Position Management Definitions

Branch

A job that is part of a major grouping of jobs that represent general fields of work where career paths are identified and career planning is emphasized. Applies to SHRA positions. This is a particular field of work within a job family. Examples include the Technology Support branch in the IT job family and the Accounting branch in the Administrative and Managerial job family. (See also Role.)

Career Banding

The University System classification and compensation system for SHRA employees. It is a pay structure that exchanges a large number of narrow salary ranges for a smaller number of broader salary ranges. This type of pay structure encourages the development of broad employee skills and growth.

Classification

Involves a consistent method of evaluating a job (a set of duties and responsibilities) for purposes of assigning a title, FLSA classification and a pay range.

Competency Profile

A set of knowledge, skills and abilities required of the position based on business needs as determined by the manager. It can be contributing, journey, or advanced and applies to SHRA positions. A generalized description of the work, required competencies, and minimum recruitment standards for a particular SHRA career-banded job title. These are provided by the Office of State Human Resources.

Contributing Level

SHRA competencies required in a position include knowledge, skills and abilities minimally necessary to perform a job from entry to journey. Applies to SHRA positions only.  Positions at this level are entry-level jobs in a given title. (See also Journey level and Advanced level.)

Conversion

A position changing from SHRA to EHRA or vice versa.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

The Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office at the University provides leadership and guidance in support of the University’s commitment to equal opportunity, affirmative action, and diversity. The EOC Office is separate from the Office of Human Resources, but the two organizations work closely together to promote equity and fairness for employees.

Exempt from the Human Resources Act (EHRA)

Employees who are Exempt from the (State) Human Resources Act. These employees are members of one (or both) of the following groups: EHRA Faculty (Professors, Assistant Professors, etc.) and EHRA Non-Faculty (including Senior Academic and Administrative Officers, Research, and Instructional employees). Policies are administered by the UNC System Board of Governors.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

The Fair Labor Standards Act is a federal law that governs the way SHRA employees are paid for work – either on an hourly or salaried basis. The FLSA divides positions into two groups based on the duties of their jobs – those that are Exempt from the act (salaried, do not earn overtime), and those that are Non-Exempt (hourly paid, earn overtime if worked).  EHRA Non-Faculty employees are exempt and SHRA employees may be either exempt or non-exempt based on their duties.

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) is a unit that indicates the workload of an employed person in a way that makes workloads comparable across various contexts. An FTE of 1.0 is equivalent to a full-time worker and represents a primary schedule of 40 hours per week, while an FTE of 0.5 signals half of a full workload.

Head Count

The number of employees that hold a certain position. A head count of zero means that a position is vacant.

Hiring Manager

The supervisor of the position or a designee authorized to process actions within PeopleAdmin.

Hiring Authority

The Vice Chancellor or Dean or Supervisor authorized to approve Hiring Manager actions in PeopleAdmin.

Instructional, Research, and Information Technology (IRIT)

Instructional, Research and Information Technology, which is a classification of EHRA Non-Faculty employees. These positions deliver the core-mission activities of the University: creating and disseminating knowledge through direct instruction, research, and public service; or performing professional-level duties that are integral to and uniquely supportive of that work. The purpose of each such position must be substantially engaged in the regular academic, educational, research, or public-service/extension activities of the University.

Journey Level

SHRA competencies required in a position represent a fully-applied body of knowledge, skills and abilities. Applies to SHRA positions only. Positions at this level are fully functioning within a job title and have broader duties, greater scope, and more complexity than the Contributing level. (See also Contributing Level and Advanced level.)

Legislative State Increase (LSI)

Legislative State Increase, a salary increase that may be granted by the NC General Assembly to all state employees. In years where an LSI is granted, eligibility requirements and effective dates may vary year to year based on legislative rulings.

Market Rate

Average pay rate as determined by the Office of State Human Resources  (OSHR) when comparing benchmark jobs to relevant local, state or national organizations that recruit and hire employees with the same or similar competencies. Rates are determined for each competency level (Contributing, Journey and Advanced). 

Minimum Recruitment Standards

The minimum qualifications required by the State of North Carolina for an appointment to a given classification. These include the required “knowledge, skills and abilities,” “minimum training and experience” plus any other special requirements such as certificates and licenses. These are required to qualify the applicant for the minimum and, if applicable, the special minimum rate.

