SSA Promotion Process (Pilot 2025)

1.1         Applications for all SSA promotions from grade 5 to 6 and grade 6 to 7 will be determined by an internal process within the respective School.

1.2         Applications for all SSA promotions from grade 7 to 8 and 8 to 9 will be considered through the existing RTE Academic staff promotion process.

1.3         Successful promotions will take effect from the first day of the month following the date of the committee meeting where promotion was first approved.

1.4         The promotion process is intended to recognise the individual's contribution to delivering the University’s values, vision and strategy.

1.5         Successful applications will be based on peer-review of evidence, presented by the candidate, showing how the criteria have been met, as well as future plans and ambitions. Applications based principally on promise will be rejected.

1.6         The assessment of all application cases against the criteria will be based primarily on the quality of contribution, and not simply on the quantity.

1.7         The University’s EDI values, vision and purpose, the EDI Core Plan and the University’s commitment to EDI are central to the effective operation of promotion processes, which have been designed to ensure consistency, transparency and fairness in decision-making.

1.1    The University recognises and celebrates the diversity of its staff. This promotion process and criteria have been developed in an inclusive way to enable greater flexibility to recognise individual contributions.

1.2    The University recognises that all staff have different personal circumstances and career histories, which may affect the forms and quantity of evidence that can be presented to show how the criteria have been met. The University also acknowledges that societal barriers and discrimination impact on people with certain personal or protected characteristics more than other individuals. The University seeks to ensure that no candidate is placed at a disadvantage because of their particular characteristics or circumstances.

1.3    As a standard part of their application, all candidates are encouraged to provide additional contextual information about how their personal circumstances and / or protected characteristics have impacted on the development of their career and contributions. Some examples of these personal circumstances include, but are not limited to:

• Changes of career path, e.g. moving between roles.
• Time away from work, e.g. maternity, paternity, parental or adoption leave.
• Part-time work or other flexible working arrangements.
• Periods of absence or limitations on speed of working arising from caring responsibilities, a disability, ill-health or injury.
• Periods of absence arising from the impact and consequences of gender re-assignment.
• Personal or familial circumstances that have interrupted, restricted, or delayed their career.
• Discrimination related to any protected characteristic.

2.4         All information received will be viewed positively and confidentially in support of an application. Contextual information may be shared:

• Within the application, using a standard section of the CV template (not counted within the page limit). Where possible, submissions should be evidence-based, e.g. including %FTE, dates and arrangements for flexible working or return to work.
• The candidate may choose to discuss such information in confidence with a School Promotion Committee member of their choice and agree what can be reported orally to the School Promotion Committee.

2.5         The Committee will use this contextual information to take account of any reduced contribution, applying the principle that for all applications the assessment against the criteria will be based primarily on the quality of the candidate’s contributions. Evidence of contribution or standing in the field or discipline will also be assessed in the light of this contextual information.

3.1         Staff are strongly recommended to begin informal discussions with their Dean, PDR reviewer or line manager (as appropriate) if they are interested in applying for promotion. Deans may wish to nominate members of the School Promotions Committee to act as mentors for promotions cases and to critique any submissions before being presented to the School Promotions Committee.

3.2         Schools will have a clear, fair, and transparent process in place to determine promotions cases. Deans will ensure that the School Promotions Committee complies with the University’s EDI values, vision and purpose, the EDI Core Plan and the University’s commitment to EDI.

3.3         The School Promotions Committee will establish the discipline norms referred to in the pathways and criteria for promotion.

3.4         Deans and their School Promotions Committee will carry out an annual review of potential candidates for promotion and will pro-actively support and encourage eligible staff to apply for promotion at the right time. Discussions related to promotions should also take place as a part of the annual Performance and Development Review (PDR).

3.5         Prior to each deadline, Deans and their School Promotions Committee will (1) make an open call to all relevant SSA staff, inviting them to apply for promotion and (2) proactively identify candidates who may be ready for promotion but who do not put themselves forward. For example, the latter may be achieved by considering recommended actions from a PDR reviewer, or from the annual review described above.

3.6         Staff wishing to be formally considered should prepare draft paperwork for submission to their Dean who will record the applications received and provide that information to HR. The required forms of application are specified in the SSA Promotion application forms section and the pathways and criteria for promotion are described in the Criteria section.

3.7         Deans or other members of the School Promotions Committee will offer to meet candidates to discuss their application, and provide support, feedback, and advice about their submission.

3.8         The Dean and School Promotions Committee will assess each promotion case by:

•  Reviewing the evidence presented in the draft paperwork against the criteria.
• Using internal peer review processes to gain information about the quality of the applicants’ contributions.

3.9        Based on the above assessment the Dean and School Promotions Committee will take the decision to support the application, or not. In cases where the application is:

• Not supported. The Dean will provide a written statement explaining the reasons for that decision. An individual who is dissatisfied with the outcome of their application has the right to appeal (see section 5).
• Supported. The Dean will request the School’s admin team to process the changes

3.10      Each school will publish its own deadline for the School Promotions Committee, which will be in line with promotion applications for the RTE job family so that they are able to be considered by the same committee. Late applications will not be accepted and will be deferred to the next meeting. Incomplete applications, or those that do not comply with the paperwork requirements, will be rejected.

4.1         An application for promotion should consist of a templated CV, which requires the candidate to supply a defined and restricted set of information, allowing assessment against the criteria.

4.2         The relevant criteria can be located within the criteria guidance.

5.1         Unsuccessful candidates have the right to appeal, on the grounds of a substantial defect in the procedure, prejudice, or demonstrable error, which affected the decision reached by the Dean and School Promotions Committee.

5.2         A candidate wishing to appeal should write to the Director of Human Resources setting out their grounds for appeal, within 14 days of receiving written notification of the decision.

5.3         Before progressing an appeal, the Director of Human Resources will consult a Dean of another School on the eligibility of the appeal as per the acceptable grounds outlined in 5.1.

5.4         If the appeal proceeds, it will be considered by an independent Dean who has had no prior involvement in the promotion application. They will be supported by their promotions committee.  This will constitute the Appeal Committee.

5.5         The relevant Dean who chaired the School Promotion Committee that made the decision will have the opportunity to provide a written response to the grounds for appeal and both documents will be shared with the Appeal Committee.

5.6         The Appeal Committee is able to:

• Reject the appeal
• Uphold the appeal
• Refer the case back to the School Promotion Committee with a recommendation the case is sent for external review

5.7         The decision of the Appeal Committee is final.

6.1         Schools will be expected to fund and manage SSA promotion applications at the levels described herein within existing budgets on an annual basis. 

6.2         Where the additional cost cannot be absorbed within budget, an application should be made for funding through SPaRC, submitting paper to SPaRC B for additional resources.