VACANCIES AND TRANSFERS A vacancy shall be defined, for purposes of this Agreement, as a position previously held by a bargaining unit member that needs to be filled, or a newly created PSS position. When all necessary parties agree, vacancies can be filled by organizational advancement or transfer from within the hiring department and shall not require posting. All vacancies will be posted for a minimum of seven (7) working days unless filled by transfer, reassignment, or recall of a laid off staff member. Notice of vacancies will be given to the Alliance President and Chief Alliance Xxxxxxx at the time they are posted on the University's electronic Notices GVSU Business board, and will be simultaneously posted at the University’s electronic employment website. A vacancy will not be filled until after the posting period has expired. Job postings shall include the classification, department, location(s), work schedule and the position description. The search committee will include a PSS member. Typically, vacancies will be posted as an open search available for both internal and external applicants. A job posting limited to internal applicants may occur upon approval. In each instance, all qualified internal applicants will receive an interview. The search committee must present strong justification for not selecting an internal applicant who meets the minimum qualifications of the position. When two applicants are equally qualified for the vacant position, based on current position description and satisfactory work and attendance, the more senior qualified staff member will receive the assignment. At the time of job offer, the University shall notify the selected staff member of any known or impending changes in the position. The Human Resources Office, or their designee, will provide internal applicants not selected for the position with rationale for the decision. Candidates who were interviewed but not selected may contact Human Resources to schedule a meeting with the Search Committee Chairperson, a Human Resource representative, and an Alliance Representative to discuss the reason for non-selection. The Alliance must notify the employer within three (3) working days that the meeting has been the step 1 meeting of the grievance process. If a meeting is requested or a grievance is filed, the position cannot be filled until this process is completed. An internal staff member selected for the position will be required to establish that they can do the job within eight (8) working days. Failure to qualify shall result in returning the selected staff member to their former position and is not subject to the grievance procedure. The staff member shall also have the option to elect to return to their former position within eight (8) working days. When making departmental changes, transfer shall be with the consent of the staff member whenever possible but when there is no reasonable alternative, it may be involuntary. When involuntary transfer is required, the least senior qualified staff member shall be transferred to a similar position (e.g., classification, full or part-time) or be given the option of electing an unpaid leave of absence with eligibility only for the next vacancy in their classification, if qualified. That person shall be disqualified from consideration when the position from which they were transferred is posted. Nothing contained in this Section is intended to prevent the University from making necessary changes in positions, eliminating positions or creating new positions.
