Advertising
| A new section titled 'Hybrid Working' has been added below in relation to the University's approach to hybrid working and the launch of the Hybrid Working Policy. |
Advertising is the foundation of fair and effective recruitment and selection; it provides the fullest opportunity for all qualified candidates to know about and apply for a vacancy. This principle supports compliance with equality law and public sector equality duties, and is recognised by the University's policy on advertising.
This section provides detailed information on how you can determine when, what, where and how to advertise. Adverts are published to chosen media using the Recruitment Administration System (RAS).
Vacancies should be advertised externally, except in certain clearly defined circumstances when permission not to advertise or to advertise internally only must be obtained from the Council, General Board or relevant Lead HR Business Partner / HR Business Partner, as appropriate. The minimum advertising period for vacancies is 2 weeks.
It should be noted that for all recruitment at the Clinical School, the advertising of positions is arranged and managed by the Clinical School Recruitment Team.
Applicants must not be prevented from applying for a role on the basis that they do not yet have the right to work in the UK, as this could amount to indirect discrimination on the grounds of national origin. If the role being advertised is unlikely to meet the criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker Visa (SWV) route (due to the Grade of the position being advertised, for instance) the Institution should contact the HR Compliance Team (complianceteam@admin.cam.ac.uk in the first instance, who will be able to review the role and advise accordingly.
Getting the job advert right is a key element of attracting the best candidate for the role from a diverse range of suitable applicants. The aim of the advert is to attract interest, clearly communicate the essential points, and to inform the candidate how apply. These principles apply regardless of the method selected to advertise the position.
Ensuring the text is clear, truthful, engaging and representative of the University of Cambridge as an employer of choice will help you attract suitable candidates, maximise your response, get value for money from your advertisement and create a good impression of the University. More detailed information about the vacancy should be provided in the HR7 Further Information document, which should be published with your advert on the University's Job Opportunities pages (which can be done using RAS).
You should get to the main point, quickly, avoiding lengthy preambles. Using simple language that your reader uses and short sentences or bullet points is advisable, rather than long paragraphs which can be off putting.
Involving the reader by referring to them as ‘you’ and use the second person (‘you, ‘your’ and ‘yours’ etc.) in the description of the requirements and expectations of the candidates and the job role will help people to visualise themselves in the role.
The content of adverts for senior and high-profile vacancies should be reviewed and agreed by the Head of Department or their nominated deputy. It is strongly recommended that the content of all other adverts is reviewed by a colleague of the author to ensure it is engaging and to help spot errors or potentially discriminatory language.
Where possible, evidence of advert review/checking is recorded and retained as this has been requested by the University's internal auditors as evidence of good advertising practice.
Further information can be found in the ‘Short Guide: Writing a Recruitment Advert’.
In support of the University's approach to hybrid working, the following standardised wording can be used by institutions in recruitment particulars, as appropriate:
Hybrid Working
The University is supportive of hybrid working, where some work is undertaken on University premises and some in a remote working environment. The aim of our approach is to enable as many staff as possible to work in a hybrid way if they wish and where their role allows.
Please state in your application if you would like to explore the extent to which this position can be worked in this way. If it is appropriate for a role to be worked entirely from a remote working environment within the UK, this will be indicated in the job specification itself.
The following corresponding line is for inclusion in the job specification and advertisements in situations where a role can be considered for 100% remote working in situations within the UK:
Applications are welcome from individuals who would like to work entirely from a remote working environment within the UK.
Institutions can find more details about the University's approach to hybrid working in the Hybrid Working Policy.
The HR7 Further Information document is an important means of providing applicants with key information about the University, your institution, your vacancy and how they can apply for it. It should help applicants to make an informed decision about whether or not to apply for the post, thus reducing applications from unsuitable candidates. It is strongly recommended that you publish the HR7 with your Job Opportunities advert by uploading it in RAS (please see Permission to fill section for details). Otherwise, you should send it to all those who express an interest in a post once it has been advertised.
The HR7 Further Information template contains a number of headings / fields where you should insert relevant information, some of which you will need to copy from the Role Profile. Instructions are contained within the template itself to assist you.
You may be able to minimise the number of queries you receive from prospective applicants if you take the time at this stage to think about questions that you may be asked and include relevant information in the Further Information document.
The Recruitment Administration System (RAS) is a web-based system in which department/institution users write adverts for vacancies and post them electronically to their chosen media. Adverts can be written in RAS before permission to fill has been granted but they cannot be published until afterwards.
When you publish an advert using RAS, it will electronically send your advert to your chosen media for publication during the date range you have specified. If you choose to advertise on the University's Job Opportunities page, in the Reporter, or on jobs.ac.uk, RAS will send your advert to these media directly. If you choose to advertise in other print or online media, RAS will send an email to the University advertising agency, Penna. Once our Penna contacts receive your advert copy, they will provide a proof and costs for approval to you in line with the agreed process described in the Penna Key Information document.
In RAS, you have an opportunity to upload the HR7 Further Information document so that a link to this is published on your Job Opportunities advert. It is strongly recommended that you do this so that applicants can make an informed decision about whether to apply for your vacancy without having to contact you for this information.
Accessing RAS and RAS assistance
You can log on to RAS, find the RAS user manual and view RAS training dates on the HR Systems webpages.
If you experience any problems when using RAS, or if you would like to request RAS access, please contact the CHRIS Helpdesk. The CHRIS Helpdesk is commonly asked to amend closing dates, publication dates and spelling errors in adverts on behalf of RAS users after they have been published. However, they can only change the content of Job Opportunities adverts.
