Director of Practicum Instruction, Social Welfare (5412C) #87562

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Departmental Overview

UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare has provided statewide, national, and global leadership in evidence-informed social work practice and social policies since its inception in 1944. Despite the small number of faculty, UC Berkeley Social Welfare has for decades been ranked the most productive group of social welfare scholars in the country, producing new knowledge that regularly challenges conventional wisdom and paves the way for new practices and policies.

Equally important, our graduates become agents of social change through direct practice, agency management, policymaking, and leading new discoveries that address the grand challenges confronting our society. Collectively, as both scholars and practitioners, UC Berkeley Social Welfare continues to have a significant, positive impact on the common good across many social issues and populations in need.

Position Summary

The Director of Practicum Instruction supports the School's practicum education infrastructure by strengthening site quality, placement capacity, practicum instructor development, partnership processes and systems, and data-informed educational quality improvement. This position advances a coherent, reliable, and instructionally strong practicum education system across first-year and advanced-year MSW placements.

Serving as an operational lead for practicum education operations in the School of Social Welfare, the Director of Practicum Instruction focuses on administrative and educational operations, with responsibility for site portfolio management, partnership development, practicum instructor capacity building, placement capacity mapping, and data-informed educational quality improvement.

Reporting directly to the Associate Dean for Curriculum, the Director of Practicum Instruction works closely with the Practicum Education Program Coordinator, Admissions, Advising, and Student Experience staff, MSW program leadership, instructors of record, faculty site visitors, practicum instructors, and community agency partners.

Application Review Date

The First Review Date for this job is August 4, 2026. For full consideration, please apply by the first review date.

Responsibilities

Administrative Leadership: Site Portfolio Management and Partnership Development

• Serves as the operational lead for practicum site portfolio management and partnership development across first-year and advanced-year MSW placements.
• Maintains a data-organized understanding of the school's practicum site portfolio, including site capacity, placement history, student fit, practicum instructor availability, instructional quality, program alignment, and partnership stability.
• Leads operational placement capacity mapping across the MSW program, including analysis of available placements, student demand, agency capacity, placement timing, geographic distribution, practice-area needs, and emerging gaps.
• Uses data and database knowledge to assess community agencies regarding site quality, placement capacity, student-site fit, practicum expectations, onboarding needs, and supervision and site improvement concerns.
• Makes recommendations to the Associate Dean for Curriculum regarding approval, pausing, probation, or discontinuation of practicum sites based on site quality indicators, placement stability, student learning needs, practicum instructor readiness, and program priorities.
• Supports the Associate Dean for Curriculum in developing criteria and recommendations to identify and cultivate centers of excellence in practicum education.
• Leads agency recruitment and site retention efforts to ensure adequate, stable, and high-quality practicum capacity across program years and student interest areas.
• Supports the evolution of the practicum site portfolio, including long-term strategies for high-capacity partnerships, improved student preparation, and stronger alignment between practicum sites and the School's integrated educational model.
• Identifies sites that may require additional support, clarification of expectations, practicum instructor development, or review before accepting future students.
• Refers high-stakes, politically sensitive, or relational repair matters to the Associate Dean for Curriculum while providing relevant operational context, documentation, and recommendations.
• Works with the Practicum Education Program Coordinator and Associate Dean for Curriculum to maintain accurate practicum database systems, operational records, site profiles, and communication workflows.
• Coordinates with relevant School staff and faculty to ensure site portfolio decisions are informed by student learning needs, program capacity, administrative feasibility, and agency readiness.

Practicum Instructor Education, Training, and Supervision Development

• Leads the development and delivery of practicum instructor education and supervision development activities.
• With support provided by the Practicum Education Program Coordinator and under the direction of the Associate Dean for Curriculum, oversees the development of practicum instructor training materials, database systems, and resources, and ongoing learning opportunities.
• Conducts live trainings, develops asynchronous supervision training modules, and facilitates data-driven decision making designed to strengthen practicum instruction, student supervision, feedback practices, and alignment with program expectations.
• Develops and updates practicum instructor guidance materials related to student learning, supervision expectations, professional development, communication norms, escalation pathways, and effective use of program tools.
• Supports practicum instructors in understanding the school's educational model, student preparation sequence, practicum expectations, and appropriate channels for raising concerns.
• Advises the Associate Dean for Curriculum on complex practicum instructor, site, and student-placement situations, including site context, practicum instructor development needs, operational options, and recommended next steps.
• Provides data-grounded communications to agencies regarding practicum instruction and site-level learning conditions, while referring student performance, learning agreement, evaluation, and academic standing matters to the Associate Dean for Curriculum or other appropriate instructor of record.
• Supports the Associate Dean for Curriculum, faculty site visitors, and Admissions, Advising, and Student Experience (AASE) staff to ensure that practicum instructor development aligns with student support structures and program expectations.
• Identifies recurring practicum instructor training needs based on data collected about site feedback, student concerns, placement disruptions, evaluation patterns, and program priorities.
• Supports the development of consistent practicum instruction practices across sites while recognizing variation in agency context, service settings, and student learning opportunities.

