These guidelines are designed to supplement established State, University, and campus policies and procedures governing the recruitment and selection of staff. Specifically, the intent of these guidelines is to clarify the roles to be undertaken by specified Library staff in the recruitment and selection processes so as to ensure timely and correct completion of all steps required by the relevant established policies and procedures.
The Director of the Library is responsible as the authority for departmental compliance with all applicable policies and procedures. Because the procedures are moderately complicated and the consequences are of utmost importance, it is vital that accuracy, completeness, and probity be maintained consistently. To forward this objective, the Business Manager has been assigned principal responsibility for executing or coordinating recruitment and selection procedures in timely and correct fashion. The Business Manager will maintain complete and official records of the recruitment and selection processes in a secure location within the Administrative Offices.
IDENTIFY VACANT POSITION AND INITIATE RECRUITMENT
- Identify vacant position
A staff member or supervisor should immediately notify the Director of the Library and the Business Manager upon learning of an impending resignation or other separation from service which will create a position vacancy. The Business Manager or designee will then work with the separating employee and/or other staff as appropriate to ensure timely and correct completion of the required "Notice of Separation" [see also guideline 619 concerning separation from service.] - Recruitment authority and planning
The Business Manager will review the position in question with the Director and supervising unit head(s) as appropriate. Such review will take into account overall departmental staffing plans and workloads. The Business Manager will bring to such review the most recent position description and/or position requisition/ad, as well as preliminary estimates of anticipated budgetary effects of the vacancy and new hire. Consideration will be given to re-assigning the position, changing duties, etc., and the consequent effects of these determinations on the position description, classification, qualifications, and salary. Decisions will also be taken at this time to proceed immediately to fill or to delay for budgetary or other reason(s). Under certain conditions (e.g., University hiring freezes due to budget constraints) it may be necessary for the Director or designee to seek prior approval in writing from campus officials (Provost and/or others) to initiate recruitment.
a) Requirements and Qualifications
Position requirements must be job related and conform to relevant Equal Employment Opportunity legislation and current policies of UMBC Human Resources. All advertisements and postings are written to convey UMBC's commitment to the goals of Equal Employment Opportunity through wording authorized by Human Relations Programs: "UMBC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer."
b) Application procedures and deadlines
Applications for classified positions must be submitted to the UMBC Dept. of Human Resources using their standard application form(s). The deadline for application is established by that office. Applications for associate staff positions are submitted to the Director of the Library or other staff member designated by the Director. Normally, the minimum interval between publication of the advertisement and the preferred application date is four weeks. The specific date chosen will reflect when the position is to be filled and publication dates, etc. The Library uses ordinarily the wording "Applications received by [date] will be given preference." In practice this has meant that search/screening committee review of applications begins after that date. Applications received after review has begun are considered, but finalists will likely have already been identified and interviews scheduled from those applications received by the preferred date. There is no obligation to give equal consideration to applications received after the preferred date. - Submission of Personnel Requisition and other paperwork
After the position level, requirements, and application dates have been determined, the Director and supervising unit head will revise or create as necessary the following documents for approval by the Director of the Library or designee:- new position description [if necessary]
- personnel requisition
- reclassification papers [if necessary]
- draft distribution posting [for Classified positions - Human Resources will complete and post]
- position advertisement text [for all Associate staff positions and as appropriate for senior Classified positions grade 9 and above]
- "Preliminary Recruitment and Selection Report" with supporting documentation [necessary for Associate Staff recruitment -- see also details below.]
In connection with the preparation of these materials, the supervising unit head may recommend to the Director individuals to serve as the Search/ Screening Committee. Insofar as possible the Director will ensure diversity of committee composition (race, sex, disability, etc.) over time.
- for Associate Staff positions the Search/Screening Committee will ordinarily include the Business Manager, the supervising unit head(s), one or two professionals with related expertise from other units, and a member of the Classified staff. Once named, the Committee is listed on the "Preliminary Recruitment..." form.
- for Classified Staff positions the Search/Screening Committee will ordinarily include the Business Manager, the supervising unit head(s), and one or more Classified or Associate staff with expertise related to the position or from within the unit in which the vacancy has occurred.
The Payroll Preparer or other designated staff member ascertains that all preliminary paperwork is complete accurately, and then forwards paperwork as required by University procedures to the Dept. of Human Resources and Relations. The Director or Search Committee Chair appointed by the Director will notify Search/Screening Committee members of their appointment.
- Recruitment
Upon receipt of approval to proceed from the Dept. of Human Resources and Human Relations, the Business Manager will carry out recruitment measures as previously planned:
(a) For Associate staff positions this is the strategy outlined in the approved "Preliminary Recruitment..." report. Measures ordinarily include:
advertisement in the Chronicle of Higher Education "Bulletin Board" section.
general position posting by Dept. of Human Resources letters to 12-15 ALA accredited library schools of national prominence and/or predominately minority enrollment. [see Appendix A for current list.]
other ads as appropriate (e.g., national library journals such as C & RL or minority caucuses of ALA/ACRL if extended publication lead time permits, or the Baltimore Sunday Sun or Washington Post if budget permits).
(b) For Classified staff, recruitment is through distribution posting done by the Dept. of Human Resources.
Budget permitting, and as appropriate, for senior Classified positions, usually grade 9 and above, an ad approved by Human Resources may be placed. This is also undertaken sometimes in response to a meager pool of initial applicants or by the Dept. of Human Resources if the pool does not include minority and/or female eligibles. Ordinarily such ads will be placed in the Baltimore Sunday Sun or Washington Post, or other local newspapers.
(c) Normally, the Library depends primarily on online postings of positions. This includes posting on the the Library's Employment web page. The Director and LEC periodically reviews the effectiveness of advertising in various publications. - Recruitment Notebook A notebook entitled "Recruitment" is kept in the Director's office and may be consulted by search committees. It contains detailed search procedures, samples of documents and correspondence, and background information.
revised 9/13/10 lw