New Positions

Policy

From time to time, a new function or a new way of performing current functions will require a new position to be developed. In order to avoid unnecessary expansion of headcount and associated costs, Departments and Divisions are expected to carefully analyze current structure and workloads to develop the most efficient and cost effective arrangement of duties and functions before establishing a new position. The Human Resources Department is available for consultation and assistance in departmental re-design. New positions resulting in an increase to headcount will require the approval of the President – see Recruitment and Selection.

Procedure

When a new job is created, the immediate supervisor through his/her department head will complete a New Position Form for division approval and submission to Human Resources. The supervisor may request assistance from the Human Resources Department to review the job responsibilities and write a job description. Human Resources will develop market survey data and/or “rank” the position against surveyed jobs.

Titling

The department head initiating the request will suggest a title that is descriptive of the major functions being performed. The Human Resources Department will manage and control the assignment of titles. Titles and revised titles should denote both function and organizational level in a consistent manner and be approved by the Vice President for Finance & Administration.

Job Description

Most positions can be adequately described on the job description form. The job description should be prepared in narrative form and describe the functions, duties, and responsibilities of the job as concisely as possible, providing a clear, complete picture of the job. The job description should contain simple direct statements and avoid ambiguous terms. The description should be as specific as possible and state the assigned duties and responsibilities precisely, including qualifications and essential duties consistent with ADA requirements, although it should not be assumed to preclude for each position alternative duties as assigned.
Each position description should spell out a supervisory chain of command and specific delegation of authority. Statements should differentiate between direct supervision and advisory or “lead” supervision when appropriate.

Where several positions have substantially the same duties and responsibilities, one job description and one job title may suffice. The description should be general enough to encompass all duties and responsibilities of the various incumbents.

Evaluation Process

Since most positions vary in duties and degrees of responsibility, reliable and appropriate survey matches must be made based on the duties and responsibilities of each position. Consideration of personalities, performance levels or qualifications of specific persons performing or who have performed the work are to be avoided since position classification is concerned only with the position itself. Each position will be reviewed by the Human Resources Department using the market pricing method of job evaluation.

Market competitive data will be gathered for each new job to be classified where there is a good match with survey positions. If there is no good survey data available, research will be performed to locate comparable positions and pay levels. It will be assumed that the data gathered is reflective of competitive pay for qualified employees who fulfill the responsibilities of the position in a satisfactory and fully qualified manner. Once all competitive data is gathered for the new position, it will be averaged. The new position will then be placed in the job band whose midpoint is closest to that competitive average.

A non-benchmark position will be slotted into a band based upon its comparative duties and responsibilities with those benchmark jobs already in the band structure.

Should a supervisor disagree with the classification of a position, the classification will be forwarded to the Vice President for Finance & Administration for further consideration.

Once a position classification has been approved, the position classification and salary range will remain in effect until the duties and responsibilities undergo a sufficient change to warrant reclassification.