Conducting a Spousal/Partner No-Search Hire

Steps in Conducting a Spousal/Partner Hire

NOTE: Starred (*) items indicate required steps.

Each administrative unit establishes its own authorization process to fill a vacancy or create a new position. Check with your supervising administrative unit for instructions on how to gain approval to pursue this type of no search hire. All consultations and approvals (including #8 and #9 below) should be obtained before an offer is made. Any offer discussed prior to those approvals must be expressly contingent on obtaining approval.

1. *Consult with Unit Equal Opportunity & Affirmative Action (EOAA) Liaison

   Hiring authorities are required to consult with their unit EOAA Liaison when considering the possibility of making a Spousal/Partner hire. Unless the dean or unit administrator decides differently, such consultation does not require approval by the unit EOAA Liaison.

2. *Consult with Unit Human Resources Staff

   Hiring authorities are required to consult with their unit HR staff when considering the possibility of making a Spousal/Partner hire. Unless the dean or unit administrator decides differently, such consultation does not require approval by the HR consultant. If the unit does not have unit HR staff, the central HR consultant who serves the unit may perform this role.

3. *Prepare Position Description

   A position description must be completed for all Spousal/Partner hires. This should include a description of the major functions and responsibilities of the position. For appointments with more than one position (e.g., department director plus tenured faculty), information about all positions should be included (see the Full Position Description and Essential Qualifications and Preferred Qualifications sections in Appendix G: Documentation for Recruiting and Appointing Academic Personnel)

   .

4. Consult With Advisory Groups and Individuals (optional).

   Unit administrators may find it advisable to consult widely before proceeding with a Spousal/Partner hire. Such consultation will help ensure a positive hiring decision.

5. *Prepare Documentation

   Spousal/Partner Hires are initiated by creating a requisition using the University of Minnesota Employment System. For additional guidelines, refer to the checklist at the end of these procedures.

6. *Recommend Appointment with Tenure

   If the appointment involves the conferral of tenure, University and collegiate policies require that the appointment may only be made at the rank of associate professor or professor. The candidate is to have credentials that meet the criteria for appointment at the proposed rank as demonstrated by a written record comparable to that developed in an open search. Such appointments may be made only after receiving the recommendation of the regular faculty holding indefinite tenure in the academic unit concerned. If receiving a timely recommendation of the regular faculty is not possible, the appointment may only be offered with the condition that it is contingent upon a positive recommendation by the regular faculty of the academic unit.

7. *Obtain Approval For Appointment with Tenure

   For tenured faculty positions, the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost must review the credentials of the proposed candidate and provide approval to the dean or administrative unit head before the hire can be made.

8. *Recommend Continuous Appointment

   If the proposed hire is for an academic professional with a continuous appointment, the candidate is to have credentials that meet the position criteria for a continuous appointment as demonstrated by a written record comparable to that developed in an open search. Such appointments may be made only after receiving recommendation of the college or administrative unit's review committee and the University's continuous appointment review committee. If receiving a timely recommendation is not possible, the appointment may only be offered with the condition that it is contingent upon a positive recommendation.

9. *Obtain Approval of Dean/Administrative Unit Head

   Approval by the appropriate unit administrator(s) is required before extending an offer. Establishing parameters for academic staffing decisions is the responsibility of the senior administrator of each unit. The President, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Senior Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Chancellors are responsible for defining required approval procedures for units within their administrative areas. For colleges, it is the dean, in consultation with the senior administrator to whom the dean reports, who is responsible for defining required approval procedures for departments and units within their colleges.

10. *Obtain Final Approval to Make Offer

    After approval by appropriate college or unit administrators, send the entire file to the Office of the Vice President of Human Resources, 120 Morrill Hall. The Office of Human Resources will route for appropriate final approvals.

    Approvals Required

    1. In the case of tenured or tenure-track faculty appointments or academic professional continuous appointments, final approval will be granted by the Vice President of Human Resources, the Director of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, and the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.
    2. In the case of all other academic appointments, with the exception of senior administrator, final approval is granted by the Vice President of Human Resources and the Director of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action.

Following the conclusion of the process, the entire file will be sent to the hiring department for retention.

Checklist of supporting materials to accompany approval request for spousal/partner hire follows:

Checklist of Documentation Needed for Spousal/Partner Hire Requests

The following attachments must be submitted when requesting approval to make a Spousal/Partner No Search Hire:

_____1.	Requisition printed from Employment System
_____2.	Curriculum vitae for proposed spouse/partner hire
_____3.	Full current job description (should be contained in the requisition)
_____4.	Memo from the appropriate senior official (President, Vice President, Provost, Chancellor, or Dean) to the Vice President of HR and the Director of EOAA that includes the following information: _____ Statement of proposed faculty or rank, academic appointment title, appointment type, salary, term, and percentage time of spousal/partner hire. _____ Statement describing the funding arrangements for the proposed hire. _____ Description of how the subject matter or professional expertise of the proposed hire impacts the unit's existing academic priorities and long-range plans. _____ Analysis of credentials supporting appointment in rank. If appointment includes tenure (appointment type P) or a continuous status (appointment type G) in the case of academic professionals, include the results of a vote of tenured faculty or appropriate review committee. If ballot cannot be taken at the time of hire, documentation must indicate that tenured or continuous appointment is contingent on the recommendation to be made a later date. _____ If the proposed hire does not contribute to the elimination of an affirmative action goal, provide description of a convincing pattern of affirmative action in human resources activities of both units.
_____6.	Requisition for primary hire with all the appropriate signatures
_____7.	Current position description for primary hire
_____8.	Curriculum vitae for primary hire
_____9.	Copy of the hiring goals for each department affected by the primary hire and the proposed spousal/partner or retention hire and an explanation of the impact of these hires on the goals
____10.	If this is a 93xx position, the equal opportunity and affirmative action accomplishments of the candidate must be provided