PRO-U5320.03A Budgeting For Position Control

Position control is the process of allocating and maintaining personnel budgets for University funds that ensures positions are fully funded to ensure effective fiscal management. The process confirms there are sufficient funds to cover employee salaries and benefits for all permanent positions and non-tenure track faculty positions, except those funded by Foundation or grant funds.

Action By:

Hiring Department or Unit

  1. Identifies a need to make a change to an existing position, fill an existing vacant position, or create and fill a new position.
  2. Determines if there is an existing position number that is, or can be, assigned to the position. Each position is identified with a unique 6-digit number sequentially assigned by Human Resources (HR). This must be reviewed by the unit head in consultation with the budget authority responsible for tracking funds. For position reviews and when hiring to fill existing vacant positions, the same position number is used. For new positions, the hiring department will ask HR to create a new position number (addressed later in this procedure).
  3. Determines if an approved position description (PD) already exists. For permanent and project staff positions, PDs are required regardless of hiring method (including Personnel Action Forms instead of the online hiring system). PDs are not used for faculty positions.
    1. If an approved PD exists and does not need to be updated, continues to step 8.
    2. If an approved PD does not exist, develops a PD (HR has a Position Description Worksheet to use if desired) and obtains internal approval from the supervisor and department head before proceeding.
  4. Enters PD into Western’s hiring system and routes for approval based on the type of action requested.
  5. Ensures the correct position number is entered where required or leaves position number field(s) blank and requests a new position number if needed. HR will create new position number(s) at the recruitment request phase or if contacted directly for other alternative hiring pathways.

Human Resources

  1. Receives PD in Western’s hiring system and determines position classification and compensation salary range for staff positions.
  2. Notifies the hiring department or unit of the completed PD review and the identified position classification and compensation.

Hiring Department or Unit

  1. Receives electronic notice of completed PD from Western’s hiring system and/or HR, and decides whether to proceed or to seek adjustments to the PD.
  2. Determines if there is sufficient funding to cover the salary range in the PD approved by HR. This must be approved by the department head in consultation with the departmental budget authority responsible for tracking departmental funds. If sufficient funding is not available, the procedure stops here.
  3. Works with college or division budget officer on the submission of a budget transfer to allocate funding to the position number for salary and benefits (mid-range salary recommended for new hires) or to balance increases in the case of promotions. The budgeted amounts can be adjusted later as needed to align with the accepted salary and associated benefit costs.
  4. For new hiring, continues with recruitment process in Western’s hiring system (or follows alternative hiring processes) and:
    1. Ensures correct FOAPAL codes are active and referenced in all recruitment and hiring documents.
    2. Ensures correct position number is used in all recruitment and hiring documents, or indicates “create new” where needed.
    3. If hiring more than one position within one recruitment, indicates the total number of positions intending to hire, labeled with "New" and/or "Replacement".

Human Resources

  1. Receives a recruitment request through Western’s hiring system.
  2. If requested, assigns a new position number(s) that has been activated by Strategy, Management, and Budget.
  3. Ensures the position number is added to the recruitment request before it is returned to the hiring department or unit for recruitment approval routing.

Division Budget Officer (or Equivalent)

  1. Ensures sufficient funding is allocated to the position before approving the recruitment or personnel action form, or other approval actions.
  2. If there is not sufficient position budget for salary and/or benefits, either transfers budget to the position or halts the recruitment process until funding is allocated.

Hiring Department or College/Division

  1. Monitors and updates position budgets throughout the year to maintain position control. Budget transfers can be submitted at any time if updates are necessary.
  2. Works with division budget officer to ensures the reconciliation of position budgets to actual salaries and benefits during the fiscal year.
  3. Annually verifies and updates position budgets during the Budget Build process.

Strategy, Management, and Budget Office

  1. Distributes quarterly budget variance reports of position budgets and the associated job salaries and benefits to division budget officers for compliance monitoring.

Procedure Information

Approved By:

Assistant VP for Strategy, Management and Budget

Effective Date:

January 9, 2024

Authority:

Related Forms

No forms apply to this procedure.

Procedure Contact

Strategy, Management, and Budget

Email: smb@wwu.edu

Phone: (360) 650-4762

Strategy, Management & Budget website