Procedures for Recruitment and Selection Academic posts

This document sets out the procedures which Heads of Departments/Schools and Directors of Centres should follow when making appointments to Academic posts. Further reference to Department should be read to include Schools and Centres.

Please ensure that you also refer to and follow the Code of Practice on Equal Opportunities in relation to recruitment and selection.

The Chair of a Selection Committee or Panel is responsible for ensuring that all stages of the recruitment process are carried out correctly and within the requirements of the law and University policy. They must have received University recruitment and selection training and it is mandatory that all other members of Selection Committees or Panels also receive relevant training before taking part in recruitment activities. Your link Recruitment Officer can provide further information. If any part of the recruitment process is delegated to others, those involved must have been trained or briefed in their responsibilities.

It is the responsibility of staff on recruitment and selection panels and committees to declare to the Chair of the panel or committee, at the earliest possible opportunity, any relationship they may have, or have had, with an applicant. This is to ensure that there is no conflict of interest or unfair advantage gained during the recruitment process. See Guidelines for the Professional Conduct of Staff for further information.

A handbook, entitled "Recruitment and selection, equality and diversity" is available on the Human Resources website.

If you require further assistance at any stage you should contact the link Recruitment Officer responsible for your Department for information and/or advice. Requests to vary the procedures outlined in this document should be discussed with the link Recruitment Officer in advance of commencement of a recruitment campaign.

Obtaining Permission to Recruit/Replace:

Before any post can be advertised or recruited into, authority to appoint must be granted by either the Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Lecturer/Senior Lecturer) or USG (Professor).

Advertising:

Any post which is for six months duration or more must be advertised externally. This requirement may be varied only with the express permission of the Director of Human Resources. However, recruitment to all posts should be transparent and it is recommended that Heads of Department should aim to follow the University recruitment procedures irrespective of the duration of the post by advertising to relevant staff and undertaking similar shortlisting and interviewing processes.

When permission has been obtained, the recruiting manager should send the following information to the link Recruitment Officer by email:

draft advertisement
recruitment pack containing the job description, person specification, and information about the Department or project that will put the role in a context for candidates;
proposed interview date;
proposals for the membership of the Selection Committee in accordance with the relevant Ordinance;
names of potential assessors for posts at Senior Lecturer level and above.

Blank templates in the approved format can be found below.

These documents must be with the Recruitment Officer at least 10 working days before the first date you wish your advertisement to appear. For some publications, (eg. monthly journals), it may be necessary to submit your proposed advertisement considerably earlier. Please contact your link Recruitment Officer if you need guidance or advice on suitable publications/websites and/or deadlines.

The advertisement should be drawn up in the approved University format and the Recruitment Officer will be responsible for placing it in the appropriate publication(s) or websites. Please note that while a single paragraph is required for external printed adverts, greater information may be provided for publication on the University and other websites. The job description and person specification should also follow the approved format. Your Recruitment Officer will send the proposal for the Selection Committee and any external assessors to the Vice-Chancellor or relevant Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor for approval. If full information is not provided this may delay the placing of your advertisement.

A minimum advertising period of four weeks (28 days) is recommended to allow time for candidates to read the advertisement, review the Job Pack, and submit their application before the closing date. This timeframe also ensures Home Office regulations are met for appointing international staff.

Shortlisting:

We would encourage all committee members to use the University online recruitment system to shortlist. (Further details and access are available from your Recruitment team). The system can be accessed from anywhere with internet access and you will be able to view applications for the post as they come in. However, after the closing date, the shortlisting panel must review all applications.

In exceptional circumstances it may be possible for the Recruitment team to provide the Department with one set of hard copy applications after the closing date. However this may take up to 3 working days. For Senior Lecturer/Professorial posts hard copies can be sent to the external assessors on request.

Shortlisting should be carried out using the information contained in the application and candidates should be selected on the basis of those who best meet the essential criteria as outlined in the Person Specification. When necessary the 'desirable criteria' may be applied to help reduce the shortlist to a manageable number. The Head of Department should liaise with the Chair of the Selection Committee to ensure that the views of all members of the shortlisting panel are taken into account before finalising the shortlist. A Shortlisting Grid will be provided for completion by the Chair of the shortlisting panel as a summary record of the decisions taken. This must be returned to the Recruitment team before interview invitations can be sent out.

