Recruitment and selection policy

PURPOSE

The College aims to recruit the best person for each vacancy through fair, systematic, effective recruitment and selection practices and procedures. This will help to ensure that the College continues to deliver a high-quality learning experience to all students, maintains its world-class reputation as a research and teaching institution, and continues to attract high-calibre professional and support staff.

The purpose of this policy is to provide a robust framework for staff recruitment and selection, both internal and external, underpinned by the principles set out below.

All employees involved at any stage of the recruitment and selection of staff need to be familiar with and follow this policy and any related policies and procedures.

SCOPE

This policy applies to the recruitment and selection process for all types of post within the College including academic, research, teaching and scholarship, and professional and support, and to both fixed term and open-ended posts. It will be made available to all potential applicants, and to employees on the HR Connect Site.

The appointment of a Professor or Reader must be in accordance with the University of London Regulation 3 (Professors and Readers).

CORE PRINCIPLES

The College is committed to delivering the recruitment and selection of staff in a professional and responsive manner, within realistic and appropriate timescales. All candidates will be treated fairly, equitably and efficiently, with respect and courtesy, aiming to ensure that the candidate experience is positive, irrespective of the outcome.
The College values diversity and is committed to eliminating unlawful and unfair discrimination. Appointment will always be on merit, within relevant legislative and statutory obligations. Particular care will be taken to ensure that the policy is fairly applied and there is no discrimination on the grounds of any protected characteristic as set out in the Equality Act 2010.
The College will fulfil its legal duties, ensuring that 'reasonable adjustments', where practicable, are made to ensure that individuals with a disability are not disadvantaged as part of the recruitment and selection process.
College employees who are involved with the recruitment and selection of staff need to have completed the recruitment and selection training appropriate to their involvement. External panel members will be given written guidance on the College Recruitment and Selection policy.
Through each stage of this policy, the College will seek to ensure that confidentiality is maintained. All documentation relating to applicants will be treated confidentially in accordance with data protection legislation and the College’s Privacy Statement. Any statistical data published will be anonymised.
It is the responsibility of any employee involved in a selection process to declare an interest at the earliest stage of the process if they have a personal or professional connection to any candidate. Please refer to the Relationships at Work policy, and the College Code of Conduct for managing conflicts of interest.
The College will promote best practice recruitment and selection and will continuously review and develop its practices to allow new ideas and approaches to be incorporated.
In exceptional circumstances the College may wish to approach an Executive Search firm to assist with recruitment.

RECRUITMENT STAGES

Stage 1: Preparation

Identification of a vacancy and workforce planning

When a vacancy arises, it is appropriate to carefully evaluate the need for a replacement and whether or not like-for-like recruitment is required.

Deans or Directors of Professional Services should review the staffing in their Faculty/School/Department to identify any areas of where there is an underrepresentation of staff with protected characteristics.

Where a member of the academic staff is absent on a temporary basis, for example on Family Leave, consideration should be given to any elements of the role that need to be covered during the absence. It may be appropriate to appoint an academic on a fixed term fractional academic teaching and education career pathway, rather than on a like-for-like basis.

Job design, job description and person specification

The template job description, template person specification, and guidance on how to complete them, is available for the recruiting manager to use. Both the job description and person specification should be succinct. The person specification will identify a maximum of 15 criteria that the applicant will need to meet. Although this can be made up of both essential and desirable criteria, it is recommended that only essential criteria are measured.

Some roles are generic, with the same job description and person specification. The job descriptions for these generic roles are fixed and should only be amended in a minor way to reflect the particular requirements of the role (for example, for academic staff the job description and person specification may specify the qualification, subject area and/or depth and breadth of knowledge and experience in a specific subject area required).

Job evaluation and grading of post

All roles are job evaluated using the Hay job evaluation framework. Generic roles and like-for-like replacements will already have been job evaluated. Where a post is new, or where there is a substantial change to a post, it should be submitted for evaluation in accordance with the job evaluation policy.

The grade for the job must reflect the requirements of the role and must not be changed. If it is not possible to recruit at that grade and greater financial incentive is required to recruit, it may be possible to consider making a case for a market supplement, under the market supplement policy and procedure.

Approval to recruit (job authorisation)

Before beginning the recruitment process, the recruiting manager must obtain the appropriate authorisation for the post, using the staff authorisation online form.

Where there has been a recruitment process within the last six months and one or more candidates were identified as appointable but were not successful at this stage, consideration may be given to contacting the individual(s) to offer them an interview for the post prior to going to advert.

Unless specified on the recruitment details form that the recruiting manager wishes to offer visa sponsorship, all applicants will need to declare that they have the right to live and work in the UK on their application to enable the application to be progressed.

The College will sponsor academic and research posts, for new out-of-country applicants appointed with an initial contract of two years or longer, where they meet appropriate eligibility criteria. Staff employed in other posts may also be considered in exceptional circumstances, on a case-by-case basis, where there is a clear business justification, made by the Director/Executive Dean, and approved in advance by the Director of Human Resources. In all cases where an individual is sponsored by the College on a Skilled Worker visa, the College will cover and pay the cost of the Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the Home Office directly.

