulations, and policies governing Child Protective Services, convening staff meetings and individual or group meetings, creating and implementing work plans, identifying organizational issues, community needs, social trends and legislation; establishes priorities; and presents and justifies program goals to the Assistant Director; problem-solves with the Assistant Director and other supervisors to resolve workload, system and organizational problems.
• Training: provides on the job training for staff and arranges for staff to receive formal training when offered.
• Setting Work Standards: Ensures policies and standards are followed. Explains and implements changes when necessary or to meet client needs.
• Reviewing Work: Monitors the work of subordinate staff through the review of reports, cases, conferences and informal discussions.
• Budgeting: Compiles data, evaluates and documents program needs, submits budgetary requests and makes recommendations to the Assistant Director as well as monitors spending in the different program areas.
• Counseling and Disciplining: Resolve informal complaints, problems and grievances; provides guidance to program line supervisors regarding line staff job performance issues, corrective actions and written disciplinary actions; consults with Assistant Director when agency disciplinary process needs to be involved and make recommendations.
• Personnel Functions: Responsibilities include oversight for recruitment, selection, training, orientation, supervision, and evaluation of personnel; provides guidance to line supervisors in interview and selection process of line workers; serves on the interview team for applicants for vacant positions; makes joint selection decision with Supervisor according to established agency procedures; screens and interviews applicants as needed for supervisory positions directly supervised; makes recommendations to the Assistant Director; completes performance evaluations for direct supervised employees.
• Meetings, presentations, and/or crises may require work early and/or late work hours on occasion.
• Position will require working overtime in the event time cannot be adjusted throughout the work week.
• Participate extensively in overall agency planning.
• Position will assume the responsibility of authorizing guardianship/custody decisions for medical, legal, and other identified needs, on behalf of the Director in the Director's absence through consultation with the Assistant Director or agency attorney via telephone.
• Public Contact:
• Maintains positive community relations which includes meeting with various groups and organizations; representing the department on various boards and committees.
• May be assigned other job duties as may become necessary for the betterment of the agency

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education & Experience

Knowledge of Principles of social work

• Social service agencies and practices
• Community organizations and resources
• Principles of identifying and investigating abuse
• Local and state protective services statutes
• Child and Family Team meetings
• Family Center Principals
• Developing a Family Service Plan
• Supervisory and Management Principles
• Child Development Principles
• Budgetary Principles
• Techniques for effective training
• Dynamics and signs of substance abuse
• Crisis Intervention Concepts
• Applicable federal, state, and local status and aid programs
• Domestic violence as defined by verbal, sexual, emotional, psychological and/or physical abuse

Skills in:

• Supervising and evaluating employees
• Preparing and monitoring budgets
• Compiling and analyzing statistical reports
• Evaluating social service needs
• Preparing written reports
• Assessing and managing crisis situations
• Training employees
• Counseling social services clients
• Using a computer and related software applications
• Preparing and delivering presentations
• Providing leadership
• Using basic office equipment
• Communication, interpersonal skills as applied to interaction with coworkers, supervisor, the public, etc., sufficient to exchange or convey information and to receive work direction
• Screening/assessment
• Addressing issues relating to abuse
• Heightening awareness of DV and making appropriate referrals
• Conducting a Child and Family Team Meeting
• Engaging families in the planning process
• Developing specific safety plans for children at risk
• Designing an in-home or out-of-home family services agreement and supports for families

Worker will need to have a working knowledge of being able to assist in all program areas of the agency. In the case of a disaster or pending acts of nature, worker will be deployed to assist in these cases of emergency. Other related duties as assigned.

Master's degree in social work or counseling and/or a bachelor's degree in social work and five years of progressively responsible professional level social worker experience, including two years of supervisory experience; or equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the essential duties of the job such as those listed above.

Valid NC Driver's License
Physical Requirements

This work requires the occasional exertion of up to 10 pounds of force; work regularly requires speaking or hearing, using hands to finger, handle or feel and reaching with hands and arms and occasionally requires standing, walking, sitting, climbing or balancing and stooping, kneeling, crouching or crawling; work requires close vision, distance vision, ability to adjust focus, depth perception and color perception; vocal communication is required for expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word; hearing is required to perceive information at normal spoken word levels; work requires preparing and analyzing written or computer data, visual inspection involving small defects and/or small parts, using of measuring devices, assembly or fabrication of parts within arm's length, operating machines, operating motor vehicles or equipment and observing general surroundings and activities; work occasionally requires exposure to the risk of electrical shock; work is generally in a quiet location (e.g. library, private offices).
There are a wide variety of benefits available to eligible Pender County employees. These benefits include: health, dental, vision, life insurance, optional life and disability insurance plans, flexible spending account, retirement program, 401(k) program, deferred compensation program, credit union membership and an employee assistance program.

Pender County Benefits Overview can be viewed
01

Do you have a high school diploma or GED equivalent?

• Yes
• No

02

Do you have a North Carolina driver license, a valid driver license from another state due to military exemption, or the ability to obtain a North Carolina driver license within 30 days of hire?

• Yes
• No

Required Question