Position Management
The University is committed to providing accurate data and information regarding positions to enable effective workforce reporting and planning.
Position management refers to the relationship between the organisational structure, job family category, position data, position description and employees with all their associated characteristics. It incorporates the process of how positions are created and maintained within the University of Adelaide.
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Position management
Position management is undertaken in the PeopleSoft HR system which separates the concept of a ‘position’ from that of a ‘job’ and a person in that ‘job’. Position management determines the associated attributes of a role, such as job title, FTE, classification level, job family category and reporting relationships.
Approval for a new position is part of the planning stage of recruitment although amendments can be made at any time a position needs to be changed in line with the Position Management Guidelines. Position Management is a distinct and different process to recruitment and requires a different set of approvals. An approved position must be in place in order to commence a recruitment process.
Hiring Coordinator guides:
- Access to position data - PeopleSoft
- Position creation and amendment decision matrix
- Position management guidelines
- Position approval workflow
- Request to create a new position
- Request to amend existing position
- Academic research-only position titles nomenclature
Approver guides:
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Job family
The Job Family category helps to group jobs by the nature of the work, rather than by the organisational structure. A job family is a category of positions that involve work in the same functional occupation and have related core knowledge and background requirements.
Each professional position is allocated to a job family and any amendments to that position which have a budgetary impact must be approved by the functional owner. Any new professional positions created within a job family must be approved by the functional owner.
Hiring Coordinator and approver guides:
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Position description
Position descriptions outline the objectives, responsibilities and outcomes, capabilities and behaviours for a professional position, and the knowledge and experience required to successfully perform the role. The Position Description (PD) Library provides access to all approved position descriptions across the University. It is administered through our recruitment system (PageUp).
Benefits of the Position Description Library include:
- Ability to search by position number and title and filter by Faculty/Division/School/Branch
- View the most up to date position description for any professional position
- Reduce time to hire overall by removing the PD Evaluation Step from recruitment process
- Sharing of approved position descriptions across the University, improving overall quality and consistency.
The PD approval process is completed in the planning stage of recruitment or at any time you need to make changes to a position description and is independent from the recruitment process. If an approved PD is already in the PD Library then you can proceed directly to recruitment.
If you are a Hiring Co-ordinator you will be able to access the Position Description Library via PageUp
For more information about position descriptions including the capability dictionary, position description guide and template please visit Position Descriptions for Professional Staff.Hiring Coordinator guides:
- Create a new position description
- Amend existing position description
- Search for existing position description
- Copy an existing position description
Approver guides:
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Change in reporting lines
Change in reporting lines can only be requested by a Hiring Coordinator.
- If you need to change the reporting line for 20 or less staff (fixed term or continuing) then use the HR eForm.
- If you need to change the reporting line for more than 20 staff (fixed term or continuing), email the HR Service Centre and provide details of the School/Department the changes are for. They will export the appropriate data and send you the file to update and return so the mass updates can be processed.
- If you need to change reporting lines for titleholders email the HR Service Centre and provide details of the School/Department the change are for.
Frequently asked questions
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How do I request, and what information do I need, to get a new position number?
Hiring Coordinators can request a new position number in the PeopleSoft HR system.
The Hiring Coordinator needs to liaise with the Hiring Manager and Finance Manger to ensure appropriate budget allocation has been made before creating a new position.
The following information will be required to create a new position:
- Funding Type
- Position Title
- Classification
- Employment Type
- Department
- Reports to Position #
- Weekly Hours
- Job Family (professional position only)
- Prescribed Position (i.e. requires a working with children check)
- National Police Clearance required
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How do I find all position numbers within my department?
Depending on your level of access to HR Systems, position numbers can be found:
- By accessing PeopleSoft HR system
- Via the PageUp Position Description Library (note this may not include every position for your area)
- HR Workforce Analytics Dashboard drill throughs
- A report request to HR Reporting
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How do I find the funding type for a position?
The Fund code indicates where the position funds are sourced from. Please refer to the Finance Chart of Accounts - Fund spreadsheet or contact Faculty/Division Finance Manager for the fund source of a position.
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What should I consider when creating a position title?
For research only academic positions please refer to Academic Research-Only Position Titles nomenclature
For non-research academic positions, one of the following titles need to be assigned to the position:
- Professor
- Associate Prof/Reader
- Senior Lecturer
- Lecturer
- Associate Lecturer
- Demonstrator/Instructor
- Scholarly Teaching Fellow A
- Scholarly Teaching Fellow B
Failure to align to the above naming conventions will result in potential delays of recruitment and/or contract generation processes.
For professional positions, position titles should reflect the major function of the role. Ensure that the position title is relevant and descriptive in which the professional staff member specialises in.
Limited positions
Dean – this title is limited to specific academic leadership roles. The word ’Dean’ is reserved for Executive Dean, Deputy Dean and Campus Deans, and where the use of ’Dean’ is in line with industry standards – for e.g. Dean of Business, Dean of Indigenous Research and Education Strategy.
Director or Chancellor titles are also reserved and may only be approved by the Executive Dean or Executive Director, HR or nominee. -
How does the new position approval workflow apply?
Please view the Position Creation and Amendment Approval Workflow. It is possible that the approval process will vary depending on your departmental business process.
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Will positions ever get deleted or deactivated?
Positions will not be deleted in order to maintain a historic record.
From 2020, on an annual basis, ahead of priming of the Salary Management Model for the annual budget planning cycle, vacant positions will be inactivated if they meet the following criteria:
- Professional staff positions vacant for 9 months or more
- Academic staff positions vacant for 24 months or more
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How can I withdraw a position request?
If a position is incorrectly created and approved, please contact the HR Service Centre to withdraw the request and delete data in the system.
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What type of positions require a Job Family catergory?
All professional positions.
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Are there guidelines on identifying a Job Family category?
The job family definition guide will assist in determining the correct job family for the position being requested.
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What is the Job Family functional head's responsibility?
- Controlling headcount growth for the functional area, by ensuring that any additional position being added to the headcount has been clearly justified.
- Ensuring the existing service model for the function is maintained and remains effective.
- Reviewing the position title and classification level proposed for the new position to ensure that these are appropriate and in line with other similar positions across the function.