Carnegie Mellon University

Staff Hiring Approvals

The university requires justification and additional approvals for certain position types. These guidelines establish the scope of the approval process, as well as hiring rules and procedures. CMU asks that hiring managers review all open positions for mission criticality (i.e, those positions that must be filled to ensure university safety, compliance and core mission).

These guidelines do not apply to faculty, adjunct/instructional staff, or student workers. For information about hiring adjunct/instructional staff, please contact your HR business partner. Please direct questions related to the hiring of student workers to Anne Marie DeGeorge, associate director for student employment. For faculty related questions, please contact the vice provost for faculty.

Processes — Updated 8/16/2023

Fixed term extensions and extensions to existing TES placements in a department require justification and additional approval. Fixed-term “transitional” positions for recent CMU graduates cannot be extended beyond the four-month maximum duration.

Positions that meet the following criteria will continue to require a Staff Position Hiring Justification Form and additional approvals:

  • New positions and the funding designation is:
    • General Operating Budget
    • Designated Operating Budget
    • Unrestricted Endowment
    • Temporarily Restricted Operating
  • New positions with a base salary within the fourth quartile (75th percentile and above), and the funding source is:
    • General Operating Budget
    • Designated Operating Budget
    • Unrestricted Endowment
    • Temporarily Restricted Operating
    • Sponsored Projects
    • Auxiliaries/Recharge
  • Fixed-term and/or TES positions with a duration of more than six months in total, and the funding designation is:
    • General Operating Budget
    • Designated Operating Budget
    • Unrestricted Endowment
    • Temporarily Restricted Operating
  • Replacement positions classified at a higher job grade, and the funding source is:
    • General Operating Budget
    • Designated Operating Budget
    • Unrestricted Endowment
    • Temporarily Restricted Operating
    • Sponsored Projects
    • Auxiliaries/Recharge

Before submitting a request, the hiring manager with the vacancy must establish criticality through the following:

  1. Explores all options to use internal employee resources to complete the work.
  2. Consults their supervisor, division head, dean and/or vice president to confirm criticality.
  3. Once criticality is confirmed, department completes the Staff Position Hiring Justification Form [pdf].
  4. Department emails Becky Culyba (for academic areas) or Tricia O’Reilly (for administrative areas), attaching the completed Staff Position Hiring Justification Form, providing any additional context on the request and noting that the VP/dean has approved. Please note: for administrative areas, when the proposed base salary is within the fourth quartile (75th percentile and above), the department should also include Brent Carothers in the approval email.
  5. The email approvals and the Staff Position Hiring Justification Form are provided to the appropriate transaction initiator or HR generalist. The transaction initiator or HR generalist submits the Position Hiring Request Form in Workday attaching the Justification Form and approval documentation.
    1. Note: If the Justification Form is not attached to the request or if there is not documentation of approval which contains a justification from the department (with key information including funding source and appropriate context), the Office of Human Resources will return the request to the transaction initiator or department contact and will ask for at least one of these items before proceeding.
  6. The Office of Human Resources creates the position and routes it for review to the HR recruiter, who inserts the job advertisement and then routes for approval by the supervisor, next-level supervisor, and financial approver, plus the additional approvals of the dean, provost or vice president, and president. Each approver in the approval path is able to approve or deny the request, and each can delegate approval authority.
    1. If a position is approved, the HR recruiter reaches out to the hiring manager to begin the recruitment process.
    2. If the position is not approved via the denied or send back functionality, the HR recruiter will discuss with the hiring manager and/or approver to make corrections or cancel the requisition entirely.

