Administrative Procedure 496: Recruitment and Selection of Staff

Legal References

Employment Standards Act; Education Act, O. Reg. 298: Operation of Schools – General; Human Rights Code; Employee Collective Agreements; Terms and Conditions of Employment

Related References

AP 440 – Employee Conflicts of Interest

1. Purpose

The Avon Maitland District School Board is committed to preparing our students for success now and in the future. To achieve this, it is critical to have a well-prepared, diverse and qualified workforce with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to ensure students reach their full potential.

The purpose of this administrative procedure is to ensure that the Avon Maitland District School Board has a fair, consistent and transparent recruitment and selection process that will improve the ability to achieve and maintain a strong and diverse workforce.

2. Recruitment and Selection Goals

2.1 It is the Avon Maitland District School Board’s goal to:

- - Recruit and select staff who have demonstrated experience and have a commitment to creating a safe, inclusive, equitable, accessible and high quality learning environment;
  - Set clear recruitment and selection criteria to support decisions made through the recruitment and selection process;
  - Ensure that no candidate is advantaged through the recruitment and selection process as a result of nepotism;
  - Ensure that there are no barriers to candidates at any stage of the recruitment and selection process;
  - Promote diversity among the recruitment and selection panels that draw on different experiences, skill sets and educational/professional background;
  - Uphold the requirements in O. Regulation 298, Operation of Schools – General, the Ontario Human Rights Code and/or any other applicable requirements;
  - Honour the recruitment and selection criteria found within collective agreements, terms and conditions of employment and other legislation, as applicable.

3. Advertising for Vacancies or Open Positions

3.1 All job opportunities must be approved and posted through the Human Resource Services Department in accordance with applicable collective agreement and/or terms of conditions of employment requirements.

4. Application Process

4.1 Candidates interested in an open position, will be required to follow the steps outlined in the job posting in order to apply for and be considered for an open position. This will include application package requirements, deadline for submission and where/how to submit information.

5. Selection of Candidates

5.1 Following the closing of the job posting, the recruitment and selection of candidates will be based on education, qualification, merit, knowledge, skills, attributes, ability, past performance, reliability, and/or any other relevant criteria required to successfully meet the expectations of the position and the needs of the system.

5.2 In addition to the above mentioned requirements, the Board is committed to carefully considering the following:

- - Additional experiences, skills, backgrounds, as well as lived and worked experience, such as professional experiences outside of the classroom or education sector, ability to lead committees, extracurricular activities or other school or Board initiatives;
  - Hiring staff that reflect the identities of our students who have varying social identities and are from under-represented groups;
  - Ability to provide the best possible program as determined by the hiring manager;
  - Consider candidates that have demonstrated:
    - Commitment to education;
    - Experience or time spent in a particular school;
    - Suitability for a particular assignment.

5.3 The Board acknowledges the importance of having varying levels of experience within its workforce. The Board is committed to providing equal opportunity to applicants that meet the qualifications of an open position who have relocated from other school boards within Ontario. Candidates are encouraged to apply for consideration to an open position.

6. Interview Teams

6.1 Where possible, the interview team should be diverse and include individuals who have the knowledge and experience, including lived experience, to reflect the needs and interests of our students and communities within our system.

7. Selection Process

7.1 A consistent structure must be used for each selection process. The structure of the interview may vary depending on the position. Interviews will include multiple sources and methods to evaluate candidates during the interview process. This may include technical questions, a pre-interview question for presentation or submission prior to the interview, a written exercise, or other assessment tools as deemed necessary by the interview team.

7.2 Reference checks will be conducted on candidate(s) who, as determined by the interview team, to have successfully completed the interview. References must have directly or indirectly supervised the candidate(s) during their previous work history. References from others who have not directly or indirectly supervised the candidate(s) may be considered provided they can speak to the candidate’s skills, abilities, experiences, competencies and previous work history. A minimum of one (1) reference must be obtained from a candidate’s current supervisor or where appropriate from a recent past supervisor. The purpose of a reference is to confirm or
clarify information collected through the interview process, including but not limited to confirmation of the candidate’s past performance, skills, abilities and knowledge.

8. Candidate Selection and Notification

8.1 Internal Offer of Employment

- - Upon completion of the references and prior to extending an offer to the successful candidate, the hiring manager will contact the Human Resource Services
    Department to seek approval to extend an offer to the candidate. Once approved, the hiring manager will contact the selected candidate and extend a verbal offer of employment. Upon verbally accepting the offer of employment, the candidate is required to send an email to the appropriate Human Resource Services contact to confirm in writing their acceptance of the position.

8.2 External Offer of Employment

- - Upon completion of the references, the Human Resource Services Department will extend an offer of employment to the successful candidate. This offer will provide the candidate with all relevant information such as, rate of pay/salary, hours of work, location(s), CPIC requirements, and all other relevant information pertaining to the position.

9. Notifying Unsuccessful Candidates

9.1 Internal candidates who are not successful during an internal selection process will be notified by the hiring manager after the recruitment and selection process has been completed. This will take place after the offer(s) has been accepted by the successful candidate.

9.2 External candidates who are not successful during a selection process will be notified in writing by the Hiring Manager or Human Resource Services Department after the hiring process has been completed. This will take place after the offer(s) has been accepted by the successful candidate.

9.3 Unsuccessful applicants who are interviewed (internal or external), are entitled, upon request, a debrief to discuss their performance during the interview; measures the candidate could take to enhance their professional qualifications; and other ways to improve their chance of being successful in a similar interview in the future.

10. Conflict of Interest

10.1 Individuals involved in the recruitment and selection process, are required to declare to Human Resource Services any relationship or conflict of interest with respect to any candidate as per Administrative Procedure 440 – Employee Conflicts of Interest.

11. Monitoring and Evaluation

11.1 The Board will monitor and evaluate the recruitment and selection process to ensure the Board is:

- - Following fair and equitable recruitment and selection practices and assessing the skills of their workforce and identifying any gaps;
  - Determining the diversity of their workforce and identifying any gaps in representation;
  - Ensuring there are no barriers to a candidate in the recruitment and selection process.

Issued 2021

496 Recruitment and Selection of Staff