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Appointments & Renewals

POSTDOC DATA FORM

NEW POSTDOC CHECKLIST

Posting Open Positions

Guidelines on Benefits and Salary/Stipends

Before posting a postdoc position, please consult the Salary/Stipend Guidelines, as well as the Benefits Information on the monthly rates (it is a requirement to provide Single level coverage; PIs can opt into paying for higher than Single coverage for families). 

Posting Platforms

Your position can be posted on the Academic Careers page on the HR website by emailing the position description to employment@case.edu. The job will be posted for a minimum of 5 days, but the standard is 90 days. 

Faculty Advancement and Postdoctoral Affairs can also share your job posting on the CWRU Postdocs Twitter and Postdoctoral Affairs LinkedIn page to get the word out 

Appointing or Renewing a Postdoc

Steps of the Postdoctoral Scholars Hiring Process

The following steps create a clear, consistent, and compliant postdoctoral hiring process across Case Western Reserve University.

Step 1

A postdoctoral scholar ad is created by the Principal Investigator (“PI”) or hiring mentor, with department administrator assistance as needed, and submitted to the Office of Faculty Advancement and Postdoctoral Affairs for compliance review prior to being posted. (Job posting templates will be made available to aid in this process.) Job postings should include elements that are essential to the position such as scientific or other areas of research or methods relevant to the position, and terminal degree requirements. Diversity statements must not be requested for any position. Once the job ad is approved, the department should request that HR post it on the HR Academic Careers site where the ad shall be posted for at least five calendar days.  Applicants are requested to submit their CV with list of publications, contact information, and references if requested are submitted directly to the PI or mentor.

Step 2

The PI or mentor must complete the Postdoctoral Hiring training, which provides guidance on  the University’s non-discriminatory hiring practices. The training is provided asynchronously on Canvas.

Step 3

After at least five days from the initial date of posting, the PI or mentor can begin to review applicants for the position to identify potential qualified candidates, taking into consideration only job-related criteria. The PI or mentor may, but is not required to, develop a rubric for evaluating all candidates, consistent with the legitimate, non-discriminatory selection criteria. Any written rubrics must be reviewed and approved by the Office of General Counsel by submitting it to ogcsearches@case.edu. See here for a sample rubric.

Step 4

The PI or mentor interviews qualified candidates either in-person or via Zoom. Best practices recommend interviewing more than one candidate, at least two to three depending on the number of candidates whose materials indicate they meet minimum job requirements, to provide a more comprehensive review of qualified candidates. PIs and mentors are encouraged to bring postdoctoral scholar candidates to campus for in-person interviews when feasible. In such situations, it is recommended to show candidates the work space and introduce them to other members of the research team, if applicable.

Step 5

Once the top qualified candidate has been identified by the PI or mentor based on legitimate, nondiscriminatory selection criteria, the candidate should be requested to fill out the Post Doc Data Form which will start the appointment approval process. Once the Post Doc Data form is completed, the Office of Faculty Advancement and Postdoctoral Affairs will create a Student Information System (“SIS”) entry to be used for the appointment approval process.  

Step 6

The Department Administrator for the department in which the postdoc will be appointed completes the required appointment record in SIS.

Step 7

Once the appointment request is generated by the department in SIS, the Finance Officer for the School or College in which the postdoc will be appointed will review the request, confirm adequate funding, and approve the appointment request.

Step 8

Once approved at the School or College level, the appointment request is forwarded to the Office of Faculty Advancement and Postdoctoral Affairs who will confirm the candidate’s credentials and eligibility for appointment.

Step 9

If the PI or mentor posted the position as one eligible for visa sponsorship and the selected candidate needs a visa and/or work authorization to engage in work at the university the appointment request must go to the HR - VISA Office for approval.

Step 10

Once all required approvals are complete, the Office of Faculty Advancement and Postdoctoral Affairs will issue the appointment letter to the selected candidate.

Appointment / Renewal Documents Required

Departments will enter all postdoc scholar and fellow appointments/renewals/visa recommendations through the Student Information System (SIS) electronic postdoc appointment system. All approvals will also be done through SIS. 

When preparing to appoint/renew a postdoc, you will need the following in order to enter the record in SIS:

  • Postdoc's current CV
  • Postdoc's doctoral diploma or transcript with degree posted and date conferred (translated if applicable)
    • If the person has not graduated yet, a letter of completion will be required
      • For CWRU grads, you do not need to supply a diploma or transcript
  • For renewals, an updated CV and the Annual Review Form are required.
  • Personal Data (PD) Salary Authorization Form (required for School of Medicine (SOM) only)
  • Expense Statement (required for College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) only)
  • Scholar Portal is the new central location where all visa documents should be uploaded. Visa documents are no longer required to be uploaded into SIS, they should be put into Scholar Portal in order to request a visa.

SIS Step-by-Step Instructions for appointments/renewals

Department Administrators can refer to this step-by-step guide for appointing and renewing postdocs in SIS. 

SIS Instructions

Remote/Hybrid Postdocs

Due to significant tax and regulatory issues depending on the state which the employee lives, working remotely is generally not permitted at CWRU. However, employing someone out-of-state may be approved in limited circumstances. 

The Controller's Office manages the out-of-state hiring process. 

Due to the significant incremental compliance and financial costs, there is a flat one-time $10,000 fee assessed to the hiring department for each remote worker working outside of Ohio. Read this article in the Daily to learn more about the fee. 

When considering whether to bring someone on remotely, please consult with Faculty Advancement and Postdoctoral Affairs as soon as possible as the out-of-state hiring process is lengthy and requires cooperation across multiple departments.