UHD Career Ladder Guide

CAREER LADDER GUIDE

OVERVIEW

The University of Houston-Downtown is committed to providing career opportunities and advancements

to its staff employees. The UHD Career Ladder Program is established under PS 02.B.08, Staff Salary

Compensation Program and Salary Guidelines and PS 02.B.12, Staff Training and Development Policy.

The UHD Career Ladder Program includes Pre-Defined Career Ladders through which staff employees

are able to advance their career goals and move to a higher-level jobs within their department, division

or the university in accordance with the UHD compensation and classification program. In addition to

the Pre-Defined Career Ladders, the Career Ladder Program allows for In-Range and Individualized

Vertical Career Ladders when there is not a Pre-Defined Career Ladder.

In accordance with UHD’S Compensation Program, job reviews are required to determine the proper

education and experience requirements, FLSA status and classification, title, salary grade and placement

of the new position within its respective job family and job sub-family. The job families are used in the

development of Vertical Career Ladders. Attention is given to external market factors and internal equity

when setting standards for UHD jobs. The Compensation Program includes the creation and maintenance

of formal job descriptions that accurately detail the duties and responsibilities of each job. Job

descriptions are available to UHD employees who are interested in pursuing a specific career goal.

Employees are encouraged to establish a career goal and develop a career path to serve as a guide in

fulfilling the education, experience and training requirements of the desired higher-level positions.

The Career Ladder Program allows employees to move vertically through a career ladder to a higher-level

job or horizontally to a position at the same level as their current job but in a different job family or sub-

family in order to follow the desired career path.

Moving vertically or horizontally within UHD’s Career Ladder structure is not a guarantee for any

employee. There must be a need in the department for the new position and availability of funds for a

salary adjustment, if appropriate. The employee must also meet the minimum requirements for the new

position to be eligible for a career ladder job change.

The UHD Career Ladder

Program includes Pre-Defined

Career Ladders through which

staff employees are able to

advance their career goals and

move to a higher-level jobs

within their department,

division or the university…

DEFINITIONS

CAREER LADDER

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), “Career Ladders are the progression

of jobs in an organization’s specific occupational fields ranked from highest to lowest based on level of

responsibility and pay.” A Career Ladder establishes a series of job levels within a job family or job sub-

family where the nature of work is similar. The job descriptions outline the skills, knowledge and

responsibility associated with each job required by the employee to develop a career path and move

vertically throughout their career. A career ladder is usually limited to employees whose positions are at

or below the director level, although an individualized career ladder may be initiated for employees at -

or above - the executive director level as part of organizational succession planning.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

Distinguishing characteristics are the key functional responsibilities of a job that make it significantly

different from a job within the same job sub-group that is classified at a lower job grade.

JOB ANALYSIS/RECLASSIFICATION

The Job Analysis/Reclassification Process is an essential function in UHD’s Career Ladder Program.

During the Job Analysis Process, detailed information related to a job, educational and experience

requirements, internal and external factors and work environment are collected and reviewed. The review

focuses on the job as it exists at the time of the analysis and with no attention given to the current

incumbent in the position. The Job Analysis Process is a required step in the creation of all new jobsas well

as the review and modification of existing jobs.

The Job Reclassification Process is the assignment of a new job title and/or grade to an existing position,

either filled or vacant, following the submission of a Career Ladder Job Change Request form to HR. A

position is considered for reclassification under the Career Ladder Program when there are substantial

and permanent changes in the distinguishing characteristics of the job, the basic job duties, complexity

and knowledge requirements. Reclassifications may result in a pay grade increase. Whenever a job goes

through the job analysis/reclassification process, the job description is revised to reflect the updated job

“Career Ladders are the

progression of jobs in an

organization’s specific

occupational fields ranked from

highest to lowest based on level

of responsibility and pay”

(SHRM)

information and competencies. Reclassifications may result in changes that affect the job family and

career ladder and may require the reassignment of a new career ladder code.

