Social Worker (Protective Services After Hours - zone 4)

New Hanover County is committed to making lives better through serving children and families with complex needs by:

Doing what’s right:
By ongoing assessment and partnering with families to help strengthen them and work to maintain and/or reunite children with their families whenever possible by providing support and comprehensive family-centered, solution focused interventions that will support and build a parent’s capacity to protect and nurture their children.

Doing it together:
Working cohesively with families, children, community and in-agency partners, and other child welfare entities to support and strengthen families.

Doing it well:
Striving for excellence in meeting all mandated standards in a fast-paced but rewarding environment that ultimately seeks to assure child safety, permanence and develop and reinforce protective family units.
 
We are currently accepting applications for a qualified Social Worker to join the after-hours unit. Duties as an After Hours Social Worker include performing social work functions for Adult and Children's Protective Services during periods that the agency is closed. This includes receiving and screening all reports of alleged abuse and neglect; initiating investigations of all immediate response reports and prioritizing, investigating, or coordinating services for other incoming reports; independently assessing the risk of victims and developing/implementing safety plans; securing and filing custody orders and involuntary commitments; and testifying in court proceedings.  

This position will include teleworking. The ideal candidate for telework position is a self-starter with good written and verbal skills and solid proficiency in using modern office technology to perform work duties.

WORK HOURS:
The candidate will work on a 14-day rotation: 2 consecutive workdays followed by 3 days off, then 3 consecutive workdays followed by 2 days off during agency closure. Employees work 7 days per 2 week pay period, totaling 84 hours, and have every other weekend off.  The work week begins at 12:00 AM on Friday mornings. On occasion, for training, court, or meeting purposes, scheduling may occur during non-scheduled work hours. Some holiday coverage is required.

Candidates must be able to work from a location that will allow them to provide an “immediate” response (within 60 minutes of notice) to crisis situations within New Hanover County. Must be available to work during emergency situations.


Working for New Hanover County's Social Services Department:
New Hanover County's Consolidated Human Services Agency is a single county agency that provides any combination of Public Health and Social Services throughout the county. The Social Services department is comprised of a team of dedicated professionals seeking to serve the citizens of our county through providing essential human services. The department is a part of a dynamic, professional county organization with a clear vision as a vibrant, prosperous, diverse coastal community, committed to building a sustainable future for generations to come. Ideal candidates for the department of social services have excellent customer service, organizational and computer skills, the ability to problem solve and make critical decisions and above all, an overwhelming desire to serve the citizens of our county.


Salary Information:
The salary range for this position is $64,654 - $100,586.  Current NHC zone 2 social workers hired into the position will receive a 6% pay increase. 
 
New Hanover County offers:

• Employer paid 401k contributions;
• Retirement plan through the NC Retirement system;
• Flex time and telework availability, depending on your position;
• Paid sick and personal leave + 13 paid holidays per year;
• Paid parental leave;
• Paid community services leave to give back to our community;
• Education leave to obtain a degree within your line of work;
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance + many other insurance options;
• Onsite, employer-paid health and wellness center;
• Professional development trainings & leadership initiatives;
• Opportunities to make a difference in your community;
• And so much more!

Please check out our careers page at www.nhcgov.com/careers for more information on why New Hanover County is a great place to work..

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Must have valid Driver's license, good driving record, and own transportation. 

Bilingual in English and Spanish is a plus.

Note:  Applicants who only have economic services caseworker or Probation/Parole Officer, experience counts as equivalent to social work experience for one half the time up to one year maximum. For example, one year of  experience equals six months of social work experience; two years of experience equals one year of social work experience; and ten years of experience equals one year of social worker experience.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

 

• Ability to prioritize workload and maintain administrative duties while balancing field work
• Identify and assess risk, address safety issues, & problem-solve with families to create solutions
• Ability to make connections with families and support family-centered principles 
• Ability to make decisions without regard to that personal prejudices, biases, and experiences and respect the value of individual differences at all levels of the organization
• Ability to think critically during conflict and high-stress situations and exercise sound judgement
• Ability to build and maintain positive, productive relationships with peers, colleagues, managers, providers, the community and other professionals
• Thorough knowledge of agency procedures and resources, community systems and resources, manual material, state and federal regulations, permanency planning philosophy, and laws governing protective services for children.
• Knowledge of basic criminal justice procedures, elements of medical and mental disorders, personality theory, family systems dynamics, interpersonal relations, and cultural differences, values and lifestyles.
• Firmly adhere to codes of conduct and ethical principles
• Ability to navigate technology and quickly learn new and complex systems

Licenses/Certifications

• Valid Driver's License and good driving record required at time of application. 
• Valid North Carolina Driver’s License required by first date of employment with good driving record.

North Carolina Child Welfare Work:

Watch an  introduction into the daily life of a social worker and learn what it takes to make a profound impact on your community. This information is provided by the UNC School of Social Work, and the video can be found by clicking here.

Application Status: 

In compliance with G.S. 153A-94.2(b), if this position requires an applicant for employment to work with children in any capacity, the county must require the applicant to undergo a criminal history record check conducted by the SBI for all offers of employment made after October 1, 2025. These checks must be performed in accordance with G.S. 143B-1209.26, which authorizes the SBI to provide fingerprint-based state and national criminal record checks to cities and counties. Additional information on how to complete this required check will be provided to the selected candidate after an offer of employment is accepted.