Promotion to Senior Lecturer and conferment of the Title of Reader or Professor

Department of Life Sciences Academic Promotions 2018

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 Heads of Department, Jake Baum, Bernadette Byrne, Alain Filloux, Mark Isalan, Armand Leroi, Gloria Rudenko, Michael Stumpf, Bill Wisden

 Promotion to Senior Lecturer and Reader:

Head of Department (Chair), Deputy Heads of Department, Director Undergraduate Studies (DUGS), Director Postgraduate Studies (DPS), Martin Bidartondo, Kurt Drickamer, Cristina Lo Celso, Karen Polizzi (elected representative)

Line Managers should prepare a report that highlights the achievements and promotion potential of each of their staff and the report should be presented to the appropriate departmental Review Panel, together with any proposals for promotion or conferment of title.

Important Dates 2017-18

2nd October – Memorandum (email) from the HoD sent to all Academic and Level C/D Research Staff regarding details of the Academic Promotions procedure and timeframe, including relevant links for further information.

By 16th October – all non-Professorial academic staff should submit their CVs (instructions on content and format are included in the 2nd October memorandum) to their Line Manager and Geetika Masters (even if not actively seeking promotion). Line Managers should submit a report of each of their staff to Geetika Masters by 30^th October. 

Mid-November (20^th & 21^st November) – Departmental panels will meet to identify candidates to be put forward by the Department.

Candidates to be put forward for promotion by the Department will be advised soon after the departmental panels meet.

By 27th November - staff intending to make a personal application for promotion should inform the Head of Department by letter of their intention, and should indicate the promotion they are seeking.

By 12pm on 27th November – all candidates for promotion (whether put forward by the Department or self-applicants) should submit an application form to Geetika Masters. 

By 1^st December 2017 – department to submit paperwork to the Faculty of Natural Sciences. 

By 18 January 2018 - applicants submit the following to HR:

Copies of teaching evaluation questionnaires (SOLE/MOLE) – (provide the summary pages, not the detailed report if more than 5 pages per report. Large numbers of teaching evaluation pages will not be forwarded to the Panel); 

• Four publications – These will be recent publications which have had the greatest impact since the previous promotion or since appointment at the College, and that show what has been achieved in the interim. Publications prior to appointment at the College or used to support a previous application for successful promotion will not be considered.
• A summary of the importance and originality of the selected publications. 
• A statement from the Director of Undergraduate Studies will provide a statement outlining the teaching responsibilities and capability.

April – early May 2018 – candidates for Reader and Professor will be interviewed, invitations sent by HR.

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 and criteria, and ensure you are familiar with all the Appendices and Guidance Notes. 

All required documentation can be accessed here.

Staff may wish to discuss the process informally with their Line Manager, the Head of Department or Stephen Curry, the Chair of the Equal Opportunities Committee, who can provide informal guidance and advice. 

Research and Support Staff 

The Autumn Job Level Review 2017 has now closed.

For more info, please read the Job Level Review Procedure for detailed guidelines on how to make an application in 2018.

The procedure covers the following staff groups: Professional, Learning and Teaching, Technical and Operational Services Families (up to and including Level 6) and 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 job size - a review should not  be used as a reward for good performance for which a separate mechanism exists (Performance Payments – 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

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

1. Signature (of candidate, HoD, FOO, Line Manager )
2. Boxes not ticked  to indicate if application is personal, supported by line manager, supported by department  
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. 

Application Form - Job Level Review

The Faculty of Natural Sciences will be undertaking a Pay Relativity and Equal Pay Exercise in June 2018.

Recommendations for pay awards will be determined against 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

The review will encompass all staff in the Faculty 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. 

Recommendations will be made by Heads of Department for pay increases or one-off payments to the Faculty Panel, comprising the Dean of Faculty (Chair), Faculty Operations Officer and Senior HR Manager.  The Director of HR and the Associate Provost (Institutional Affairs) will review and authorise the final submissions before implementation. 

Academic Staff Promotions

Formal Advice & Information (Human Resources): 

• Anna Demetriades, Promotions and Senior Appointments Manager 
• Matt Jowett, Promotions and Senior Appointments Administrator 

Informal Guidance & Advice (Department):

• Line Manager 
• Professor Anne Dell, Head of Department 
• Professor Pietro Spanu, Chair of Equality Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Research and Support Staff Promotions 

• Line Manager 
• Ms Pat Evans, Departmental Operations Manager (Support Staff)
• Ms Allison Hunter, Technical Operations Manager (Technical Staff)