JOB DESCRIPTION

A job description is a summary of the most important features of a job. The job description describes the

distinguishing characteristics of the job, duties, supervisory responsibilities (if any), experience,

educational requirements, position-specific competencies and special requirements, such as required

licenses or certifications. The focus of the job description is the job itself and not on any specific

individual who may fill the job. Job descriptions are created in the Office of Human Resources (HR)

following a comprehensive job analysis using the information provided on the Job Analysis

Questionnaire. Job descriptions are used for several functions including:

 Determining job value or worth

 Assigning a job to a job family

 Recruiting/selecting candidates

 Determining appropriate career ladders

 Creating training programs for employee development

JOB FAMILY

The job family is the broadest grouping of jobs within UHD and is generally a grouping of jobs based on

the division. Larger divisions that contain diverse jobs and responsibilities within several departments are

separated by departments and the larger departments become separate job families. Recurring jobs with

similar skills and responsibilities that exist across all divisions may be grouped into a job family. For

PeopleSoft purposes, each job family is assigned a unique three (3) character Job Family Code. The first

two characters identify the job family as belonging to UHD and the third is an Alpha Character assigned to

the job family.

JOB GRADE

Job grade is defined as a collection of jobs that have the same value or worth for compensation purposes.

Jobs that form a portion of a specific job grade have similar job descriptions, knowledge, skills, abilities

and requirements, thus making the pay scale similar for those jobs. Salary adjustments resulting from a

career ladder change are based on UHD’s salary structures and the new job grade. These salary

adjustments must follow UHD’s staff compensation policy.

JOB SUB-FAMILY

The job sub-family further breaks down a job family into smaller units based of the department’s structure

or job functions. Job families that represent a single department within a division may be further divided

into job sub-families. The job sub-family allows positions to be viewed based on specific job functions

within a smaller department or unit.

JOB SUB-FAMILY SUB-GROUP

The job sub-family sub-group is the smallest grouping of positions into small units for the purpose of

creating job hierarchies. The sub-group is made up of jobs within the sub-family with similar job duties.

The job hierarchies arrange jobs from the highest to the lowest ranking based on the job grade. The jobs

are assigned Career Ladder Codes within the sub-group with the highest grade having the smaller numeric

ranking. For example, a manager in a sub-group is ranked “1” to identify it as the highest level.

TYPES OF CAREER LADDERS

PRE-DEFINED VERTICAL CAREER LADDER

Staff positions with a clearly defined hierarchy of job classifications are part of a pre-defined career ladder.

These hierarchies consist of titles with multiple levels, such as Academic Advisor I, Academic Advisor II

and Academic Advisor III. Employees may advance along the career ladder to the next level by achieving

the required skills, knowledge and experience required for the higher-level job  provided the next higher

level is available and necessary.

Pre-Defined Vertical Career Ladders are also identified in a sub-group from jobs having similar duties and

hierarchy based on their job grade. A career ladder may begin with Office Assistant as the lowest level

and then advance to Administrative Assistant I, Administrative Assistant II, Administrative Assistant III and

finally Department Business Administratror I. It is also possible for more than one job at a lower level to

have the same next highest level job. For example, the Office Assistant and Records Technician I positions

may both have the Administrative Assistant I as the next level job on their respective career ladders.

An employee’s department may not incorporate the next level job outlined in the Pre-Defined Career

Ladder. This does not limit the employee from advancing to a higher job and reaching their career goals.

An employee may apply for a position within a different department as part of their career ladder path,

provided the employee meets the job requirements outlined in the job description.

A Pre-Defined Vertical Career Ladder may not include all jobs within the job sub-family. Jobs that are a

part of a sub-family but not included in the Pre-Defined Vertical Career Ladder are considered to have

Individualized or In-Range Career Ladders.

If an employee is in a position that

does not have a pre-defined vertical

career ladder and is assigned new

major additional duties and/or

responsibilities, an assessment will

be conducted by HR to determine

whether the added responsibilities

merit a new title and higher grade.

