Hiring a Postdoctoral Fellow

Purpose:

To provide policies, processes, and requirements for hiring and extending (paid) postdoctoral fellows.

Relevant Definitions:

Postdoctoral Fellow (postdoc): A temporary academic administrative and professional (A&P) job intended to provide a training program of advanced academic preparation and research training to an individual, under mentorship of a more experienced scientist/scholar, within three years of completing their Ph.D.

Some general (minimum) expectations, in line with the VPR/EVPP requirements:

this person will be directly supervised by/working with at least one active faculty member;
this person will meet the Ph.D. degree requirements prior to their start date;
this person will not have received Ph.D. more than 3 years prior to start date;
the job will be full-time (40SWH) and expected to last for at least one year;
the job is funded for at least one year;
the job will meet/exceed minimum salary requirements for the title;
this person will be performing scholarly and academic work appropriate for this job title/the intended use of this title.

Process:

Determine whether you will be hiring someone directly, or whether you will need to recruit for the postdoc position:
1. If recruiting:
  1. Follow the regular process for staff recruiting. (see Staff Recruitment wiki)
    1. Make sure that the required qualifications and attributes of the position align with the VPR/EVPP requirements for the 0712-Postdoctoral Fellow job profile.
  2. Create the job requisition for the new or existing postdoc position in the PM sup org of the supervising faculty member. (For Workday help, please see Creating a Job Requisition WIG)
    1. If no PM org exists, please see Requesting a New Sup Org.
2. If not recruiting:
  1. Complete the Request to Hire Staff pre-approval form.
  2. Once approval has been received, hire into an existing postdoc position, or create a new postdoc position in a PM sup org belonging to the supervising faculty member. Hire Academic Staff for Workday guidance.
Ensure all requirements for the postdoc job have been met before initiating the Workday BP to Hire.
1. Determine whether the Ph.D. has been conferred.
  1. If Ph.D. has not been conferred, you will need a signed letter, on university letterhead, from the hire’s graduate adviser/graduate office/registrar, attesting that all degree requirements for the Ph.D. have been met, along with a future conferral date. (You will need this for the Hire BP.)
  2. If Ph.D. has been conferred, ensure that degree was not received more than 3 years prior to start date. (If this is the case, then "Postdoctoral Fellow" is not the appropriate job profile, per VPR/EVPP Research Position guidelines.)
2. Make sure you have a copy of the person's CV.
3. Prepare an offer letter, using the COLA-modified postdoc offer template; you will need the signed version to attach to the Workday BP.
  1. The offer letter ought to specify the expected dates of appointment; Postdoctoral Fellow is a temporary research title, and therefore the expected duration and possibility of renewal should be stated upfront. (Note: Unless funding is guaranteed for more than one year, best practice would be for 1 year in length, subject to renewal...)
  2. Please note, as mentioned in the Staff Recruitment wiki (step 9c) any additional terms or conditions that might arise during negotiation require prior approval from the HR Director and Assistant Dean of Business..
  3. Note about hire/employment dates:
    1. Refer to HR Date Checker for best practices and requirements for staff hire/end dates.
    2. To create an appointment of one year in length:
      1. CORRECT: June 1, 2022 - May 31, 2023
      2. INCORRECT: June 1, 2022 - June 1, 2023
For the Workday Hire BP:
1. Use Worker Type of "Regular Benefits-Eligible (Fixed Term)"
2. Required comments (Initial assignment) (specific, applicable details should be included, as indicated in bold):
  1. “Initial PDF assignment mm/dd/yy. Ph.D. in (Subject) on mm/dd/yy from University, State, Country. Assignment from mm/dd/yy to mm/dd/yy. Five year maximum mm/dd/yy. Working on (X) research with Dr. (Y).”
    1. PDF=postdoctoral fellowship (OVPR abbreviation)
    2. Initial date=the date first hired as postdoc. Note: time in previous postdoc position(s) count toward maximum of 5 years, even if not at UT.
    3. Five year max date=the last date able to be hired as postdoc at UT.
  2. Source of funding for job and any additional information that would be useful for approvers; such as prior authorizations that have been received.
    1. E.g., "Tamela Walker approved $3K relocation stipend via email July 2, 2024.” (For more details about COLA policies re: staff relocation payments, please refer to the Definitions section of the Staff Recruitment page.)
  3. Ex. "Initial PDF assignment 09/01/23. Ph.D. in Philosophy on 05/08/23 from University of Southern California. Assignment from 9/1/23-8/31/24. Five year maximum: 08/31/28. Working on bowling research with Prof. W. Sobchak. Salary of $55,000 (annual); funded by 26-0000-0012. Possibility of extension for up to two additional years, subject to renewal of funding and satisfactory performance."
  4. Attach CV and signed offer letter to the BP.

