Faculty & Staff

The arrangements for human resources management of international operations vary significantly from project to project, depending on the project’s goals and its implementation approach.

Some Mailman School international programs have a full complement of local staff in the country of operation, while small projects may have no staff at all. However, even a small project hiring one local consultant must pay some attention to human resources management.

The following checklist, drawn from the ICAP SOPs’ lengthy section on this subject, serves as a management tool for implementing the essential elements of human resources management in major, ongoing field operations. PIs and Country/Project Directors leading smaller operations are advised to review the checklist, select those elements that apply in their context, and make their own list to guide project staff who are responsible in any way for human resources management.

Select from one of the following topics in the pulldown menu to learn more about the processes involved in the management of Human Resources.

Recruitment and Hiring

For more information on this topic, see Hiring Staff & Consultants.

• For all staff recruitment, before hiring a person, create a new or updated job description and obtain approval to hire
• Ensure all recruitment activities are consistent with Columbia University's commitment to the principle of equal employment opportunity
• Prior to their traveling to Columbia University or another location for interviews, advise all candidates whether or not their travel expenses will be reimbursed
• Perform reference checks on all prospective employees and document them (see the University’s Reference Check Form)
• In the case of a local hire, provide the new employee with a letter of employment, have him/her counter-sign it, and retain a copy in the project’s records
• Contact all candidates that were interviewed but not chosen for the job and inform them that they have not been selected

top

Compensation and Benefits

• Compensate local staff in accordance with the U.S. Embassy's Local Compensation Plan, which includes the Foreign Service National (FSN) scale
• Provide personnel benefits in accordance with local law and practice and as documented in the Local Hire Manual
• At the beginning of each Columbia University fiscal year, disseminate a memo with a list of holidays that the local field office will observe that year

top

Working Conditions

• Ensure that all locally hired employees submit completed, signed Monthly Time and Effort Sheets to their supervisors for review, verification, and approval (see Appendix 22 of the ICAP SOPs for a timesheet template that could be adapted)
• Ensure that on a monthly basis, all expatriate (NY-hired) employees update their Time/Attendance Report, obtain supervisor sign-off, and submit it to New York
• When planning to be absent, communicate to relevant parties the expected length of absence, contact information, who is providing coverage, and what specific authorities have been delegated, if any
• Ensure that the primary supervisor of every new employee orients him/her fully to his/her new job and working environment
• For staff development opportunities for project staff, submit a proposal for review and approval by the PI, if the opportunity is related to a grant, and otherwise to the Department Administrator

top

Other Human Resources

For more information see the Local Hire Manuals and Human Resources Records.

• For local hires, conduct performance appraisals at least once per year according to a regular schedule established by the University and documented in the Local Hire Manual
• Hold an interview with each departing employee and complete an Exit Interview Report (adapted as required for local hires)
• For all terminating or transferring employees, complete an Exit/Termination Checklist (adapted as required for local hires) and ensure all accounts are settled and property returned in good order before issuing the final payment to the employee
• Take precautionary measures to enhance staff security/safety and reduce risks in areas such as criminal activity, travel accidents, and civil unrest
• Prior to putting out the Local Hire Manual or publishing major changes, have local legal counsel and then the Department Administrator conduct a review
• Maintain a complete, confidential personnel file on each staff member and keep the files in a secure location

top