Stage 2: Advertising and Information for Candidates

The advertisement

The content of a job advert must accurately reflect the requirements of the job as outlined in the job description. It will contain inclusive language i.e. without any wording to suggest the College may directly or indirectly discriminate against candidates with any protected characteristic.

Targeted advertising may be considered where it could help attract candidates with protected characteristics evidenced as underrepresented.

The salary, or hourly rate if applicable, should be included on the advertisement. Any additional contributions to pay (e.g., market supplement) should also be included.

Placing the advertisement

Vacancies will be advertised externally, as well as internally, except in certain circumstances where permission not to advertise or to advertise internally only must be obtained from either the Director of Human Resources (P&S staff), the Deputy Vice Chancellor – Research, Knowledge Exchange and Innovation (research staff), or the Deputy Vice-Chancellor – Education and Student Experience (academic and teaching and scholarship staff).

Such circumstances may include:

when there is a need for redeployment, for example, in a potential redundancy situation, where a fixed-term contract is ending, or for occupational health reasons.
where a post is externally funded and an individual is specifically named in the supporting grant/funding agreement.
where posts may offer career advancement opportunities or are fixed term and may be appropriate for secondment.

All posts will be advertised on the College recruitment website and on jobs.ac.uk, for which the cost will be funded from a central budget held in Human Resources (HR). HR can place an advert elsewhere, but the vacancies must then be advertised via the College’s advertising agency and will be funded by the recruiting Department/Faculty.

The advertising period will normally include a minimum of two weekends between the date the advert is placed and the closing date, to enable candidates to prepare an application.

Information for candidates

All adverts will contain a link to a job description and person specification, and a job information pack, produced in a standard electronic format, containing information about key terms and conditions of employment and any benefits of working at the College.

Stage 3: Selection

Application process

All advertisements will include a direct link that a candidate needs to follow to apply for the position online. Applications outside of this process may be made as part of a reasonable adjustment for a disability but will be entered onto the recruitment system by HR

When an agency/executive search company is used, HR will start an application on the recruitment portal to collect the protected characteristics of all applicants.

All applicants will need to declare that they have the right to live and work in the UK on their application and identify the documentation they will use to evidence this right. Failure to do this will mean the application cannot be progressed.

When specified on the recruitment details form that the recruiting manager wishes to offer visa sponsorship, the applicants will not be required to state their right to work as we will apply for Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) to the Home Office directly.

Speculative applications will not be considered.

Shortlisting

Shortlisting will be undertaken by more than one person and normally this will be the interview panel. Where the interviews are held face to face/in person the Panel chair is required to have completed the training on right to work checks and will be able to verify that the right to work evidence identified on the application is acceptable.

Candidates will be assessed against the essential criteria on the person specification using a numerical scoring system. Once the panel has reached a consensus on the score for each criterion taken from the person specification, the panel chair or their nominee will enter the agreed score onto the recruitment portal. Guidance on how to use the portal is available to the panel.

Other methods to support shortlisting, such as psychometric tests may be used.

The College guarantees to interview all disabled applicants, provided they have declared a disability, meet all the essential criteria for the job, and opt-in to this arrangement, subject to any limits on the overall number of interviews.

If multiple applicants receive the same overall score, only those who have met or exceeded every individual criterion from the person specification will be considered.

Where an application is not shortlisted, the recruiting manager must set out the reasons on the recruitment portal, against the candidate’s numerical score, before confirming the shortlisted applicants.

Following the completion of the shortlisting process, if a particular protected characteristic has previously been identified as underrepresented in the Faculty/Department, the panel chair may choose to conduct a review of the applicant pool. This review is intended to ensure that no candidates possessing the underrepresented characteristic - who met all essential criteria outlined in the person specification - were inadvertently excluded from the shortlist.

If such candidates are identified, the panel will need to reconsider the scores against all criterion.

Selection panel

The selection process will be undertaken by the panel in an objective, impartial and consistent manner. When composing a panel, consideration will be given to its diversity. The College will always seek to have a panel that is diverse in terms of a range of protected characteristics. Single gender panels are not permitted.

No-one may sit on a College recruitment panel without first having completed the relevant recruitment and selection training modules in Moodle. To ensure a fair and non-discriminatory selection process, all panel members should familiarise themselves with, and follow, the good practice points set out in the College guidance document Equality and Diversity Considerations in Staff Recruitment and Selection.

Application information must not be shared beyond the selection panel for any post, including academic appointments.

Interview and other selection activities

For posts where the interview date has previously been published there will normally be a minimum of one week between the date of the invitation and the interview to enable candidates to prepare.

Wherever possible interviews should be in person, in this instance shortlisted applicants may be asked to provide the right to work evidence identified on their application before the interview. The panel chair, or nominee will then carry out a physical check to verify the evidence is acceptable and that it is what was provided at the application stage.