Renewing a Postdoctoral Fellow

Postdoc appointments are expected to be renewed in advance of their fixed-term end date, ideally 1-2 months in advance, so as to ensure a smooth reappointment process with no break in access or services for the postdoc. Although external grant funding availability can sometimes introduce delays or uncertainty into the mix, it is not acceptable to wait until after the postdoc’s fixed term end date to address their employment status in Workday.

If it is certain that the fellowship will end as of the original terms of appointment, the postdoctoral fellow should be notified of that fact with as much advance notice as practicable (60 days' notice being best practice).

Process for Renewal:

Prior to the postdoc’s end date, work with the supervising faculty member to determine details of the postdoc’s renewal, including:
1. Dates of re-appointment;
2. Funding source(s);
3. Salary increase?
  1. If the salary will be increased:
    1. How much will it increase?
    2. Is the increase consistent with the current fiscal year’s Salary Policy?
      1. If not, what is the justification?
    3. Is the increase compliant with sponsored project requirements (when applicable)?
Confirm these two additional compliance items:
1. Has an annual performance appraisal been conducted in Workday or submitted to COLA HR? You will need to reference the date of the appraisal completion (or submission) in your BP.
2. How many years has the individual been a postdoctoral fellow (including outside of UT)?
  1. If the person has already served 5 (or more) years as a postdoc, they may no longer be eligible to serve as a postdoc. Please contact COLA HR for assistance.
Once you have obtained the necessary information and checked for compliance, if all is well, the next step is to prepare the new offer letter, using the COLA-modified template.
1. If you have already confirmed that the renewal will be compliant with university and college policies and if the renewal will follow standard postdoc practices (1 year in duration, etc.), then it will most likely be okay to proceed with signatures prior to initiating the Workday BP.
  1. If in Any doubt, please submit the draft offer and details to COLA HR prior to preparing the final offer letter for signature.
Once ready to renew: Locate the individual’s profile within Workday and Start a Job Change->Change Job Details, using the day after the current end date as the Effective Date of your BP. (see Change Job WPO and Change Job WIG for additional guidance)
The signed renewal letter should be attached to the BP, and the following BP Comments are required:
1. Per OVPR, must include “Initial PDF mm/dd/yy. Five year max mm/dd/yy. This process extends to mm/dd/yy.”
  1. PDF=postdoctoral fellowship (their abbreviation)
  2. Initial date=the date first hired as postdoc.
  3. Five year max date=the last date able to be hired as postdoc at UT. (Five years from initial hire.)
2. Also include supervisor, 12-month rate, and account(s) paying the salary;
  1. E.g., “Renewal for one year, fixed term appointment 9/1/YY-8/31/YY, supervised by Dr. Hickory, $60,000 annual rate, acct 2619…”
3. If salary increase, the relevant justification comments;
  1. E.g., “3% salary increase as laid out in approved NIH grant budget for year 2 of postdoc salary support, confirmed by COLA Research Office on MM/DD/YY.”
4. Confirmation that annual performance appraisal has been completed and submitted to COLA HR and/or Workday;
  1. E.g., “Performance appraisal submitted to COLA HR via Box 5/23/YY.”
5. Statement of number of years the individual has served as a postdoc:
  1. E.g., “This will be Dr. Jacoby’s fourth year as a postdoctoral fellow.”
6. To sum up, yes, all of this is required, and the resulting comments might look like this: "Renewal of Lebowski postdoc appointment for one year, supervised by Prof. Sobchak; Initial PDF 9/1/23; Five year max 8/31/28. This process extends to 8/31/25. $56,100 (annual); 2% increase per COLA 24-25 Salary Policy and confirmed as allowable w/NIH grant officer on 6/24/24; appraisal rated “exceeds expectations” on file w/COLA HR 5/29/24; acct 26-0000-0112 (exp. 5/31/25 but yr 3 of 5, so expected to renew); Lebowski’s second year as postdoc; possibility of a third year pending funding and continued satisfactory performance. Renewal letter attached.”

COLA-specific Policies:

As with all hire BPs, an offer letter much be attached (including for renewals). Best practice is to use the university’s template, as modified by COLA (link below).
Postdoc Teaching Load/Expectations:. A one-course load (1-0/0-1) is the ideal, but a 1-1 is allowed without additional justification and approvals.* A 2-1 is the maximum postdoc teaching load, requires justification, should not be the norm, and must be discussed with COLA HR before being agreed to.
- *Note: If teaching will be part of the postdoc position, you should specify this in the offer letter/hiring agreement. You will also need to create a 0% Lecturer PAR.

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