INDIVIDUALIZED CAREER LADDER

Individualized Career Ladders allow employees to acquire the skills, knowledge and experience necessary

to move into an equal or higher-level job within the same or a different job family or job-sub family.

Employees requesting a vertical Individualized Career Ladder are usually at the executive/administrative

level or at the highest level job within their current job sub-family where a Pre-Defined Career Ladder

does not exist for their current job. Individualized Vertical Career Ladders are often associated with a

division’s succession plan. Jobs assigned to an Individualized Career Ladder hold the rank of Director or

higher. Horizontal individualized career ladders also exist and are geared toward employees at the

director level or higher who choose to move to a different position, at their current salary grade, but in a

different job family or job sub-family. For example, the Director of Financial Reporting may decide to

change career paths by moving to the Director of Student Accounting and Collections position if he/she

meets the requirements of the position. These two positions are in different job sub-familes, as per below.

(G1) Finance & Accounting

G1A Administration

G1B General Accounting

G1C Accounts Payable

G1D Travel

G1E Student Accounting

IN-RANGE CAREER LADDER

In-Range Career Ladders are available for jobs that do not have Pre-Defined Vertical Career Ladders. If an

employee is in a position that does not have a Pre-Defined Vertical Career Ladder and is assigned

new major additional duties and/or responsibilities, an assessment will be conducted by HR to

determine whether the added responsibilities merit a new title and higher grade. As with Pre-Defined

Career Ladders, salary adjustments are not automatic. There must be a documented need for the

employee to take on the additional duties and all changes must be approved by the employee’s

supervisor in concurrence with the department head and HR. These assessments are made on a case-

by-case basis when requested by

the employee’s supervisor.

Table I - Example Job Hierarchy

The table below is a sample job hierarchy used to develop a career ladder. This is only a example and does

not reflect UHD current job titles. This chart depicts five departments and three job families. Existing job

titles may differ in each department. The career ladder below moves the Administrator I to Administrator

II then to Administrator III, as indicated in Department 5.

 Department 1 does not have the Administrator III job level. An Administrator II in Department 1

would follow their Pre-Defined Career Ladder to Department 2 where the Administrator III job

level exists within the job family.

 A Specialist I in Department 3 could follow their Pre-Defined Career Ladder to the highest level of

the job, the Specialist IV, in their current department. Once the employee reached Specialist IV,

their career ladder would no longer be pre-defined but become an In-Range Career Ladder. If this

employee is not interested in moving to a different job family, their career ladder growth will be

established through the In-Range Career Ladder procedures.

 In Department 5 an employee at level Staff I could advance to the highest level of their job, which

is Staff III. The job family does not contain the next highest level job. There are three job titles at

the next level within the other two job families: Coordinator, Specialist III and Supervisor. The

employee can plan his/her career path to obtain the required education, skills and experience to

move into a higher job within a different job family. Gaining experience may require a transfer to

a job within a different department that is at the same level. For example, the Staff III employee

in Department 5 could request a transfer to the Staff III position in Department 4. From this

position, the employee could acquire the skills to move into the Supervisor job in Department 4.

Highest

Level 1

President

Level 2

Sr. Vice President

Job Family A

Job Family B

Job Family C

Department 1

Department 2

Department 3

Department 4

Department 5

Level 3

Vice President

Level 4

Associate/Assistant

Vice President

Associate/Assistant

Vice President t

Level 5

Executive Director

Level 6

Director

Level 7

Associate/Assistant

Director

Associate/Assistant

Director

Associate/Assistant

Director

Level 8

Manager

Level 9

Administrator III

Level 10

Administrator II

Level 11

Administrator I

Specialist IV

Administrator I

Level 12

Coordinator

Specialist III

Supervisor

Level 13

Specialist II

Staff III

Level 14

Specialist I

Staff II

Specialist I

Staff II

Level 15

Staff I

Table II – Determining the Career Ladder Type

Table II below illustrates how jobs are assigned to a Career Ladder Type. Using the job titles and levels

from Table I, the two departments in the table below indicates the Career Ladder Type.

