Promotion

Academic Promotion

Promotion to Clinical/non-clinical Senior Lecturer and conferment of the Title of Reader or Professor
Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction Academic Promotions 2018/9

Procedure
All proposals in the Department (whether by departmental recommendation or self-application) will be considered by the following panels:

Promotion to Professor:

Head of Department (Chair), Deputy Head of Department, Heads of Divisions (or nominees), Director of Education Strategy and Quality, Director of Postgraduate Studies (DPS), and all Departmental Professors who are available on the date of the Departmental Review Panel.

Promotion to Senior Lecturer and Reader:

Head of Department (Chair), Deputy Head of Department, Heads of Divisions (or nominees), Director of Education Strategy and Quality, Director of Postgraduate Studies (DPS), and the Departmental Professors who is available on the date of the Departmental Review Panel, a selection of non-professorial Academics in the Department.

PANEL MEETINGS

In advance of the panel meeting, all Heads of Division will receive a list of staff eligible to apply for promotion. At the Panel meeting Heads of Divisions are requested to review and recommend all staff eligible for promotion whether they have applied for promotion or not

Applications are reviewed; Heads of Divisions (or sometimes an alternative Academic supporter) presents the candidate’s application to the panel, highlighting the achievements and promotion potential to enable the panel to make a decision, as to whether the application will be departmentally supported.

The Departmental Review panel provides each supported candidate with names of two Professors to provide guidance and advice to candidates regarding their promotion and to be responsible for advising the Head of Department on the selection of Departmental referees.

Decisions – In consultation with the Faculty Deans and Heads of Department, applicants will be informed as soon as possible after a final decision has been made.

Please refer to the Academic Promotions webpages for all information relating to the process, forms and criteria, and ensure you are familiar with all the Appendices and Guidance Notes. 

Staff may wish to discuss the process informally with their Line Manager, Head of Division or Head of Department, who can provide informal guidance and advice. 

Research and Support Staff (JLR)

Job Level Review for Research and Support Staff 

For College guidance please read the Job Level Review Procedure for detailed guidelines.  Please see the Faculty and Departmental timetable below which occurs BEFORE the College Submission date.  Please do not submit applications directly to the College without it first being processed through the Faculty and Department timetable.  

Job Level Review Exercise occurs three times per year:

  • Spring - April
  • Summer - August
  • Autumn - November

The procedure covers the following staff groups:

  • Professional Services Family (up to and including Level 6)
  • Technical and Operational Services Families (up to and including Level 6)
  • Research staff in the Academic and Research Family (applications to Level B – Research Associate and to Level C – Research Fellow).
  • It also applies to staff who have remained on the previous comparable grades e.g. ALC, CRA, Technical, Research. If the reviews are successful for any of these latter staff, they will join the appropriate job family on new terms and conditions.

Important to note:  

  • A request for a job level review should only be made when there has been a genuine increase in responsibility - a review should not be used as a reward for work on a short term project or for good performance  - a separate mechanism exists to recognise and reward staff (Pay Relativity – to recommend additional increments/bonuses)
  • All staff must have an equal opportunity to be considered for job level review and recommendations from Line Managers must be free from bias in relation to age, ethnic origin, gender, disability, religious belief, sexual orientation, or bias on any other grounds. Part-time staff, and staff on fixed-term contracts, must also receive equal treatment. HoDs and Faculty Operating Officers are also involved in the procedural process and they are required to adhere strictly to the principles of equal opportunity and equal treatment
  • Normally, when an application for a job level re-grading has been unsuccessful, applicants should wait a full year before re-applying for a further review.  During this period, the role may possibly grow, but it is unlikely to do so in a matter of months
  • Only job descriptions that are agreed by all parties, i.e. the individual, the line manager and the HoD, should proceed for job evaluation

Preparation of your Application

Departmental Review Panel comprises of: Departmental Manager; Departmental Staffing & Business Support Manager; Senior Academic; HR Advisor.

Faculty Review Panel comprises of: Vice Dean, Faculty Operating Officer, Senior Human Resources Manager.

College Review Panel comprises of: Deputy Director of HR, Promotions & Senior Academic Appointments Manager, Trade Union Representatives and a number of staff representatives across the college, trained in HAY evaluation.

Candidates before submission should give the Divisional Managers at least 5 days before the Departmental submission date to review applications and obtain the relevant financial approvals from JRO.

