Social Work Next Certified Consultant

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Social workers are on the front lines of social entrepreneurship, financial capability, public education, and health care.

The Social Worker as Consultant Certification is a valuable tool for trained social workers who want to expand their skill set and offer their expertise in consulting services. Social workers are uniquely qualified to operate as consultants at all ecological systems levels because of their mandate for individual and social change. They are mindful of the consequences of individual creativity and organizational innovation, and their ethical parameters provide a clear process for reviewing policy, corporate decision-making, and behavior in the market.

The certification program offers several learning objectives, including defining the social worker as a consultant, identifying basic skill sets that social workers already possess, learning organizational skills that may be necessary, managing a consulting business, understanding the ethics of the social worker as consultant, and exploring social work education and consulting.

The role of the social worker as consultant is to manage organizational culture for internal integration and external adaptation. This means that the consultant will have to be skilled in influencing culture and must engage employees and volunteers to harness the capacity that is present within the organization. The consultant will start by assessing the capability of the organization, identifying where knowledge is created, and organizing it as a representation of organizational capacity.

External adaptation requires the consultant to outline an innovation for the employees and volunteers that connects with the social vision of the organization, satisfies all stakeholders, and represents sustainable operations for the organization. This process involves reviewing the competition, new information on business processes and best practices, and talking with stakeholders, including community members and customers.