Mathematical, Physical & Life Sciences Divisional Office

9 Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PD

RECRUITMENT APPROVAL GUIDELINES

The recruitment request form is the mechanism through which departments should provide assurance to the Division that financial and operational implications of a recruitment have been considered in full.

When a department wishes to recruit to a new or replacement post, whether or not this post is in the departmental budget, the recruitment protocol must be followed. The purpose of the recruitment protocol is to ensure that at the point where an appointment is being planned, all due consideration has been given to the need for that appointment, including whether a vacancy can be sustained with existing resources and whether the need for the appointment is being addressed in as cost efficient a manner as possible. (Following the Division’s 2013-14 budget discussions with the University, and in light of the adverse financial position forecast in the medium term, from July 2013 on the Division was asked to reintroduce the recruitment protocol in full.)Depending upon the post type, considerations such as FTE changeand financial sustainability for new activity may be particularly pertinentand further university policies may apply.The information provided in a recruitment request will also be used to address these considerations asrelevant.

Key principles of the recruitment protocol

For all types of posts (academic, academic-related, support/technical), whether new or replacement posts, the recruiting department must submit to the division a completed recruitment request form for approval.

The recruitment protocol process must also be followed in cases where a department wishes to implement a major change to an existing post; this includes converting a fixed-term post to permanent/open ended; turning a part-time appointment to full-time; re-grading a post. Please note that in the cases of re-grading, approval must be sought when the department seeks to a) re-grade an existing (vacant) post or b) assign additional responsibilities to an existing staff member, therefore warranting a request for re-grading. However, in cases where individual members of staff are making requests for re-grading, then these can be submitted without prior divisional approval.

For all requests to fill or refill academic and senior research posts (i.e. Professors, Associate Professors, RSIVs), the recruiting department must submit an academic case anda business case in addition to the form. (Recruitment requestform and business case templates are available from the divisional office and the MPLS website). Proposals for academic posts are normally considered by the MPLS Associate Heads, though the creation of or changes to the titles of statutory professorships will also require additional central university approval. For any new RSIV posts the Division will need to seek approval from the University’s Senior Appointments Panel.

For all requests to fill or refill academic-related or support/technical posts, in addition to the protocol form, the department must also submit a job description. This applies also in the case of proposed major changes to existing posts (e.g. re-grading).

The only posts that are exempt from the recruitment protocol process are 100% externally funded posts. However, the recruitment protocol must be followed in cases where a post is partly funded by the department.

Operation

All recruitment protocol requests must have the approval of the Head of Department; they should then be submitted to the Division’sAcademic HR Officer .
Requests must be submitted by 3pm on Wednesday; the divisional office will aim to convey the decision to departments within a week.
Departments cannot proceed to recruitment or to implement a change to an existing post, prior to receiving protocol approval and an MPLS authorisation code. Staff requests can only be raised once an authorisation code has been issued.

For any queries about the recruitment protocol, please contact .

Last updated September 2016