Purpose
To establish the search requirements for filling newly created or vacant manager positions.
Scope
This policy applies university-wide when filling a manager position.
Objective
To expeditiously fill every manager vacancy with a well-qualified person who is reasonably available at the salary the university can offer, and to ensure that principles of equal employment opportunity will be followed in all job actions involving managers, such as recruiting, training, discipline, and promotion, in order to employ and retain a qualified and diverse work force.
Guidance
Employment practices at IUP are regulated by numerous state and federal laws prohibiting certain forms of discrimination and supporting equal employment opportunity for students, faculty, and staff. In addition, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Governor's Office Management Directive 505.7, Personnel Rules, Section 13.32, states: "No agency shall, in any personnel action, including recruitment, appointment, promotion, training or separation, discriminate against any person because of race, color, religious creed, ancestry, union membership, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, AIDS or HIV status, or disability."
Management Directive 505.7, Section 3.1 states: "Every effort is to be exerted to end discrimination and to develop steps to include members of minority groups and women at every level of employment, including recruitment, selection, appointment, promotion, training, delegation and decision-making."
IUP adopts these directives and is committed to taking affirmative action to assure equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees in all work-related actions within the scope of this policy and to employ and retain well-qualified persons who continuously perform their duties in at least a satisfactory manner.
Definitions
- Vacant Position — An existing position not presently occupied as a regular job, the filling of which does not increase the university's complement.
- Newly Created Position — A new position being filled which increases the university's complement.
- Modified Position — A position in which the duties and responsibilities have been modified, or a new position created, due to reorganization but which does not increase the university's complement. Such position may or may not be occupied.
- Search Waiver — A search for a vacant or newly created position may be waived by the associate vice president for Human Resources (AVPHR). With approval from the AVPHR for a waiver, the division head may request the president appoint someone who meets the minimum qualifications for the position without conducting a search.
- Internal Search Only — An internal-only search advertised within the university through the online recruitment portal. The purpose of advertising internally is to notify all potentially qualified internal applicants of the vacancy. The search committee will consider applications only from current full-time, part-time and temporary IUP employees. Student employees are not eligible to apply during the internal search.
- External Search — A search for a vacant or newly created position advertised outside the university. The search committee will consider all qualified applicants, including internal applicants if an internal search was not conducted first.
- President's Cabinet — A committee consisting of the president and direct reports and others that the president may choose to appoint. The duties of the committee are outlined herein.
- Search Committee — A committee whose members are appointed by the hiring manager where a vacancy exists and who are responsible for conducting a search to fill the vacancy.
- Manager — A person holding a job defined as a manager in the Management Compensation Plan of the State System of Higher Education.
- Succession Development Plan — An employee who has received successive exemplary (average 4 and above) performance reviews and who university leaders identify as someone for advancement opportunities may be enrolled in a succession development plan to prepare the employee for leadership roles within the organization. Evidence of a succession development plan may include: related coursework, seminars, professional certification, strategic project leadership opportunities, participation in professional organizations, etc.
Procedure
Step 1:
Replacement: Upon the creation of a vacancy, the employment and classification manager will reach out to the managing division head to initiate replacement. Before initiating a position requisition to replace a vacant or modified position, the division head will provide an updated job description for proper classification. Once the position is properly classified, the employment and classification manager will initiate the electronic Position Requisition Form (PRF) for approval.
In order to maintain continuity of operations when an existing manager position is vacated, the division head may temporarily assign someone to Work Out Of Classification (WOOC). The employee filling the temporary assignment must meet the minimum requirements of the vacancy. Different rules apply depending on whether the employee temporarily filling the vacancy is a member of a bargaining unit, or which bargaining unit they are a member. The vacancy cannot be permanently filled without completing the remainder of the process. Typically, the temporary placement will only last until the position is permanently filled. WOOC is not meant to be a long-term solution or used as justification for a search waiver in the future. Most labor agreements identify term limits, requirements for union approval, and/or consequences when bargaining unit members work out of classification.