Department A

Department B

Job Title

Level Job

Exists?

Assigned Career

Ladder Type

Job Title

Level Job

Exists?

Assigned Career

Ladder Type

Director

N/A

Individualized

Vice President

N/A

Individualized

Associate/Assistant

Director

Yes

Pre-Defined

Executive Director

YES

Individualized

Manager

Yes

Pre-Defined

Director

Yes

Individualized

Administrator II

In-Range

Associate Director

Yes

Pre-Defined

Administrator I

Yes

Pre-Defined

Administrator II

In-Range

Coordinator

Yes

Pre-Defined

Administrator I

Yes

Pre-Defined

Specialist I

In-Range

Supervisor

Yes

Pre-Defined

Specialist I

In-Range

Coordinator

Yes

Pre-Defined

Staff II

In-Range

Staff III

Yes

Pre-Defined

Staff I

Yes

Pre-Defined

Staff II

Yes

Pre-Defined

Staff I

Yes

Pre-Defined

Staff I

Yes

Pre-Defined

 Departments A and B show the Director, Executive Director and Vice President with Individualized

Career Ladder Type in accordance with the UHD definition for Individualized Career Ladder. UHD

assigns any job at the director level or above as an Individualized Career Ladder Type.

 Department A contains two Staff I jobs and a Staff II level job. Since Staff II is the next highest

level, both of the Staff I jobs would be assigned a Pre-Defined Career Ladder.

 Department A does not contain a Staff III level job, which results in the Staff II job being assigned

an In-Range Career Ladder.

 Department A also contains two Specialist I but no Specialist II. Since the next level job does not

exist, both Specialist I jobs are assigned the In-Range Career Ladder.

 Department B jobs appear to follow a job structure that contains most of the next level jobs at

the lower level. Staff I job through Administrator I are assigned to a Pre-Defined Career Ladder.

 Department B does not contain an Administrator III level, which results in the Administrator II

position being assigned to an In-Range Career Ladder.

 In Department B the Administrator I job is the next highest level for both the Supervisor and

Coordinator based on the structure in Table I.

CONDITIONS RELATED TO UHD’S CAREER LADDER PROGRAM

1. Positions included in the Career Ladder Program must exist and have an assigned grade, FLSA

classification and complete job description, including required experience, education, knowledge

and skills. New job titles may be periodically created through the Job Analysis Process and are

then added to the Career Ladder Program.

2. Vacant positions must be fully funded and posted in Taleo, UHD’s applicant tracking system (ATS).

Staff employees may not be promoted into vacant positions; however, they may apply for any

open position for which they qualify, especially as part of the Career Ladder Program.

3. Duties and responsibilities may not be taken away from an existing employee solely for the

purpose to create a career ladder for another employee.

4. Career ladder requests that are part of a succession plan should be identified as such at the time

the request is submitted.

New job titles may be

periodically created through the

Job Analysis Process and are then

added to the Career Ladder

Program.

EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

1. The employee must be a regular staff employee. Student and temporary positions are not

considered part of the UHD Career Ladder Program. Student and temporary employees may apply

for a regular staff employee position.

2. Staff employees must successfully complete their probationary period to be eligible to apply for

promotion or transfer to other positions within their own department or other departments.

Exceptions to this provision must be granted by both the department head (or designee of the

employee’s current department) and the employing department and will only occur on a case-by-

case basis.

3. The overall performance rating on the employee’s most recent evaluation must be at the

“Proficient/Meets Requirements” or higher. These ratings indicate the employee has the required

skills and knowledge for their current position, which makes it possible for the employee to

acquire the skills and knowledge necessary for the higher-level position. If the Career Ladder

Request is for an employee who just completed their probationary period, only the Probationary

Performance Evaluation is required.

