Position Summary:
Alchemy provides employers and institutions with the talent, support, and technology infrastructure needed to deliver career-connected, standards-aligned learning experiences. The Social Work Placement Coordinator supports this mission by helping students secure appropriate, timely, and meaningful social work field placements.
The Social Work Placement Coordinator is responsible for student communication, site development, placement matching, and placement documentation. This role serves as a liaison between students, university partners, field placement sites, supervisors, and internal team members to help ensure a high-quality placement experience.
An MSW is preferred, but not required. Experience in social work, human services, higher education, student support, or field placement coordination is strongly preferred.
Key Responsibilities:
Student Communication
- Review assigned student caseloads and field application materials.
- Conduct introductory calls or meetings with students to understand their placement needs, interests, location preferences, transportation access, schedule availability, and professional goals.
- Maintain regular communication with students throughout the placement process.
- Provide placement progress updates to students who are not yet matched.
- Conduct onboarding check-ins with confirmed students before the start of placement.
- Respond to student emails and phone calls in a timely, professional, and supportive manner.
- Communicate with empathy, professionalism, and sound judgment, including during challenging or sensitive student situations.
- Support student success by helping prevent placement delays and ensuring students understand next steps.
Site Development
- Conduct outreach to new and existing social work and human service agencies to identify placement opportunities.
- Contact agencies by email and phone to assess availability, student capacity, supervision qualifications, onboarding requirements, placement hours, and program fit.
- Research new potential field placement sites for students to complete required field education experiences.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with agency partners, field instructors, task supervisors, and university stakeholders.
- Communicate clearly with sites regarding placement expectations, student needs, program requirements, and timelines.
- Collect agency information, supervisor details, placement forms, questionnaires, contract needs, and next steps.
- Document all outreach, site responses, and placement updates in the appropriate tracking systems.
- Identify when a site is not appropriate due to lack of qualified supervision, inability to meet hour requirements, contract concerns, site disinterest, or other placement barriers.
Matching
- Support the student-to-site matching process based on student interests, location, schedule, program requirements, agency availability, and supervision qualifications.
- Present appropriate placement opportunities to students and agency partners.
- Track student matching progress, including warm leads, pending interviews, approved placements, and confirmed placements.
- Work toward established placement timelines and key performance indicators related to student matching and confirmation.
- Collaborate with university partners, field education leadership, internal team members, and agencies to resolve placement-related concerns.
- Serve as a liaison between students, universities, and placement sites throughout the matching and confirmation process.
- Escalate complex site, student, supervision, or compliance concerns to the appropriate leader.
Auditing and Documentation
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date student, agency, supervisor, and placement records across required systems.
- Audit caseload information regularly to ensure internal trackers, placement platforms, and student records align.
- Provide weekly caseload updates to leadership, including student status, matching progress, warm leads, confirmed placements, and outstanding needs.
- Review student placement documents, which may include field applications, resumes, cover letters, preference forms, curriculum plans, matching letters, confirmation forms, and placement dates.
- Confirm that field instructor, task supervisor, agency, student, and placement information is accurate before final placement confirmation.
- Ensure placement start dates, end dates, required hours, supervision information, and agency details are correctly documented.
- Follow company and university partner policies related to data privacy, confidentiality, and student records.
Performance Expectations
- Maintain consistent and professional communication with assigned students.
- Conduct regular outreach to new and existing field placement sites.
- Document all outreach, student updates, site responses, and placement activity in required systems.
- Meet established key performance indicators related to site development, student matching, placement confirmation, and documentation.
- Demonstrate strong customer service, follow-through, organization, and problem-solving.
- Represent Alchemy professionally in all communication with students, agencies, and university partners.
- Support the overall goal of securing appropriate, timely, and educationally sound placements for students.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution required.
- MSW preferred but not required.
- Two or more years of experience in higher education, social work, human services, student support, field education, placement coordination, recruitment, advising, or partnership development preferred.
- Experience working in a metrics-driven environment is preferred.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent organization, time management, follow-up, and tracking skills.
- Ability to manage a student caseload and multiple agency relationships at the same time.
- Comfortable communicating professionally by phone, Zoom, and email.
- Proficient with Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, spreadsheets, Salesforce, or similar tracking and placement systems.
- Ability to work independently while collaborating with a remote team.
- Professional judgment and discretion when handling student information and sensitive placement concerns.
Preferred Skills
- Familiarity with social work field education requirements.
- Experience communicating with community agencies, schools, hospitals, behavioral health organizations, nonprofit organizations, or human service providers.
- Ability to assess placement fit based on student needs, agency capacity, supervision availability, and program requirements.
- Experience with systems such as Salesforce, Tevera, ClickUp, Excel, Google Sheets, or similar platforms.
- Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to remain calm and professional under pressure.
Work Environment
This position may be performed in a virtual work environment. The role requires frequent email, phone, and video communication, database tracking, student advising, agency outreach, and collaboration with internal and external partners.
The requirements for success in a virtual work-from-home role include:
- A dedicated, confidential workspace with a door that can be closed for privacy.
- Reliable high-speed internet.
- A working desktop or laptop supported by Mac or Windows operating systems.
- Comfort using collaborative tools to communicate with remote team members and university partners.
Benefits
Alchemy offers a people-centered work environment focused on learning, collaboration, and student success. Benefits may include healthcare coverage, retirement plan options, paid time off, holiday time, technology support, flexible hours, and accommodations that support work-life balance.
Equal Opportunity Statement
Alchemy is an equal-opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace that is free of discrimination and full of opportunity.