Positions that meet the following criteria will not require a Staff Position Hiring Justification Form and additional approvals:

  • New positions funded by one of the following:
    • Sponsored Projects
    • Auxiliaries/Recharge
  • Fixed-term and/or TES positions funded by one of the following:
    • Sponsored Projects
    • Auxiliaries/Recharge
  • Staff replacement positions (using the same or lesser job grade level)

Before submitting a request, the hiring manager with the vacancy establishes criticality through the following:

  1. Explores all options to use internal employee resources to complete the work.
  2. Consults their supervisor, division head, dean and/or vice president to confirm criticality.
  3. The job description is sent to the transaction initiator or HR generalist to submit the Position Hiring Request form in Workday.
  4. The Office of Human Resources creates the position and routes it for review to the HR recruiter, who inserts the job advertisement and then routes for approval by the supervisor, next-level supervisor, and financial approver. Each approver in the approval path is able to approve or deny the request, and each can delegate approval authority.
    1. If a position is approved, the HR recruiter reaches out to the hiring manager to begin the recruitment process.
    2. If the position is not approved via the denied or send back functionality, the HR recruiter will discuss with the hiring manager and/or approver to make corrections or cancel the requisition entirely.

If a job offer exceeds the budgeted amount that was initially approved during the job requisition process, no offers (verbal or in writing) are to be extended until the offer is approved by the additional approvers. Your recruiter will assist with this approval (either VP/president or dean/provost approval) outside of Workday, via email.

  1. The HR recruiter will work with the hiring manager to obtain approval of the proposed offer details from the VP/president or dean/provost via email.
  2. If the proposed offer details are approved, the HR recruiter will work with the hiring manager to extend a contingent verbal offer.
    1. If not approved, the HR recruiter will work with the hiring manager to determine next steps.
  3. Upon receipt of a verbal offer acceptance by the candidate, the HR recruiter will enter the approved and accepted offer details in Workday to route through the standard approval workflow (supervisor, next level supervisor and finance approver).
    1. To adhere to the compensation guidelines [pdf], additional approvals may be added if a salary exceeds certain thresholds.
  4. Once approvals are completed, the HR recruiter will generate and extend the contingent written offer letter.

Before submitting a fixed-term extension for a staff position, the supervisor establishes criticality through the following:

  1. Explores all options to use internal employee resources to complete the work.
  2. Consults their supervisor, division head, dean and/or vice president to confirm criticality, as necessary.
  3. Once criticality is confirmed, department completes the Staff Position Hiring Justification Form [pdf].
  4. If the extension to the fixed-term assignment makes the total length of the assignment greater than six months, the department emails Becky Culyba (for academic areas) or Tricia O’Reilly (for administrative areas), attaching the completed Staff Position Hiring Justification Form, providing any additional context on the request, and noting that the VP/dean has approved.
  5. Before a fixed-term extension transaction is initiated, the department will provide the email approvals and the Staff Position Hiring Justification Form to the appropriate transaction initiator or HR generalist.
  6. The HR generalist or HR business partner creates a fixed-term extension offer letter using Office of Human Resources approved templates, after ensuring that appropriate approvals have been obtained.
  7. Once the letter is signed by the employee, the transaction initiator or the HR generalist submits the fixed-term extension transaction in Workday and attaches the justification form, approval email, and the signed extension letter. Note: If the required documents are not attached, the Office of Human Resources will return the transaction to the transaction initiator.
    1. If the transaction is initiated by the transaction initiator, the HR business partner is responsible for ensuring the required approval documentation has been attached in Workday.
  8. The transaction routes through the standard approval flow and then the additional approvals of the dean and provost or vice president and president. Each approver in the approval path is able to approve or reject the extension, and each can delegate approval authority.

Promotions, transfers, reclassifications, and additional assignments are subject to close review and approval, per the compensation guidelines [pdf]. Please consult your HR business partner for guidance before initiating any post-hire employment action that has or may have a budgetary impact on the university.

Additional approval by Becky Culyba (for academic areas) or Tricia O’Reilly and Brent Carothers (for administrative areas) will be required for the following scenarios:

  • Promotions which result in a salary that is above the 50th percentile AND more than a 10% increase
  • Salary adjustments which result in a salary that is above the 50th percentile AND more than a 10% increase
  • Reclassifications which result in a salary that is above the 50th percentile AND more than a 10% increase
  • Promotions, salary adjustments and reclassifications when base salary is within the fourth quartile (75th percentile and above)