Operation of the selection committee

Responsibilities of committee members

All members of the selection committee should understand the nature of the position as set out in the position description and the characteristics of the person sought as described in the selection criteria.

They must fairly and reasonably assess each application for merit, noting any shortcomings or anomalies in a candidate's resume or statement addressing the selection criteria to follow up during the interview.

Members may be asked by the chair to constitute a sub-committee for short listing.

The selection committee will be available to:

• shortlist applicants
• participate in the interview process
• provide ranked list and assessment of top candidates
• recommend preferred candidate
• agree on the selection methodology.

Acceptance of an invitation to membership of a selection committee implies acceptance of the University's requirements on confidentiality.

Deliberations of any selection committee, including all documents and correspondence considered by the committee, must remain confidential.

Committee members should not discuss any aspect of the selection process with anyone other than committee members, nominated referees and relevant Human Resource staff.

Conflict of interest

If at any point in the process a member of a selection committee believes that a real or perceived conflict of interest may occur due to his/her financial, family, personal or other relationship with an applicant for a vacancy, then the committee member should:

• declare the conflict to the chair
• discuss with the chair an appropriate course of action, in keeping with the conflict of interest and commitment policy. It may be necessary for the member to stand down from the committee.

Prior conflict

There may be circumstances where an applicant advises the chair that he/she believes that due to a prior conflict with a committee member(s), the decision making process may be affected.

If the chair believes that the nature of the conflict is serious, he/she may recommend to the delegated authority that the selection committee member be replaced. However, where the chair believes that, on balance, the conflict will not prevent the committee member from making an objective decision in regard to the candidate, no further action is necessary.

It is required that the detail of any such deliberations and their resolution (with reasons) be documented on the recruitment file.