Data-Driven Educational Quality Improvement

• Uses site-level and program-level data to support educational quality improvement in practicum education operations.
• Designs and maintains practicum data systems, site records, operational reports, and decision-support tools.
• Analyzes practicum education patterns related to site capacity, site retention, placement stability, student-site match, practicum instructor participation in training, placement disruption, site concern patterns, and partnership trends.
• Prepares summaries, dashboards, reports, and recommendations to support planning, quality improvement, and leadership decision-making.
• Uses data to identify operational risks, recurring site issues, gaps in placement capacity, and opportunities to improve practicum instruction and partnership systems.
• Supports periodic review of the practicum site portfolio, including analysis of high-performing sites, sites requiring additional support, sites with recurring concerns, and areas where new partnerships are needed.
• Contributes to educational quality improvement processes by compiling data, synthesizing patterns, identifying options, and recommending improvements to practicum education operations.
• Supports documentation and reporting needs related to practicum education, program review, internal planning, and continuous improvement.

Other Duties as Assigned

• Completes other practicum education operations, special projects, documentation, communications, and program improvement tasks as assigned by the Associate Dean for Curriculum.
• May participate in relevant meetings, working groups, planning processes, and implementation efforts related to practicum education operations and professional education infrastructure.
• Collaborates with staff and faculty to plan, prepare for, and implement events, including commencement, orientation, etc.
• Supports emergent priorities in practicum education, including new initiatives, process redesign, training improvements, data system refinement, and partnership development projects.

Required Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of professional education program operations and educational support systems.
• Advanced knowledge of practicum, field, clinical, or community-based learning environments.
• Advanced organizational and project management skills.
• Advanced interpersonal skills and ability to coordinate across faculty, staff, students, practicum instructors, community agencies, and administrative units.
• Ability to analyze complex operational problems, identify relevant data, develop options, and recommend practical solutions.
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to communicate clearly with internal and external partners regarding expectations, concerns, processes, and recommendations.
• Ability to communicate diplomatically and directly with external partners regarding expectations, concerns, capacity, quality, and improvement needs.
• Ability to develop training materials, guidance documents, and resources, and educational support tools for professional instructors or supervisors.
• Ability to maintain accurate records, synthesize information, prepare reports, and support data-informed program improvement.
• Ability to handle sensitive information with discretion and follow applicable University policies related to student records, personnel information, agency communications, and data privacy.
• Ability to function with a high degree of autonomy while coordinating with the Associate Dean for Curriculum, Practicum Education Program Coordinator, AASE staff, faculty, and community partners.
• Experience in social work practicum education, clinical education, professional education, or community-based workforce development.
• Experience developing or delivering training, onboarding, asynchronous learning modules, or professional development programs.
• Experience working with practicum instructors, clinical supervisors, agency-based supervisors, or community-based professional educators.
• Experience with program evaluation, educational quality improvement, data systems, dashboards, Airtable, Canvas/bCourses, Qualtrics, Tableau, or comparable tools.
• Bachelor's degree in a related area and/or equivalent experience/training

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in a university, professional school, public agency, healthcare, behavioral health, education, or community-based service setting.
• Master's degree in social work (CSWE-accredited) or related field, or a DSW/PhD in a related field (e.g., social work, education, public health, public policy, higher education administration, or health professions education), and/or equivalent experience.
• California social work licensure and/or Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC).

Salary & Benefits

For information on the comprehensive benefits package offered by the University, please visit the University of California's Compensation & Benefits website.

Under California law, the University of California, Berkeley is required to provide a reasonable estimate of the compensation range for this role and should not offer a salary outside of the range posted in this job announcement. This range takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to experience, skills, knowledge, abilities, education, licensure and certifications, analysis of internal equity, and other business and organizational needs. It is not typical for an individual to be offered a salary at or near the top of the range for a position. Salary offers are determined based on final candidate qualifications and experience.

The budgeted annual range that the University reasonably expects to pay for this position is $100,000.00 - $131,000.00.

• This is an exempt, monthly-paid position.
• This is a full-time (40 hours/week) Career position eligible for UC benefits.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter.

Other Information

• This position is eligible for up to 1 day/week of remote work within the United States. Exact arrangements are determined in partnership with your supervisor to meet role responsibilities and department needs and are subject to change.
• This is not a visa opportunity. This position does not include sponsorship of a new consular H-1B visa petition that would require payment of the $100,000 supplemental fee.
• This position is governed by the terms and conditions in the agreement for the Research Support Professionals Unit (RX) between the University of California and the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE). The current bargaining agreement manual can be found at: http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/labor/bargaining-units/rx/index.html

Misconduct

As a condition of employment, the final candidate who accepts a conditional offer of employment will be required to disclose if they have been subject to any final administrative or judicial decisions within the last seven years determining that they committed any misconduct; received notice of any allegations or are currently the subject of any administrative or disciplinary proceedings involving misconduct; have left a position after receiving notice of allegations or while under investigation in an administrative or disciplinary proceeding involving misconduct; or have filed an appeal of a finding of misconduct with a previous employer.

"Misconduct" means any violation of the policies or laws governing conduct at the applicant's previous place of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of policies or laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual assault, or other forms of harassment, discrimination, dishonesty, or unethical conduct, as defined by the employer. For reference, below are UC's policies addressing some forms of misconduct:

UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Policy

UC Anti-Discrimination Policy

Abusive Conduct in the Workplace

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law.