Matching and recruitment for SEP cohort 3*

12 Oct 2022

Dr Simon Merrywest, Director for the Student Experience, gives an update

I thank colleagues for their patience in what continues to be an unsettling time for some. Over the summer we have been working closely with Grade 5 staff in cohort 3 (around 150 people) to match and assign them all to roles. This has now been completed.

At the same time, Grades 2-4 staff received confirmation of their roles, with details of their specific assignment and location to follow. We thank everyone for their patience and can now confirm that all Grade 2-4 staff (around 300 people) will be advised of their assignment by 21 October 2022. This means, for example, a colleague matched to a job as a TLSE Administrator may now be advised that they have been assigned to Assessment and Progression.

Next steps and recruiting to vacancies

It has always been the case that there are more roles available than current staff in these areas at Grade 3 and Grade 4. We expect to advertise around 70 vacancies, giving existing colleagues access to career opportunities. We have already advertised 50 Grade 5 vacancies.

Once the assignment matching is complete for Grades 2-4, we will invite internal expressions of interest for vacant roles from 24-31 October 2022.

We are acutely aware that the current level of vacancies is causing workload pressures and we are doing all we can to fill resource gaps as quickly as possible. To try and address this issue, we will bring forward external advertising.

Recruitment adverts will be live from 12 October – 4 November 2022. These will advertise generic roles where we know there will be vacancies, not specific assignments. We will run assessment centres for internal and external candidates, with existing colleagues prioritised to ensure opportunities are offered to them ahead of any external appointments.

We hope to have all recruitment complete by the end of November, with new roles to start from 1 January 2023.

We know colleagues are keen to know where they will be based, and we aim to confirm this by early December. Once all internal and external recruitment has concluded we will advise Grades 2-4 colleagues on the location of their assignment. This will allow us to place colleagues in the right locations to minimise workload pressure – for example by making sure that residual vacancies are not concentrated in one area. This follows the SEP principle of having an agile workforce.

Moving to the new structures

Ahead of colleagues moving into the new structure, we will assess any training needs and put in place induction plans. This will ensure that everyone is supported to succeed in their roles.

If you have any further questions, please speak to your line manager in the first instance or email studentexperienceprogramme@manchester.ac.uk.

Simon Merrywest

Director for the Student Experience

* Cohort 3 includes colleagues at grades 3-7 in the International Programmes Office, and at grades 2-5 in: Teaching, Learning and Student Experience teams in Schools and Faculties; DSE Student and Academic Services; DSE Campus Life; and PGR teams within Schools, Faculties and the central Directorate for Research and Business Engagement.