New Position: When a division head desires to create a new position, they will first provide the employment and classification manager with a new job description for proper classification. Once the position is properly classified, the employment and classification manager will initiate the electronic PRF for approval.
In both cases the division head will complete the funding and rationale portions of the PRF. The rationale should include whether the position will involve an external- or internal-only search. The form will then be routed to Budget and the vice president for Administration and Finance in preparation for presentation to President’s Cabinet for consideration.
Step 2:
Upon notification of approval to fill, the employment and classification manager will work with the division head/hiring manager to identify a search committee chairperson and an appropriate and diverse search committee (typically no more than 10 members). Search committee members shall be current (within one year) with anti-bias training to participate on a search committee. The division head should communicate expectations for the search directly to the search committee chair.
If the division head wishes to request a search waiver, the form will be provided by the employment and classification manager. The completed request should be forwarded to the associate vice president of Human Resources for consideration. All requests for search waiver should include a rationale as to why this method of filling the vacancy is in the best interest of the university and how it meets the objectives and guidance stated above. The granting of a search waiver request is a rare occurrence, and generally, a search waiver request should be submitted only when there is evidence of an intentional succession development plan in place for a specific individual in preparation of advancement opportunities. The search waiver should not be used as a mechanism to otherwise circumvent an open competitive search ensuring the most qualified candidate is employed.
The use of an external search firm requires approval of the president and the identification of funding. Identification of the firm will be managed by Human Resources via a request for quotation through the Regional Procurement Office. The selection committee for the external search firm will involve at least three individuals, including the associate vice president of Human Resources. A representative of Human Resources will be a member of any search committee managed by an external search firm to ensure coordination with university processes. External searches will be advertised on the university’s recruiting portal in coordination with the external search firm.
Step 3:
The employment and classification manager will work with the division head/hiring manager to develop a job advertisement. Job advertisements will consist of a general description of duties and deliverables, state the minimum requirements for the position, any preferred qualifications, the minimum and midpoint of the salary grade specific to the position, and the mental and physical requirements of the position specific to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Upon approval of the division head, the position will be posted for the stated period, normally 30 days. In the case where the position will remain posted until filled, the advertisement will state the date applications will begin to be reviewed. A shorter posting period may be approved for an expedited, or internal-only, search.
Advertisements will be posted on the university’s online recruitment portal and subsequently publicly listed on HigherEdJobs.com at no cost to the hiring division. Advertisements on diversity or specialty sites will be coordinated by Human Resources; however, the division seeking the position is responsible for the cost of advertisement.
Step 4:
Upon the close of the posting period, or the reviewing date, the employment and classification manager will review the applications and refer all candidates who meet the minimum requirements identified on the posting and job description. Candidates who do not meet the minimum requirements cannot be referred or considered.
Step 5:
The search committee chair will work with the search committee to screen candidates, identifying five to 10 candidates for first round Zoom interviews. Consensus should be used to determine a committee’s recommendation. Notes, checklists, or rubrics should NOT be compiled or shared between search committee members—doing so makes them discoverable public records and no longer personal notes.
Step 6:
Conduct Zoom interviews. Sample questions are available on the HR website, as are examples of prohibited questions. The committee should decide, preferably by consensus, on the top three candidates to recommend for final interviews. The committee should not recommend any candidate for final interviews whom they are not supportive of being awarded the position.
Step 7:
Finalist interviews will typically be on campus and in person. Logistical arrangements for onsite interviews are the responsibility of the search committee chair. Recommendations for hire should be made by the search committee chair to the division head who serves as the hiring manager.
Step 8:
The decision of which finalist, if any, to hire lies with the hiring manager. Appointment authority rests with the president and is delegated to the associate vice president for Human Resources. Official offers are conveyed in writing by the Office of Human Resources. Offers cannot exceed the budget authority identified and approved on the PRF, without approval of the vice president for Administration and Finance or the president.