4. The employee must not be on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) or have any type of

disciplinary action.

The overall performance rating

on the employee’s most recent

evaluation must be at the

“Proficient/Meets

Requirements” or higher.

ALLOWABLE CAREER LADDER REQUESTS

An initial Career Ladder Request may be submitted when the employee meets eligibility requirements.

Future requests should be submitted following a review period since it is necessary to allow sufficient

time to evaluate employee’s performance and how well they have adapted to the new position.

In the case of Individualized Career Ladder Requests associated with a formal succession plan, the need

to develop an action plan to move the employee into the higher-level job must first be established. The

Career Ladder Request in this case is primarily for the purpose of establishing an action plan for the

employee to acquire further skills.

STEPS IN SUBMITTING A CAREER LADDER JOB CHANGE REQUEST

1. Identify the need for the higher-level job or added responsibilities to the current job at the existing

level.

2. Prepare a brief justification to substantiate the need for the job change.

It is necessary to allow

sufficient time to evaluate

employee’s performance and

how well they have adapted to

the new position.

HR will verify eligibility, assess

the new job title and grade, if

appropriate, and ensure the

proposed salary is within

compensation guidelines.

3. Determine is funding is available for a salary adjustment that may result from the career ladder

job change.

4. If funding cannot be identified, follow standard procedures for requesting additional funding.

5. Review the effect of the career ladder change on the department’s incumbents and organizational

structure.

6. Discuss the proposed career ladder job change with the employee to determine if the employee

is interested in pursuing a career ladder change.

7. If the employee is interested, have him/her submit a current resume and official college

transcript(s), if the required education for the new position is at a higher level than for their

current position.

8. Complete the Career Ladder Job Change Request form.

9. Initiate an electronic Position Request Form (ePRF) and attach the Career Ladder Job Change

Request form, a Job Analysis Questionnaire (JAQ) (if the proposed new position does not exist or

if there are changes to the existing job description), a current resume, official college transcript(s)

(if the required) and any other supporting documents.

• A JAQ is not required on Pre-Defined Career Ladder requests since the higher-level job

description already exists, unless changes to the existing job description are proposed.

10. Submit all documentation for approval.

11. HR will verify eligibility, assess the new job title and grade, if appropriate, and ensure the

proposed salary is within compensation guidelines.

STEPS IN IMPLEMENTING THE CAREER LADDER CHANGE

1. Upon receipt of an approved Career Ladder Job Change Request form and executed ePRF, the

manager must initiate the job change and salary adjustment through the submission of an electronic

Personnel Action Request (ePAR) to update the salary and other job data.

2. Once the (ePAR) executes in PeopleSoft, the job data panels will reflect the new job title, grade and

salary.

3. If a new/revised job description is developed, it will be uploaded to the HR website.

…the manager must initiate the

job change and salary adjustment

through the submission of an

electronic Personnel Action

Request (ePAR) to update the

salary and other job data.

