Writing a Position Description
Academic Staff
This draft position description has been written to help you quickly put together a position description for an academic staff position. By following the format you will find that, except for local requirements, most elements needed in an academic position description will be covered.
It should be noted that:
- the key responsibilities of the position should be taken from the appropriate level position classification standards in the Personnel Policy and Procedures manual - there is a link to the manual from that section of the PD and
- the selection criteria reflects the academic promotion criteria and must be applied when selecting a candidate - there is a link to the academic promotion criteria from that section of the PD.
The following guidelines may be used for Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor or Associate Professor and Reader positions.
The Position
This involves a general statement of the broad outcomes the Department would expect to see from the incumbent.
Key points to note:
- The appointment must be consistent with the needs and strategic directions of the department/faculty.
- A general statement of the broad outcomes the Department would expect to see from the incumbent should be incorporated in this section. The following is a suggested structure for such statement.
- The appointee is expected to undertake original research and participate actively in teaching at a level commensurate with the appointment.
Examples:
"The appointee will provide academic leadership in................................ This leadership will be manifest by the appointee maintaining an active research program focusing on questions at the forefront of a research area."
"The appointee will contribute to teaching excellence at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The appointee will be involved in course design and in the delivery of high quality teaching in the areas of..."
- (highlight undergraduate areas and postgraduate areas and any postgraduate supervision requirements)
"The appointee will have the following administrative responsibilities:"
- list administrative responsibilities
"The appointee will contribute to the following area/s of research:"
- list areas of research
Selection Criteria
The selection criteria reflect the promotion criteria for each academic level and must be applied when selecting a candidate. It is also important to describe the background sought and the attributes the successful candidate might have.
For appointment to a position at Lecturer level the successful applicant will normally require a demonstrable record of scholarship and professional achievement in the relevant discipline area.
The applicant should have reached a satisfactory level of performance and demonstrated achievement and promise in each of three key criteria - namely, advancement of the discipline, contribution to teaching and service to the University.
General Statement on Selection Criteria
The following statement is rather general. More specific requirements could be added if required.
A person appointed to lecturer will have demonstrated research potential at a high level, presentation abilities consistent with teaching excellence, and administrative skills.
In choosing the appointee particular attention will be focused on the following attributes:
- research excellence in relation to career stage
- demonstrated teaching skills
- academic and administrative skills
- compatibility of teaching and research skills to the interests of the Department
- future potential for development of research and teaching skills
- potential for initiating and participating in collaborative research programs both within the Department and regionally
- ability to work as a member of a team.
Specific Statement on Selection Criteria for Research
For appointment to Lecturer, the applicant should:
- have refereed publications in international journals arising from research
- be able to communicate professional skills by example
- be competitive for obtaining external research funding
- be a member or leader of a research team.
Research incorporates a range of activities relating to the conduct of research, and/or publications arising from scholarship and research. In assessing the applicant's contribution to research, the following will be taken into account:
- the number and quality of research projects completed or currently engaged
- in, and the extent of the applicant's personal contribution to such research;
- breadth of scholarship, through contributions to more than one restricted area of specialty;
- role in research teams;
- qualifications based on research degrees;
- research supervision;
- provision of advice on research to students and colleagues;
- work as consultant, reviewer or assessor of research activities.
The following will be taken into account when assessing the quality of research:
- the extent and quality of original publications or equivalent, which have been subject to peer review and the contribution of the applicant to such publications (the requirement for peer review meaning that some consideration will be given to publications which have been accepted for publication by a refereed journal, but books will not be considered until after they have been published)
- the standing of publishers and journals in which publications appear in relation to the relevant discipline or branch of the discipline;
- recognition of research and scholarship through grants, awards, scholarships, fellowships, etc;
- critical reviews of the applicants' published work;
- invitations to address scholarly meetings and conferences;
- demonstrated efforts to improve research performance;
- success in competitive peer review grant applications.
Specific Statement on Selection Criteria for Teaching
Teaching ranges from the basic skills of imparting knowledge by personal presentations to groups of learners, to designing courses, planning classes, clinical and laboratory sessions, informal contact outside classes, assessment and feed back on exercises and exams, supervision of honours and post-graduate students, development of curriculum, production of text books and other teaching material, external studies, mastery and up-to-date knowledge of the field of knowledge, and course evaluation and redesign.
Contribution to teaching must be thoroughly documented and its quality and effectiveness demonstrated.
Teaching effectiveness should be demonstrated across a number of teaching activities. Teaching, and supervisory experience, teaching practices, quality and reputation, and excellence or distinction in teaching will be taken into account in assessing the contribution to teaching.
Specific Statement on Service to University
Service includes the contribution made by the applicant to the work of the Department, the Faculty and the University/Organization as a whole. It includes involvement in administrative tasks and functions, committee work and leadership in academic area
Service will normally be assessed by all or some of the following:
- extent and quality of administrative duties
- coordination of staff and budgets
- participation in staff recruitment and selection
- committee membership, participation and leadership
- contribution to strategic planning
- contribution to policy development
- acceptance of offices or significant positions
- representation to/on external bodies
Specific Statement on Qualifications and Experience
For the purposes of appointment, qualifications and experience refers to formal academic qualifications, equivalent accreditation or standing and/or recognised equivalent experience.
Specific Statement on Service to the discipline
Service to the discipline includes the contribution made by the applicant to the work of the discipline. It includes involvement in professional activity, administrative tasks and functions, committee work, leadership in academic functions, professional or clinical areas.
Service to the discipline which is related to the applicant's employment, will be assessed by:
- contribution of professional expertise to the community, eg. media presentations,
- participation in government committees and inquiries
- organisation of conferences or seminars
- offices held in professional societies
- editing, refereeing or reviewing for professional or scholarly journals.
Contribution to the advancement of the discipline may occur through achievement in all or some of research, scholarship and artistic activity and professional activity. It should usually be made over a number of years and involve work that peers regard as original in concept or application.
To demonstrate achievement and promise for appointment to a Level B position, the contribution should add to the body of knowledge and extend the discipline. The work should be creative and original in the conceptualisation of the subject or in the techniques used.
The contribution should represent a body of work, showing sustained development over time.
Key Responsibilities of the Position
The following key responsibilities have been adopted from the Performance Standards for academic staff (in this case, Lecturer) approved under the Academic Award Restructuring Agreement 1991. Click to go to the relevant chapter in the Personnel Policy and Procedures manual for:
General Standard
A lecturer is expected to make contributions to the teaching effort of the institution and to carry out activities to maintain and develop his/her scholarly, research, and/or professional activities relevant to the profession or discipline.
Specific Duties
Specific duties required of a Lecturer may include the following:
Teaching
- conduct of tutorials
- conduct of practical classes, demonstrations and workshops
- preparation and delivery of lectures and seminars
- initiation and development of subject material
- consultation with students
- marking and assessment
- administrative tasks associated with the subjects taught
- subject coordination
- supervision of honours students and postgraduate research students
Research
- publications arising from scholarship and research
- communication of professional skills by example
- obtain external research funding
- member/leader of a research team.
Service to the discipline
- involvement in professional activity, including participation in meetings of professional societies.
Service to Department
- meetings and committee work
Environment Health and Safety
See Position Description Proforma.
The Department
Here you should outline the number of staff and students in the Department, areas of research excellence, research performance, key successes.
The Faculty
Here you should outline the number of staff and students in the Faculty, the disciplines taught and the organisational consultative structures of the Faculty.