If the applicant does not bring the correct documentation to their interview, the interview can continue, but it should be made clear to the applicant that, if they are successful, they must show the correct documentation to the panel chair, or nominee before a verbal offer can be made.

Where interviews are help online, via MS Teams, the successful candidate will be asked to provide the right to work evidence identified on their application prior to starting work for the Line Manager or nominee will need to carry out the right to work check.

The selection methods used will relate to job requirements, and all selection decisions will be based on objective criteria. Once the panel has reached a consensus on the score for each criterion taken from the person specification, the panel chair or their nominee will enter the agreed score onto the recruitment portal.

In cases where the panel cannot reach a consensus, the chair will have the final responsibility for determining the score for each criterion.

Each candidate must be invited to undergo the same assessments, and the panel must remain consistent across each element of candidate assessment. Where applicants have requested reasonable adjustments to the process to accommodate a disability, any adaptation may be applied to all applicants i.e. pre-sharing of interview questions to all shortlisted candidates.

Stage 4: Appointment and preparation for commencement in post

Appointment and feedback

The recruiting manager will issue a verbal conditional offer of employment to the successful applicant, which will be followed by a formal offer in writing, subject to evidence of right to work in the UK, receipt of satisfactory references, and any other requirements relevant to the job (e.g. DBS check).

The recruiting manager will ensure that unsuccessful candidates are informed either verbally or by email promptly following the selection decision. Feedback to unsuccessful interviewed candidates will be available on written request to the panel chair. The feedback will be restricted to how the candidate did, or did not, meet the criteria for the post through their performance at interview and through other selection processes. The feedback will be objective and comparative statements, such as how the candidate performed compared to another candidate, will be avoided.

When there is a good pool of applicants for a post, there may be several appointable candidates i.e. candidates who are good enough to do the job but who were not the top scoring person on the day. Such candidates may be informed that, although they were unsuccessful, they were appointable and asked if they would like the College to keep their names and contact details on file to be approached regarding this post, or any similar posts that become available within the next six months. They should only be approached if the posts are very similar, and only within a six-month period, after which their details must be deleted.

Pre-employment screening checks including Right to Work check

The new starter cannot commence work until their right to work has been checked and verified.

References

Written references for candidates for academic posts are obtained prior to interview. Written references for candidates for all other posts are obtained after interview and a verbal conditional offer of employment, but prior to a formal offer in writing. The formal offer states that it is subject to evidence of right to work in the UK, receipt of satisfactory references, and any other requirements relevant to the job (e.g. DBS check).

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Executive Dean, Director of Operations or Director of Professional Services Department:

Evaluate the need for the post(s) in the context of the Faculty or Professional Services Department staffing plan and budget.
Ensure the competence of all nominees who make recruitment decisions within the Faculty or Professional Services department.
Ensure that the right to work checks are carried out by the Chair of the interview panel or nominated member of the faculty or department for all successful applicants before they start work.

Recruiting Manager:

Complete the College recruitment and selection training, and right to work training.
Determine whether the vacancy is a direct replacement, whether the role needs to be revised, or whether a new post is required.
Ensure that all new and revised posts are formally graded before they are advertised and that formal authorisation to recruit has been approved.
Prepare the job description and person specification, complete the recruitment details form, and discuss with the HR Business Partnering team.
Enter data into the recruitment portal, score, proceed and reject candidates, create interview schedule.
Ensure that unsuccessful candidates are informed either verbally or by email promptly following the selection decision via the recruitment portal.

Chair of shortlisting/selection panel:

Complete the College recruitment and selection training, and right to work training.
Ensure the applicants have confirmed how they will evidence their right to work and live in the UK and follow the guidance to validate they have the right to ork and retain the necessary copies of documentation prior to interview.
Consider applications and reach a consensus on a shortlist of candidates for interview. Keep a written record of all shortlisting and interview decisions.
Make a verbal offer of employment.
Provide written feedback to unsuccessful shortlisted candidates, if requested.
Destroy the right to work evidence provided at interview for all unsuccessful applicants.

Panel members:

Complete the College recruitment and selection training, and right to work training.
Consider applications to assist in shortlisting of candidates.
Interview shortlisted candidates.

Human Resources:

Provide professional advice on all areas of recruitment and selection of staff.
Place job adverts.
Carry out pre-employment checks, such as references and DBS where required.
Issue written offers of appointment and contracts of employment.
Follow the appropriate data protection rules for retention of data relating to unsuccessful job applications.
Monitor and review the recruitment process and supporting policies and guidance to ensure they remain fit for purpose and legally compliant.
Provide training on recruitment and selection.

Job design pack (including guidance on workforce planning)

Template job description and person specification

Approval to recruit (Job authorisation) form

Job evaluation policy

Market Supplement Policy

Data protection policy and Privacy notices

Code of Conduct for managing conflicts of interest

Relationships at work policy - Birkbeck, University of London

Equality and diversity considerations in recruitment and selection

Guidance on disability considerations in recruitment and selection

Guidance on using Hireserve

Staff disability code of practice and guidance