Divisional Managers:

The Department will seek financial Approval if recurrent funded.

The following documentation is required:

  1. Job Description – current job description and person specification for the post; the details of the job description should be agreed with the current post-holder; the job description and person specification should follow the format shown in the job Review Application form. N.B applications for review of research posts should also include an up-to-date CV with details of publications/research activity.
  2. Organisational Chart – an organisational chart for the section which shows the hierarchy of posts above and below the post in question, which itself, should be highlighted.
  3. Supporting Case – a supporting case (i.e. should be anonymous) is completed by the Line Manager; the case should follow the format shown in the Job Review Application form and should be on a separate page.
  4. Job Review Application Form – a completed job review application form signed by the Line Manager (or post holder if a personal application), if the post is research funded signed and stamped by the JRO.  (i.e. The Department will seek the HoD’s signature).

Applications submitted must have all the necessary paperwork and signatures (actual signatures, not typed names on the form) and stamps.  Applications received by the Department that have any of the above information missing will be returned to the applicant/Divisional Manager as Faculty will not consider incomplete applications.

Please be aware of the following paragraph from the College guidelines on Job Level Reviews: Normally, when an application for a job level re-grading has been unsuccessful, applicants should wait a full year before re-applying for a further review allowing time to demonstrate that the role has grown sufficiently to support a further application.

Please ensure that applications are complete. The most commonly omitted information is: 

  1. Signature (of candidate, Line Manager)
  2. Boxes not ticked to indicate if application is personal, supported by line manager
  3. Research Services stamps and funding codes (if applicable)   
  4. Spine point. Promoted staff will be placed on the lowest spine point of the new level. Where a person is already at, or above the minimum level, then 1 increment will be given. 
Pay Relativity and Equal Pay

The Faculty of Medicine will be undertaking a Pay Relativity and Equal Pay Exercise in 2018.

Recommendations for pay awards will be determined against one of the following criteria:

  • To address a significant misalignment of a member of staff’s salary when compared to others who have a similar role size and profile
  • To aid retention of staff, based on external benchmark data
  • To address equal pay differentials
  • To recognise substantial and sustained exceptional individual contribution beyond the expectations of excellent performance in the role
  • To recognise substantial and exception one-off individual contribution beyond the expectations of excellent performance in the role.

The review will encompass all staff in the Faculty of Medicine and, as the review will mainly address permanent growth in roles or academic profile, recommendations are expected to be in the form of consolidated pay rises, rather than one-off payments for those staff on fixed salaries.  Where the recommendation is for a time-limited exceptional contribution then a one-off payment may be utilised.

For staff on incremental pay scales (Levels A-C and 1-5), it is anticipated that recommendations for the award of one-off non-pensionable payments, rather than accelerated incremental progression, will be appropriate in the majority of cases unless the activity has resulted in a permanent increase in responsibility. For non-academic roles, where there has been a permanent and significant growth in level of responsibility, a job level review may be more appropriate.

In addition to benchmark data of average salaries per grade for the Faculty and College, equal pay data will also inform the review. 

Timetable

Date – staff are informed directly by the Faculty of Medicine

Date – Head of Department sends out additional notification outlining the Departmental process

Date – Deadline date for applicants/line managers to submit a brief, but robust rationale (200 words) set against one of the criteria (above)

For non-academic roles, where there has been a permanent and significant growth in level of responsibility, a job level review may be more appropriate.  Information about the next Job Level Review can be found here (link to new JLR page), but please contact Karen Pontifex if you require further information.

Date – Departmental Review Panel meets consisting of the Head of Department, Head of Divisions, Chair of the People & Culture Committee and Departmental Manager.

Date – Department to submit recommendations to Faculty of Medicine for onward submission to the Faculty Review Panel consisting of the Dean of Faculty (Chair), Faculty Operations Officer and Head of Faculty HR Operations.  The Director of HR and the Provost will review and authorise the final submissions before implementation.

The Department will be notified of the outcomes as soon as possible thereafter likely early July, payment will be made in July 2018

Advice and Guidance

ACADEMIC STAFF PROMOTIONS

Formal Advice and Information (Human Resources): 

Informal Guidance and Advice (Department):

  • Line Managers 
  • Head of Department 
  • Heads of Divisions and Supporters

 RESEARCH AND SUPPORT STAFF PROMOTIONS