GeoSafe has devised a Recruitment Strategy comprising a set of best-practice guidelines for the advertising, interviewing, and recruiting of new researchers to the project. This strategy will not seek to replace institutional guidelines, but rather to complement them with a set of GeoSafe expectations – for example, encouraging hiring institutions to actively reach out to diverse communities, organisations, and institutions, to attract a broader range of talent to our field. As part of these efforts, GeoSafe will join events offered by the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK).
In first instance, GeoSafe participants should please refer to their own institutional guidelines related to Recruitment and Selection Policy. The additional GeoSafe recruitment guidelines are designed to support each institution’s policies, rather than to replace them.
Best Practice Guidelines: General Principles
- The approach to the advertising of vacant posts, in step with that of the wider consortium, aims to ensure that opportunities reach the widest pool of potential candidates, including current employees, thereby enabling equality, diversity and inclusion to be continuously integrated within our culture.
- We will seek to attract the best candidates for our jobs, and thereafter ensure the identification of the person best suited to the job based upon the required skills, knowledge and general attributes as described within Person Specification, and identified through structured interview and other appropriate recruitment assessment processes of the candidates.
- We will ensure that the recruitment and selection of employees is conducted in a professional, timely, and responsive manner, and in compliance with current employment legislation.
- All GeoSAFE partners involved in the selection of new employees should satisfy themselves that they are appropriately trained and can comply with the requirements of these guidelines. They should work with their employer to receive this training, and provide evidence of this training to the GeoSafe EDI Committee Chair.
- Recruitment and selection are a key public relations exercise, and should enhance the reputation of GeoSAFE. We will ensure that all candidates are treated fairly and equitably, and with respect and courtesy, aiming for the candidate experience to be positive, irrespective of the outcome. Reasonable adjustments should be offered to candidates during the recruitment process and at the interview stage, in case these are required. Feedback should be provided to unsuccessful interview-stage candidates, if such feedback is requested.
- GeoSafe recruitment panels should document and reason all decisions made, be mindful of acting proportionally, keep actions under constant review, and ask for support from your local university team at any stage.
Best Practice Guidelines: Job Descriptions
– A Job Description and Person Specification must be produced for any vacant post that is to be filled, in accordance with your institution’s guidelines. These adverts should then be checked and approved by the GeoSafe EDI Committee.
– When describing the essential criteria for the post, bear in mind that: (1) Criteria must be relevant, clear, and demonstrable; bias should be avoided when writing these. (2) The relevance of the experience should be preferred over length of experience. (3) Avoid listing superfluous qualifications.
– Consider the language used to write the job advert. Make sure that the sentences are succinct and written in plain English. Do not use abbreviations, or language that only certain people will understand. Consider the use of a gender bias text analyser or “gender decoder”.
Best Practice Guidelines: Advertising/attracting applicants
– Advertisements must be based on the Person Specification, and will identify the main essential criteria to maximise the number of suitably qualified applicants.
– Please advertise the position widely to actively reach out to diverse communities, organisations, and institutions.
– Include information on the GeoSafe mentorship programme, leadership programme, and support for professional and personal development; see the GeoSafe: Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Plan.
Key platforms on which to advertise include:
– Association For Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK)https://www.afbe.org.uk/
– Find A PhD https://www.findaphd.com or
– Find A Postdoc https://www.findapostdoc.com
– Consider engaging with a Recruitment Agency/Resourcer specialised in eitherNuclear/Nuclear Waste or BAME Recruitment
https://www.jobs.ac.uk and https://www.earthworks-jobs.com
– https://bbstem.co.uk
– Post on X (formerly Twitter)
– Post on LinkedIn, and Re-post related GeoSafe ads
– Consider using the following hashtags: #womeninscience #littlemissinventor #womeninstem #blackwomeninstem #womenintech #girls #science #tech #engineering and consider adding hashtags specific to your location and research topic
– Subject specific Blogs and Groups
– Send job advert information to NWS RSO at rso-gdf@manchester.ac.uk
– RSO website and social media
All advertisements should be forwarded to Adriana Paluszny (apaluszn@imperial.ac.uk), for publishing them through the AFBE-UK route.
GeoSafe Project 