Appendix

University of Houston-Downtown Career Ladders

Job Families/Sub-Families

DTA - Academic Administration

(A1) College Administration

(A2) Program Administration

(A3) Academic Affairs

(A4) Research

(A5) Library

DTB -Enrollment Management

(B1) Enrollment Management

(B2) Admissions

(B3) Student Records

(B4) Testing

DTC - Student Operations

(C1) Student Affairs

(C2) Academic Advising

(C3) Financial Aid

(C4) Student Success

(C5) Academic Support

(C6) Student Support

DTD - External Relations

(D1) Communications & Marketing

(D2) University Advancement

DTE - Office of Human Resources

(E1) HR Services

(E2) HR Operations

DTF - Administrative Operations

(F1) Administrative Operations

(F2) Facilities Management

(F3) Police

DTG - Financial Services

(G1) Finance & Accounting

(G2) Budget/Procurement

DTH - Administrative Support

(H1) Business Administration

(H2) Administrative Assistance

(H3) Customer Service

DTI - Technology Services

(I1) Administration

(I2) Enterprise Systems

(I3) Web Development

(I4) Technical Services

(I5) Computing/Telecom

(I6) Instructional Technology

(I7) User Support

(I8) IT Projects

(I9) Non-IT Technical Staff

DTJ - President and Cabinet

(J1) Executives

University of Houston Downtown

Job Family/Job Sub-Families/Sub Groups

DTA- Academic Administration

(A1) College Administration

A1A Business

A1B Humanities & Social Science

A1C Public Services

A1D Sciences & Technology

A1E University College

(A2) Program Administration

A2A Business

A2B Project/Program Administration

A2C Criminal Justice Training Center

A2D Urban Education

A2E Continuing Education

A2F Applied Business Technology Center

A2G Distance Education

A2H Theater

(A3) Academic Affairs

A3A Administration

A3B Assessment

A3C Institutional Research

(A4) Research

A4A Sponsored Programs

A4B Science Lab

(A5) Library

A5A Library Administration

A5B Librarians

A5C Library Support

DTB – Enrollment Management

(B1) Enrollment Management

B1A Administration

(B2) Admissions

B2A Undergraduate

B2B Graduate/International

B2C Veteran’s Services

B2D Operations

(B3) Student Records

B3A Retention/Release

B3B Electronic Systems

B3C Process Planning

(B4) Testing

B4A Testing Operations

DTC - Student Operations

(C1) Student Affairs

C1A Administration

(C2) Academic Advising

C2A Advising

(C3) Financial Aid

C3A Administration

C3B Counseling/Processing

C3C Operations

C3D Compliance

(C4) Student Success

C4A Teaching & Learning Excel

C4B QEP

C4C Specialized Services

(C5) Academic Support

C5A Academic Centers

(C6) Student Support

C6A Counseling

C6B Sports & Events

C6C Disability Services

DTD - External Relations

(D1) Communications & Marketing

D1A Communications

D1B Web Content

D1C Marketing

(D2) University Advancement

D2A Administration

D2B Operations

DTE - Office of Human Resources (E1)

HR Services

E1A Talent Management

E1B Employment

E1C HR Systems Management

E1D Communications

(E2) HR Operations

E2A Benefits & Compensation

E2B Payroll & Records

DTF - Administrative Operations

(F1) Administrative Operations

F1A Safety & Compliance

F1B Emergency Management

F1C Business Services

(F2) Facilities Management

F2A Administration

F2B Operations

F2C MEP

F2D Building/Grounds Maintenance

F2E Heating/Air Conditioning

F2F Electrical

F2G Carpentry

F2H Painting

(F3) Police

F3A Police

F3B Electronic Security

F3C Dispatch

F3D Support

DTG - Financial Services

(G1) Finance & Accounting

G1A Administration

G1B General Accounting

G1C Accounts Payable

G1D Travel

G1E Student Accounting

(G2) Budget

G2A Administration

G2B Budget

G2C Purchasing

G2D Contracts

DTH - Administrative Support

(H1) Business Administration

H1A Business Administration

(H2) Administrative Assistance

H2A Administrative Assistance

H2B Executive Assistance

(H3) Customer Service

H3A Customer Service

DTI - Technology Services

(I1) Administration

I1A Administration

(I2) Enterprise Systems

I2A Enterprise Systems

(I3) Web Development

I3A Web Development

(I4) Technical Services

I4A Systems Administration

I4B Data Warehousing

I4C Network Administration

(I5) Computing/Telecom

I5A Computing

I5B Multimedia

(I6) Instructional Technology

I6A Learning Services

(I7) User Support

I7A IT User Support

(I8) IT Projects

(I8A) Administration

(I9) Non-IT Technical Staff

(I9A) Functional Systems

(I9B) User Support

(I9C) Management Systems

DTJ - President and Cabinet

(J1) Executives