For changes to all other adverts, you will need to contact the relevant media directly:
Reporter adverts: reportereditor@admin.cam.ac.uk
jobs.ac.uk adverts: hejobs@jobs.ac.uk | Tel: 024 7657 4063
FindaJob: https://www.gov.uk/find-a-job
If you cannot log into your account or for other enquiries telephone: 0845 601 2001
Other media: Penna, the University's advertising agency: UOC@penna.com | Telephone: 0207 332 7790 / 0207 332 7791
It is important to advertise vacancies as widely as possible so that you have a broader and more diverse pool of applicants from which to select the best possible candidate. You might choose to place your advertisement with a combination of the media described below. With the exception of the Reporter, adverts are published to chosen media using the Recruitment Administration System (RAS). Please see the How to advertise section above for further details.
- Job Opportunities
Job Opportunities must be used for all University vacancies. It not only lists current posts available but also provides information on working and living in Cambridge. It has been designed to be informative to prospective applicants and it generates large numbers of hits.
- www.jobs.ac.uk
Jobs.ac.uk is a popular website for job seekers in academic, academic-related and research fields, with a growing number of visitors to the site from outside the UK. University of Cambridge recruiters can place adverts there free of charge, although they must be no longer than 550 words and all ‘apply’ buttons on jobs.ac.uk adverts must link to the same advert on the University’s Job Opportunities site. If you wish to include application details or an ‘apply’ link to an external recruitment agency /search firm, this advert will be chargeable at the normal Standard Advert rate of £289. Enhanced advertising options (which can be useful for specialist or difficult-to-fill roles) are available at a discounted cost of £489 per advert.
More information about the discounts available with www.jobs.ac.uk can be found in the product brochure. Please see the jobs.ac.uk rate card for further details on their products and prices. If you need to contact jobs.ac.uk, please email hemidlands@jobs.ac.uk, or call 024 7657 4063.
- Reporter
You should advertise all established academic and academic-related posts in the Reporter. Please direct any queries to reporter.editor@admin.cam.ac.uk.
- Cambridge Network
The University of Cambridge holds a founder membership with the Cambridge Network. This means that all of the positions advertised on the Job Opportunities website are automatically advertised on the Cambridge Network site. A list of the current vacancies here.
The University can add additional vacancies, or edit existing ones, as part of our existing membership. Please contact the Resourcing Team to add or edit positions on Cambridge Network.
- ResearchGate
ResearchGate is an online professional network for scientists and researchers with over 4 million members worldwide. It offers targeted recruitment advertising via our institution page on the site, which includes opportunities being highlighted to members within relevant disciplines.
Institutions may purchase one -off adverts from ResearchGate or buy packages of 1, 5 or 10 ongoing job slots (meaning that advertising space is bought for the period required and the adverts placed there can be taken down and replaced with other adverts as often as required) at introductory rates and with no minimum contract term. For an overview of subscription options and pricing, please contact Sarah Wills via sarah.wills@researchgate.net for more details.
- Job Centre (Find a Job)
With effect from January 2020, departments who need to post a position to FindaJob are requested to contact the Resourcing Team to register their interest in a new account. The new account will enable all positions to be branded under the University of Cambridge account, as opposed to individual department accounts. Alternatively, the Resourcing Team will be happy to post the position on behalf of your institution. More information is available in the Recruitment Short Guide "Creating a FindaJob Account"
The HR Division has fourteen LinkedIn job slots (job advertising spaces) which you may use for recruitment advertising at a cost of £100.00 + VAT per listing. LinkedIn currently (as at January 2020) has 610 million members worldwide, of which 303 million are active monthly users.
Not only does advertising in one of the job slots make your vacancy known to LinkedIn members searching for a new role, it will also be highlighted to LinkedIn members who have relevant skills and experience. This helps source a wider pool of applicants by potentially attracting those who are not actively seeking a new job, but who may consider applying if the right opportunity arises. If you wish to use one of the job slots, please contact the Resourcing Team (resourcingqueries@admin.cam.ac.uk).
- Euraxess
EURAXESS - Researchers in Motion is a unique pan-European initiative delivering information and support services to professional researchers. Backed by the European Union, member states and associated countries, it supports researcher mobility and career development, while enhancing scientific collaboration between Europe and the world. Euraxess allows you to post research positions on their website at no cost.
To post a position on Euraxess, please contact the Resourcing Team on resourcingqueries@admin.cam.ac.uk.
The University's approved advertising agency, WebRecruit, has access to discounts with a variety of local and national media. They can provide you with free advice on which media may be most appropriate for your vacancy and the associated costs, help with writing and planning your advert.
They also have access to the University's approved house style for advertisements and will include the mandatory statement regarding equal opportunities, however, you can work with WebRecruit if you wish to produce a creative advert.
Using WebRecruit can be particularly helpful if you think that you will have difficulty recruiting, if you have a number of vacancies to recruit simultaneously or if you wish to develop a creative campaign for a key role.
Departments/institutions are responsible for all advertisement costs and these vary according to the publication, size of the advertisement and whether colour is used.
WebRecruit's contact details, information about their services and steps to posting your advert can be found in the 'Advertising Process' document.
Web Recruit have set up a dedicated email address for the University's requests, which is monitored by a number of colleagues at WebRecruit. If you need to make contact, we recommend that the dedicated email address is used to ensure effective service delivery: uocambridge@webrecruit.co.uk.
Every University vacancy must be advertised, unless one of the criteria for not advertising has been met and this has been agreed by the appropriate authority (please see below). A post must not be advertised until a genuine vacancy exists, which means that:
- For a new assistant or academic-related role, the job has been graded (except for apprenticeships, which do not require grading).
- Permission to create or fill has been granted.
- For an existing post, it has been confirmed formally that the post holder is leaving and they have been processed as a leaver (or the competent authority has granted permission to recruit to cover a period of leave / or for there to be a handover period).