The views of external assessors will be communicated to the Chair of the Selection Committee and Head of Department via the link Recruitment Officer and shared with members of the Selection Committee with the Chair's agreement. At Senior Lecturer/Reader level, .these comments are generally circulated prior to shortlisting. For Professorial appointments, external assessors are asked to help inform the interview process.

The University is proud to have received Two Ticks 'positive about disabled people' accreditation and have agreed to take action to meet five commitments regarding the employment, retention, training and career development of disabled employees. Candidates who have requested consideration under Two Ticks will be identified on the Shortlisting Grid. If they meet the essential criteria outlined in the Person Specification they must be invited for interview. If the desirable criteria have been used to reduce the number of interviews, Two Ticks candidates must not be considered in this process. Further information about your responsibilities in recruitment under the Two Ticks accreditation.

The Recruitment team will require at least two weeks, and preferably three weeks, between the date they receive the shortlist and the interview date in order to provide sufficient notice to candidates and arrange presentations, international travel, take up references etc.

Inviting Candidates to Interview:

Shortlisted candidates will be notified of all arrangements, including presentations or tasks, by email. It is therefore essential that presentation topics and details of informal meetings etc are provided to the Recruitment team as early as possible. If 'reserve' candidates have been identified, please ensure they are ranked, as the Recruitment team will contact them as soon as any shortlisted candidate has withdrawn. All unsuccessful applicants will be notified by email on receipt of the shortlist. It is the responsibility of the Department to book rooms and host candidates during presentations/research seminars, which will normally be undertkaken in advance of the formal interview.

The Recruitment team will book an interview room, organise refreshments, and liaise with candidates regarding travel and accommodation. Other hospitality for candidates is the responsibility of the Department.

Interviewing:

All Chairs of Selection Committees or Panels must have completed University Recruitment and Selection training (please contact Staff Development for further details).; It is also recommended that other staff sitting on Selection Committees and Panels receive training before they undertake any shortlisting or interviewing. Selection Committees and Panels must have a gender mix, and include members of under-represented groups where possible.

The link Recruitment Officer will normally attend the Selection Committee, and will take responsibility for the smooth running of the administrative arrangements. He/she will ensure that candidates are taken to the interview room, are given information about conditions of service, relocation provisions etc., and handle any general questions. They will also make any arrangements for their departure from the University.

We encourage Selection Committee and Panel members to use a grid for recording notes and decisions made during the interview. The Chair of the Committee/Panel must keep a written record of the final decision and reasons for rejection of unsuccessful candidates, and a University Interview Decision Grid will be provided for this purpose. This must be returned to the link Recruitment Officer after the interviews are completed. If personal notes are to be retained, they should be kept in a confidential and secure file and destroyed once an appointment has been made.

References:

References will be taken up by the Recruitment team for shortlisted candidates, and circulated to members of the Selection Committee, normally by email, a day or two before the interviews. References which arrive late will be tabled on the day of the interviews.

Making an Offer:

Following interviews, the Recruitment Officer will advise the Chair of the Selection Committee and the Head of Department on appropriate salary levels and probationary arrangements. The Chair of the Committee should ensure that the Committee's decisions are recorded and the Head of Department should be prepared to assist the Recruitment team with applicant feedback or support should any complaint of discrimination be made in relation to the recruitment process.

The Head of Department will normally make initial contact the successful candidate by telephone or email. For Professorial appointments the Chair of the Selection Committee would normally make the initial offer Once the successful candidate has accepted the post, a formal letter and contract of employment will be sent and unsuccessful candidates turned down. This is usually done by the Recruitment team, however should a Head of Department wish to provide personal feedback to unsuccessful candidates, then this should be agreed in advance with the Recruitment Officer. Where references, 'right to work', academic certificates or other essential requirements have not been met, please note that the offer of employment must be conditional and subject to written confirmation by the recruitment team.

In order to complete the appointment process the Head of Department should check the formal qualifications of the person appointed, in line with any requirements outlined in the essential criteria for the post. Copies of qualification certificates should be retained in the Department.

Alan Charnock
Deputy Director of Human Resources
Revised 2011

Back to Policies, Procedures and Codes of Practice