System Office Recruitment Procedures

Resources

Before filling any vacant position at the System Office, the hiring official must conduct a search as described below. The process as described below may be modified as circumstances warrant with appropriate approvals.

External Search

Advertising/Posting a Vacancy

A position or job description must be developed in consultation with the Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources & Payroll Services in the Office of Human Resources for prior approval. Once the position description is finalized, the hiring manager will send it to the Human Resources Associate in the Office of Human Resources to submit in PageUp for electronic approvals by the AVC for HR & Payroll and the hiring manager. Once the job description has been approved, the hiring manager will send the following information via email to the Human Resources Associate to move forward with the electronic requisition.

  • FOAP (if unsure, please check with Accounting)
  • A list of the websites or other sources that the position should be advertised
  • A list of the search committee members, including contact information if they are not within the TBR System Office

Once the Human Resources Associate has all the information, the requisition will be entered for approvals in PageUp.  The review process includes the Hiring Manager, Assistant and/or Associate Vice Chancellor (if applicable), Vice Chancellor, Executive Vice Chancellor (if applicable), Finance, EEO Officer, and Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources & Payroll. Once all approvals have been obtained, Human Resources will post the position on the TBR website and any outside entities as previously identified in the information previously sent by the hiring manager.

The advertising / recruitment plan must comply with the provisions of TBR Guideline P-010.  If committee members are not confirmed at the time of posting, or changes are made after the initial approval, the supervisor shall submit all changes to the Offices of Human Resources and the EEO Officer for approval prior to the first committee meeting, or as soon thereafter as applicable.   

Minimum Amount of Time for Advertising

Non-Exempt positions are posted for fifteen (15) days and Exempt positions are posted for thirty (30) days.

Application Process

All prospective applicants must complete the System Office online application form, as well as upload any additional materials requested. In this way, all applicants will be given an opportunity to indicate their status as a member of a protected group and there will be consistency in the application material received.

Applicants who are applying for positions which require specific clerical skills may be tested by the Office of Human Resources. If administered, the Office of Human Resources will use the test results to screen applicants according to the minimum clerical skills requirements. To assure the System Office's compliance with the Federal Employee Selection Guidelines, any testing of applicants by departments shall be limited to tests which have been approved by the Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources.

Review of Applicant Pool 

The search committee shall review all applications to determine the qualified applicant pool. Human Resources will pre-screen the application pool for minimum qualifications and forward those meeting minimum qualifications to the committee for consideration.  In cases in which an applicant is clearly and obviously not qualified for the position (example holds an M.A. when the job description requires a Ph.D.); the applicant will not be included in the applicant pool.

Based on the search committee’s review, the supervisor will forward a memo of recommended candidates to interview for approval.  The qualified applicant pool shall be reviewed and approved by the Director of Human Resources and the EEO Officer under TBR Guideline P-010 to ensure adequate representation of applicants from underutilized groups. If there is inadequate representation of minority and female applicants, it may be necessary to reopen the search and/or extend the deadline to strengthen the efforts.  Any candidate invited for an interview must be listed by the hiring authority when submitting the Request for Interview for approval.

The interview pool shall be reviewed and approved by the Office of Human Resources for the qualifications of the prospective interview pool.  The same standard set of interview questions shall be asked of each interviewee.  For sample questions related to the position contact Human Resources. 

Interviewing Process 

The following approvals are necessary prior to scheduling interviews: applicable hiring authority, EEO Officer, and the Office of Human Resources. Upon receiving the necessary approvals the supervisor may make the appropriate interview appointments. Prior to the interview, the supervisor and committee members shall, in addition to becoming familiar with the applications, review the position summary/job description, required qualifications, and advertisement. The search committee chair shall invite a member of Human Resources to a committee meeting to discuss confidentiality and appropriate interview inquiries. At the discretion of the Office of Human Resources the committee may be excused from this requirement if a similar meeting has occurred within a reasonable period of time, or the committee members have otherwise participated in this type of orientation process.  The purpose of the interview is to collect additional information on the applicant's job related knowledge, skills and abilities, which should be helpful in selecting the individual most likely to succeed in the job.

An interview should be as structured as possible, yet tailored to each particular applicant. Each interviewer should evaluate the same general criteria for each applicant.

In some cases the search committee may want to conduct telephone interviews prior to conducting in-person interviews.  This can be especially helpful if there are a number of qualified individuals in the applicant pool.

Checking References 

Since reference checks provide useful indicators for predicting the applicant's potential for success, the interests of both the system office and the applicant are served by reference checking. Reference checks from recent employment are required before a candidate recommendation is made by the supervisor.

The Appointment of an Applicant

Procedure for Recommending Appointments

The supervisor will forward a request to offer to the appropriate hiring authority containing the following supporting material:

  • All completed reference checks
  • Justifications to support the decision
  • The proposed salary
  • Proposed effective date

Upon approval of the hiring authority the request will be forwarded to the Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance for approval of the salary availability, to the Office of Human Resources for approval to hire based on the supporting material and the potential for internal inequities, and to the Chancellor for final approval.

All recommendations shall be accompanied by the supporting materials on the recommended applicant, as well as materials on all applicants. 

The Office of Human Resources will provide an appointment letter signed by the Chancellor.  Human Resources will also provide an electronic background authorization form when applicable.

Prior Approval for Employment 

Under no circumstance shall a commitment be made to an applicant until the Office of Human Resources has reviewed and approved the recommendation for employment.

Notification of Applicants 

The supervisor may write or call the individuals who were interviewed to personally notify them the position has been filled.

If a position is re-evaluated and re-advertised, all applicants shall be apprised of the status of his or her application.

Internal Search

The process shall generally follow the procedure for external searches. However, positions will not be broadly advertised but will be posted internally as approved by the EEO Officer and Human Resources.

Promotion/Reassignment

Promotions involve the reassignment of an employee to a position having either higher pay, increased responsibilities, or increased benefits. Promotions can occur between the various departments or within the same department at the System Office.

Employees may be reassigned either within a department or between departments of the System Office. The employee may be moved laterally to a position with the same job title and similar duties in another department either at the employee's request or at the request of the supervisor.

A search is not required for either promotions or reassignments; however, the vacated position may require a search. Promotions and reassignments must be approved by the AssociateVice Chancellor for Human Resources and the Chancellor.

Employment Agreements, Contracts and Letters of Agreement

The Chancellor must approve employment agreements, contracts, and letters of agreement used in the appointment and employment of System Office personnel.

Procedure For Processing Dual Service Contracts

  1. The System Office Department that is procuring the service completes the Dual Service Agreement (template is available on the General Counsel’s website).
  2. Contact Payroll/HR for assistance with calculating benefits.
  3. Mail the contract to the institution where the employee will be working for signature by their signatory authority.
  4. When the contract is returned, forward to the Director of Purchasing and Contracts with a contract routing form and summary sheet, with a copy to the employee.
  5. When processing of the contract is complete, forward a copy to HR for inclusion in the employee’s personnel file.
  6. When the employee’s service is complete, the department procuring the service will send the institution a memo stating that the service is complete so that they will generate a bill to the System Office. When the invoice is received, the department procuring the service signs, dates, and indicates that services are complete and approved to pay. A confirming requisition is sent to the institution and to System Office payroll for processing.

 

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