Office of State Human Resources (OSHR)

The Office of State Human Resources an agency that oversees personnel policies and programs for SHRA employees throughout the state. The Office of Human Resources at the University is granted delegated authority by OSHR to administer many of these policies.

Organizational Unit

Description of the unit where the work will be performed.

Overlap Position

A position that is created for an Employee who is leaving, but who will remain in the department temporarily while the new employee starts in that position permanently.

PeopleAdmin

The recruitment system used for Permanent (SHRA, EHRA Non-Faculty, Visiting/Part-time Faculty) and Temporary EHRA Non-Faculty job postings.

Position Competency Level

The level of Contributing, Journey, or Advanced and applies to SHRA positions only.

Position Description (PD)

A written statement that explains the responsibilities and qualifications of a given job. The job description includes specific required tasks as well as an overview of the position and whom the employee reports to.

Preferred Qualifications and Experience

Skills, knowledge and abilities which employers would like for a candidate to have which may be beneficial to business operations but are not required to perform the duties of the position.

Principal Functions

Description of the principal duties and responsibilities of a position, with associated percentages.

Reclassification

A position reclassification is the assignment of a new salary band, branch, or role. A reclassification may be due to the position duties and responsibilities changing substantially due to changes in organization, work, staffing requirements, etc. For SHRA positions, also referred to as reallocation.

Reference Rate

Typically the 75th percentile of the market for similar positions in that EHRA job family band. This may be interchangeably referred to as the market rate.

Role work

Various SHRA classifications that have been banded together due to similarities in position attributes, nature and scope of the, and competencies required to meet business needs. Applies to SHRA positions. The role describes a level of work within a branch. For instance, within the Technology Support branch, there are Technician, Analyst, and Specialist roles. (See also Branch.)

Salary Structure

The EHRA Non-Faculty salary structure is a formal compensation document that details all of the different job families and their associated salary band minimums, reference rates, and maximums. The compensation program is part of the University’s commitment to offer fair, equitable, competitive compensation considering the scope of job responsibilities, relevant experience, employee’s performance against job expectations, appropriate compensation comparison markets, and available budgetary resources.

Senior Academic and Administrative Officer (SAAO)

Senior Academic and Administrative Officer, which is a classification of EHRA non-faculty employees. These are separated into SAAO Tier I and SAAO Tier II positions. Some examples of SAAO positions are: the chancellor, vice chancellors, provost, deans, associate and assistant vice chancellors, associate and assistant deans, communications and marketing directors, fundraising and development officers, and the directors of major administrative, educational, research and public services activities of the University designated by the Board of Governors.

Subcategories

EHRA non-faculty IRIT positions are separated into approximately 20 different subcategories. These subcategories include general statements of on-going job responsibilities of those positions as well as the minimum education and experience or where specific degrees/certification/licensure is required. Every EHRA-NF IRIT position must fall within one of those subcategories.

Subject to the Human Resources Act (SHRA)

Employees who are Subject to the Human Resources Act, commonly known as “staff” employees. Policies are administered by the Office of State Human Resources (OSHR).

Term Appointment

EHRA permanent employees with a set expected end date of their appointment. These are generally only coaches or librarians, other term appointments must be specially requested from the Office of Human Resources EHRA Non-Faculty Unit.

Time-Limited

SHRA positions that are most often used when there are soft monies or grant monies to fund a position where there are no guarantees in the continuance of the funding source. Additionally, time-limited positions are frequently used when there is a project with a defined end date within three years. Employees with a time-limited appointment receive leave, total state service credit, retirement and health benefits. However, upon separation, time-limited employees are not eligible for severance pay, priority re-employment, or health insurance continuation. Time-limited positions can be filled by more than one employee, but if an employee is retained in a time-limited position beyond three years, the employee and position must become permanent.

Transfer a Position

When a position is transferred from one department to another. The home department originates the action.

UNC System Office

The UNC System Office, also known as System Office, which oversees all the constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina system

Working Title

A job title that can describe the responsibilities of the position, the level of the job, or both. The working title is used in the campus directory and is assigned to a specific position to describe that specific role. It is also used in postings for vacancies.