The posting
This job posting expires at 11:59PM on October 11, 2026. No applications can be submitted after 11:59PM on October 11, 2026.
Job Title: Social Worker III
Department: Social Services - Child Welfare
External Hiring Range: $29.51 - $35.50
Compensation Grade: 2009
Posted Internally and Externally
Buncombe County offers in-office, hybrid, and remote positions. Employees in positions that are approved for remote work must work at a location within a 2-hour drive from the position's assigned Buncombe County facility.
We are committed to building an inclusive workforce that is representative of our diverse community. If you are interested in this position but are not certain if you meet the exact qualification requirements, we encourage you to apply. Buncombe County uses a substantial equivalency standard to determine if applicants are qualified.
Buncombe County’s Foster Care and Adoptions Division is seeking a dedicated Social Worker III to join our team.
Our Foster Care Program helps provide safe, temporary care for children who have been removed from their homes for safety reasons by the court system. Our mission is to make this transitional period a steppingstone toward reunification or a permanent, loving home. As a Social Worker III, you will play a critical role in supporting foster families and children during this journey, ensuring stability, security, and every opportunity for these kids to thrive.
You’ll work directly alongside a collaborative team of 3 other Social Worker III's under the guidance of a Social Worker Supervisor III, working within a division of approximately 40 professionals dedicated to child safety and well-being. If you are passionate about advocating for children and partnering with families to create safe futures, we invite you to apply.
Please Note:
- Candidates are required to submit transcripts with their application.
- Social workers are required to work in the office (no teleworking) or their first 6 months of employment to ensure they receive the appropriate level of support and training.
- The selected candidate for this position will be required to submit to a drug test. Please note that CBD or Delta-9 Hemp products may cause a positive drug test.
- After successfully completing the training period, this role offers flexibility in scheduling to best meet the needs of our customers and the demands of the business. Any flexible work arrangements must be reviewed and approved by the direct supervisor and the program manager to ensure that service levels and operational priorities are maintained.
Purpose of the position:
The purpose of this position is to provide permanency planning services to children and resource families to ensure a safe and permanent placement of children in agency custody.
Minimum Education, Training and/or Experience (required at time of hire): Master's degree in Social Work; or a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and one (1) year of directly related experience; or a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice, Sociology, Psychology, or Human Services and two (2) years directly related experience; or Bachelor’s degree in another field and three (3) years of directly related experience; or an equivalent combination of training and experience. *BSW and Social Work Collaborative Students preferred.
Additional Training and Experience: English/Spanish bi-lingual speakers preferred. Certificate of completion of the NCDHHS Pre-Service Training: Child Welfare in North Carolina is preferred.
License or Certification Required by Statute or Regulation: A current, valid North Carolina driver's license.
Essential Functions of the position:
- Ensure children who cannot safely return to their birth families achieve a safe and legally secure placement via adoption or guardianship.
- Provide services through which a plan for temporary substitute care appropriate to a child’s needs is evaluated, arranged, maintained, and supervised in Court sanctioned placement or a licensed facility when the child’s own family is unable to care for him/her adequately due to safety/risk factors.
- Provide direct services to children and their pre-adoptive caregivers to ensure the protection, safety, and permanency of the children.
- Assess, prepare, place and monitor children cleared for adoption.
- Provide state mandated case management services for children in DSS Legal Custody.
- Develop and monitor service plans with families and provide or refer services as needed.
- Make recommendations to the court, including services needed, progress and barriers to permanent plan.
- Establish rapport with children, families, and appropriate professionals/non-professionals in the community to provide a strengths-based, family centered approach in working with families throughout child welfare involvement.
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:
- Ability to prioritize, identify, and assess risks, problems and needs often in stressful situations with clients who are hostile, emotionally confused, and resistant; Ability to effectively de-escalate individuals.
- Knowledge of medical, behavioral, and socio-economic problems and their treatment.
- Knowledge of numerous funding sources and how to utilize them.
- 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.
- Skills in establishing constructive relationships with resistant clients and utilizing family-centered SW practice.
- Skills and counseling in interviewing and the ability to express ideas clearly and concisely and to plan and execute work effectively; and skills in creating resources when none are readily available.
- Thorough Knowledge of social work principles, techniques and practices and their application to specific casework and community problems.
- 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.
Buncombe County Government realizes the importance of a diverse professional workforce and the need to foster a responsive and innovative organizational culture, one that fully engages all of our employees, honoring and building on each employee's unique experiences, opinions, and perspective.
It is the policy of Buncombe County to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all persons regardless of race, natural hair or hairstyles, ethnicity, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin or ancestry, marital or familial status, pregnancy, veteran status, religious belief or non-belief, age, or disability or any other legally protected class under federal or NC State law. EEO practices and employment decisions regarding recruitment, hiring, assignment, promotion and compensation shall not be based on any of these protected classes. In addition, the County expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment or discrimination.
