Senior Level Recruitment and Search Firms Policy

Final Approval Body: Senior Leadership Team

Senior Administrative Position with Responsibility: Associate Vice-Principal Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion

Date Initially Approved: 2014

Dave of Last Revision: 2022

Definitions

Designated groups is a term that refers to women, members of racialized/visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities (and such other groups as may be included in the definition of 'designated groups' in the Employment Equity Act, S.C. 1995, c.46, as amended from time to time).

Diversity is about what makes each of us unique and includes our backgrounds, personality, life experiences and beliefs. It is a combination of the visible and invisible differences that shape our view of the world, our perspective, and our approach.

Employment equity is a program that contributes to the overall effectiveness of an organization because it is a human resource planning tool designed to eliminate barriers in the workplace that may prevent the full participation of all employees and potential employees, including Designated and Equity-deserving Group members.

Employment Equity Representative is a member of the Hiring Committee responsible for ensuring the Committee adheres to the rules and expected practices that assure equity, data collection and submitting information to Equity Services.

Equity-deserving groups is a term which includes the four Designated Groups plus persons who identify as 2SLGBTQ+ in the context of the ��˴�Ƭ workplace.

Hiring Committee is a group of individuals responsible for carrying on with the recruitment process to fill an open vacancy at the University. When possible, Hiring Committees at
Queen’s should include members from diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Mid-level professionals are employees in the salary grades 8 to 14.

Senior executives are employees at Queen’s University in the senior executive roles such as the Principal, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic), Deputy and Vice-Provosts, Associate Vice-Principals, Deans, and other senior management positions of University Secretariat, University Counsel, University Ombudsperson.

Search Firm is a specialized recruitment provider that helps organizations attain a pool of candidates that meet specific requirements for critical open positions. Search firms commonly recruit highly qualified candidates for senior-level and executive positions.

Purpose of Policy

The purpose of the policy is to help mitigate unconscious bias and eliminate subjective criteria during the recruitment of Senior executives and Mid-level professionals while allowing qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds equitable opportunities. The policy also aims to help units make more-informed decisions when hiring search firms for recruiting Senior executives and Mid-level professionals during challenging hirings.

Scope of Policy

The policy covers the hiring of Senior executive employees. It also covers challenging hirings of Mid- level professionals such as Senior Auditor, Compensation Analyst, Electrical Engineer, Information Security Manager, Psychologist, Manager, Finance, Senior Web Developer Director, Student Counseling Services, and other positions not listed that are within the salary grades of eight to fourteen.

Policy Statement

Queen’s University strives to attract transformational leaders for senior-level positions from the broadest possible pool of candidates. In keeping with its Indigenization, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Anti-racism (I-EDIAA) commitments, Queen’s responds proactively and strategically to the challenges of reaching its Employment Equity and Diversity goals through various equity programs and intentional efforts to welcome and value diversity within its workforce.

Recruitment of Senior executives requires a thoughtful search plan founded on inclusivity principles. When hiring senior/executive positions, units should engage in extensive outreach to ensure that all potential applicants can compete for the job without encountering discriminatory barriers.

To expedite and protect the fairness and confidentiality of the hiring process, Queen’s University may employ external search firms to assist in the recruitment process. Queen’s is committed to hiring search firms with demonstrated diversity and equity competencies and experience conducting active searches for members of Equity-deserving Groups. The use of search firms at Queen’s is intended to broaden the search scope for challenging hirings, identify robust pools of diverse candidates, help the university meet its I-EDIAA goals by maintaining a more representative workforce.

Where the appointee will hold both an administrative and academic appointment, any relevant requirements of the Collective Agreement between the Queen’s University Faculty Association and Queen’s University will be given priority.

In cases where recruitment and hiring will be restricted to Equity-deserving Group members, the university's Targeted Hiring Policy and related procedures must be followed.

Responsibilities

Senior Administration, Faculties/Schools or Departments determine if there is a need to engage an external search firm for hires of Senior executives or Mid-level employees.

Units are required to use the Preferred Supplier Programs as outlined on the Strategic Procurement Services website. If the qualified suppliers are unable to meet the recruitment needs, then the recruiting unit is responsible for following the Procurement Policy and must receive an exception from the Human Rights and Equity Office prior to signing any documentation with the supplier or proceeding with the engagement.

The Hiring Committee and its Chair are ultimately responsible for ensuring Employment Equity is observed in a senior-level search, and a diverse applicant pool is generated. Where necessary, the Hiring Committee will provide further guidance and direction to the search firm where the search firm’s recruitment efforts fail to develop a representative applicant pool.

The Employment Equity Representative is responsible for ensuring that the search process conducted by the hired search firm is based on an active equitable hiring strategy that adheres to the university's I-EDIAA goals. The Employment Equity Representative is also responsible for ensuring search firms works with Equity Service to use the Queen's Equity Appointments Process (QEAP) application.

Search firms are responsible for posting the position to multiple outlets which reach diverse audiences, including members of Equity-deserving groups, and demonstrating respect and cultural sensitivity in communicating with hiring committee members, associates, staff, and faculty. They are also responsible for facilitating equitable and inclusive communication between the hiring committee and position candidates, particularly candidates from Equity- deserving Groups.