Open, transparent and merit-based recruitment at the University of Oulu

Recruitment guidelines, together with Rector’s delegating decision, also define roles and responsibilities for recruitment throughout the process, including the initial resourcing decision, planning, application and selection phase. These responsibilities also include communication with the applicants on the progress of the recruitment at different stages. In addition, each faculty and unit has a dedicated HR Manager and HR Partner to consult recruiting managers on good recruiting practices and questions related to existing guidelines.

A recruitment committee is always used in Senior University Fellow, Professor and tenure track positions, as well as in the career model for teaching‑oriented positions, but it may also be used in other recruitments. The Dean appoints the faculty‑specific recruitment committees and their deputies. In Professor and tenure track recruitments, the committee also includes a representative from HR Services. It is additionally recommended that the Dean participates in the preparation committee for these recruitments. At the time of appointment, a chair is designated for the committee—unless the Dean serves as chair—and a secretary is also appointed.

It is essential that no disqualified members participate in the committee’s work. Disqualification is assessed for applicants who meet the eligibility requirements. The composition of the committee may also be adjusted during the recruitment process. As a whole, the committee must have all the necessary expertise and experience to evaluate the applicants.

The university aims for diverse working groups to ensure a broad range of perspectives, and attention must be paid to gender balance and other aspects of diversity when forming them. The university recommends proposing and selecting members from different genders in a balanced manner, following the principle of at least 40% of each gender. In practice, this means that in a three‑member preparation committee or among external experts, the representation of any single gender must be at least 1/3; in a four‑member committee, 2/4; in a five‑member committee, 2/5; and so on.

Careful personnel planning aligned with strategy allows understanding of upcoming resource needs and supports systematic recruitment activity. Each unit creates an annual personnel plan determining the optimal personnel structure in relation to their goals and profile. The plan balances the different researcher career levels and takes into account the competence and aspirations of existing personnel. The plan lays the basis for recruitments by identifying expected resource needs.

Based on the approved personnel plan, positions are opened for applications. Additional recruitment needs may occur as new projects emerge throughout the year. They are approved according to the delegation decision and opened thereafter.

In principle, researcher recruitments are international and advertisements are in English. In addition to advertising positions on the university’s website and social media channels, the advertisements are distributed through the Euraxess portal and other international online recruitment channels. The positions are also advertised in professional publications and digital newspapers suitable for the profile of the position.

Position-specific advertisements always contain at least the following information: name of the position, description of duties, selection criteria, instructions for applying and details of a contact person. The advertisement also mentions the start date and salary level and whether the position is permanent or fixed-term, full-time or part-time. As the positions are advertised internationally, further information on Oulu as a city and the University of Oulu as an employer is included.

Applications are submitted using an online recruitment system (Varbi), using a similar application form for all candidates within each recruitment process. After submitting the application, applicants receive a confirmation message and access details to their own application and have an opportunity to make modifications until the end of the application period. In case the application period is extended, all applicants are informed about the extension.

Selections are made based on the criteria stated in the advertisement and the general qualifications for career levels on four-stage researcher career and tenure track positions. Generally, application documents, bibliography and interview data are used in the decision-making. In addition, external expert evaluation is used in all tenure track and professor positions, in the career model for teaching‑oriented positions (excluding University Teacher), as well as in permanent Senior Research Fellow positions.

Experts provide an assessment of the applicant’s eligibility, particularly their scientific competence, but also, where possible, other merits. External experts are high level researchers at professor level working in foreign universities or research institutions. In exceptional and well justified cases, an expert may come from a Finnish university or research institute.

When selecting experts, the job description and selection criteria stated in the job advertisement are followed, potential conflicts of interest are assessed (Administrative Procedure Act sections 27–29), and it is ensured that the experts collectively possess all the necessary expertise and experience to evaluate the applicants. Gender balance must also be considered: representation of any single gender must be at least 40%. In practice, this means that in a three member expert group, each gender must represent at least one third.

Teaching demonstrations are used to evaluate candidates in in tenure track and professor recruitments, as well as in recruitments within the teaching-oriented career model. Information on the evaluation process is included in the job advertisement text.

Under section 17 of the Universities Act, the Rector makes decisions about hiring personnel. The Rector can delegate this duty to another body or person at the university. Based on a delegating decision by the Rector, the recruitment authority is delegated as follows:

By the responsible rectors in professor appointments

By the Dean in fixed-term (usually under 2 years) professor appointments

By the Dean in faculty personnel appointments

By the HR Director in other appointments

The decisions are made based on proposals. The presenters preparing the proposals have been determined in the delegating decision. The recruitment documents, including the recruitment memorandum, call text and the complete application documents of the recruited applicants, are stored permanently as paper printouts at the University’s Registry Office and in electronic systems. In professor recruitments, application documents of all applicants that have undergone the external expert evaluations, are stored permanently.

The applicants that were not selected for the position are informed about their status during the process and the latest when the recruitment process ends. All applicants are also kept regularly up to date about the progress throughout the recruitment process.