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Appointment By Invitation Policy

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Section 1 - Purpose and Context

(1) This policy should be considered alongside the Recruitment and Selection Policy which outlines the University's commitment to selection on merit of new staff and the High Performance Recognition Policy.

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Section 2 - Definitions

(2) Nil.

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Section 3 - Policy Statement

(3) The University's objective is to ensure a professional, fair and ethical approach to recruitment that matches the skills, expertise and experience of an individual to the requirements of the operating unit of the University and the University's strategic priorities. This approach should also provide for the flexibility and responsiveness necessary to ensure that certain fixed-term, strategic priority positions can be filled quickly.

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Section 4 - Procedures

Principles and Procedure

(4) Merit is the overriding criterion and must be established by peer review and other forms of assessment of the qualifications, expertise and achievements of the individual.

(5) The procedures in this policy can be utilised where the proposed appointment is required to be made in:

(6) a. A short time frame to meet operational needs;

b. A confidential way for senior appointments where the services of an Executive Placement service have been utilised to fill strategic University positions; or
c. Other exceptional circumstances with the approval of the Board of Trustees Remuneration and Nominations Committee.

(7) The position to be offered under this Policy can be either ongoing or fixed-term depending on the priorities of the School/Divisional Unit.

(8) Where the appointment under consideration is an Identified Indigenous position or is to be extended to a person who identifies as an Indigenous Australian, the Director, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment and Engagement must be notified prior to an offer being made.

(9) In certain situations, it may be in the University's interest to offer an available position in an operational area to an agency employee who has clearly been able to demonstrate exceptional occupational skills during the term of their placement. In these cases the circumstances outlined in Section 5 - Guidelines will apply.

(10) A case outlining the circumstances on which the proposed appointment is based, any conditions that might apply to the proposed appointee and a claim for the position by the individual concerned (including CV and references) will be provided to a Selection Panel, or to the Remuneration and Nominations Committee in exceptional circumstances.

(11) The panel will be approved by the School Dean or Deputy Vice-Chancellor who will make a recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor and President.

(12) The nominator of the individual and the members of the panel should not have a direct professional involvement with the individual. It is recognised that in circumstances where the individual concerned has been working under the operational direction of the nominator, he/she is best placed to provide the case for placement under this Policy. All conflicts of interest must be declared in the written case submitted for consideration by the Selection Panel before it considers the proposal to appoint the individual and any subsequent recommendation it might make to the Vice-Chancellor and President.

(13) The nominator will seek reports on the individual's experience and capabilities from no less than three relevant referees or assessors.

(14) On the basis of the panel's report and the reports of appropriate assessors or referees the Vice-Chancellor and President will consider the recommendation for an invitation to be made to the individual.

(15) The decision of the Vice-Chancellor and President will be provided to the School or Division and the Office of People and Culture for implementation.

(16) In circumstances where an academic staff member has been offered a professorship (Level E) at another university through a merit-based recruitment process, the Dean may recommend to the Vice-Chancellor and President the offer of a fixed-term appointment of up to five years as a Professorial Fellow.

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Section 5 - Guidelines

(17) Consideration of a proposal to offer an invitation to appoint an individual currently on temporary limited fixed term agency placement to an operational area within the University will only occur where the following circumstances apply:

(18) a. The agency employee was initially engaged following the completion of an unsuccessful University competitive selection process.

b. The agency employee must be currently engaged by the operational area and have been engaged in the same substantive position in the operational area on a regular and systematic basis over the immediately preceding 12 months or such other time as deemed appropriate by the Vice-Chancellor and President, a Deputy Vice-Chancellor or a Dean given the circumstances.
c. The nominator must be able to clearly demonstrate that the agency employee has performed and continues to perform in the position at an exceptional skill level during the term of their temporary agency placement.
d. The operational area has determined that ongoing work involving the same duties is available for the individual.
e. The budget for the operational area concerned is able to meet the placement fee which the Employment Agency is entitled to charge should the agency employee be offered appointment to the University's staff.