Part-time Social work Jobs in Salt Lake City, UT

Associate Dean Of Social Work And Behavioral Health Programs

If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our countryand you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that futureconsider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade: Management_Executive 609 Pay Range: $116,600.00 - $209,900.00

Job Description

The Associate Dean of Social Work and Behavioral Health Programs provides strategic, academic, operational, and business leadership for WGU's social work and behavioral health portfolio. This role is responsible for building, launching, scaling, and continuously improving high-quality, workforce-aligned programs that prepare students for careers in social work, behavioral health, mental health, substance use, community health, and human services.

Essential Functions And Responsibilities

• Provides strategic leadership and end-to-end ownership for social work and behavioral health programs, including program strategy, growth, student outcomes, financial performance, academic quality, and workforce alignment.
• Owns P&L for the portfolio, managing budget, enrollment assumptions, staffing plans, and contribution margin against university growth targets.
• Leads the development, launch, revision, and scaling of market-relevant, competency-based programs addressing national and regional workforce needs across social work, behavioral health, mental health, substance use, community health, and human services.
• Maintains primary accountability for CSWE accreditation activities self-study development, candidacy, reaffirmation, site visits, assessment plans, reporting, and continuous improvement and for any other relevant regulatory or professional approval processes.
• Partners with academic, operational, and regulatory teams to ensure field education, practicum, clinical placement, supervision, and experiential learning models meet accreditation, student, and workforce needs.
• Ensures programs remain aligned with professional standards, employer expectations, licensure pathways, and evolving workforce trends, including monitoring multi-state licensure requirements and scope-of-practice variation.
• Serves as a credible academic and industry voice for social work and behavioral health representing the school in strategy discussions, external partnerships, professional associations, conferences, and workforce development opportunities.
• Builds and strengthens relationships with healthcare organizations, behavioral health providers, social service agencies, community organizations, government entities, professional associations, and employer partners.
• Leads and develops diverse, distributed teams program leaders, faculty, program managers, instructional teams, and cross-functional partners fostering accountability, collaboration, inclusion, and continuous improvement.
• Uses data and analytics to monitor program health: student progression, retention, completion, field placement outcomes, licensure outcomes, employment outcomes, student satisfaction, and faculty performance.
• Drives a culture of experimentation, measurement, and learning to improve academic quality, student support, and operational effectiveness.
• Partners with enrollment, marketing, and workforce teams on go-to-market strategies that connect programs to the right students and employer/community needs.
• Leads through ambiguity and makes sound decisions in a rapidly changing academic, regulatory, and workforce environment.
• Supports innovation in curriculum, assessment, field education, student support, technology, and artificial intelligence to improve learning and operational outcomes.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

• Deep commitment to student success, workforce readiness, and improving access for underserved and working-adult learners.
• Strong knowledge of social work education, behavioral health workforce needs, licensure pathways, field education, and professional standards.
• Demonstrated understanding of CSWE accreditation standards and expectations.
• Knowledge of trends in social work, behavioral health, mental health, substance use, integrated care, community health, and human services.
• Ability to lead academic programs with both strategic vision and operational discipline.
• Strong business acumen, including budget management, resource planning, enrollment growth, and financial stewardship.
• Ability to use data to identify trends, solve problems, improve outcomes, and drive innovation.
• Strong people-leadership skills, including hiring, developing, coaching, and managing high-performing teams including remote/distributed teams with excellence, integrity, and respect.
• Ability to lead and influence in a highly matrixed organization without relying on direct authority.
• Strong collaboration skills and ability to build trusted relationships internally and externally, including with accreditors and licensure boards.
• Demonstrated ability to manage change, bring structure to complex situations, and execute in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, including representing programs with executive leaders, faculty, students, regulators, accreditors, employers, and professional organizations.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and culturally responsive social work and behavioral health education.

Minimum Qualifications

• Master's degree in Social Work, Behavioral Health, Counseling, Psychology, or a related field.
• 5 years of relevant experience in social work, behavioral health, counseling, or a related field.
• 5 years of leadership experience, including hiring, managing, developing, and scaling teams.
• Experience leading academic programs, workforce initiatives, professional practice teams, or complex cross-functional initiatives.
• Experience using data to evaluate performance, improve outcomes, and guide decision-making.
• Equivalent relevant experience may substitute for education requirements, at the discretion of the hiring manager (generally 1 year of experience per 1 year of education).

Preferred Qualifications

• Doctorate in Social Work, Behavioral Health, Counseling, Psychology, or a related field.
• Master of Social Work from a CSWE-accredited program.
• Licensed social worker (LCSW) or other relevant behavioral health professional credential.
• Experience leading BSW, MSW, behavioral health, counseling, human services, or related academic programs, preferably in a campus, online or competency-based environment.
• Experience with CSWE accreditation, including self-study development, candidacy, reaffirmation, site visits, assessment, and continuous improvement.
• Experience building or leading field education, practicum, clinical placement, supervision, or experiential learning models.
• Experience developing curriculum, competency frameworks, assessments, and student success strategies.
• Experience building partnerships with healthcare systems, behavioral health providers, social service agencies, community organizations, government agencies, and employers.
• Knowledge of social work licensure requirements and workforce trends across multiple states.

Physical Requirements

Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

Travel

This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, accreditation-related activities, partner visits, company locations, and other business-related events as needed.