Academic staff recruitment

UCLouvain HR policy

UCLouvain has a broadly open academic recruitment policy, in Belgium and internationally. For several years now, the majority of applications have been submitted by holders of a PhD from a university outside Belgium.

The policy aims to achieve a better gender balance in academic careers. This trend has been underway for several years and is continuing. With this in mind, women are especially encouraged to apply.

Annual academic staff recruitment campaign

Every year UCLouvain conducts an academic staff recruitment campaign in which the university authorities, committees and applicants are involved at specific times, per the recruitment timetable below.

The timetable is organised in such a way as to promote the quality of the applications submitted to UCLouvain and to enable applicants to be informed of decisions as soon as possible.

Academic staff recruitment timetable

Phase	Description	Timing
New posts proposed	Proposals to create new posts and their job descriptions are the responsibility of the entities concerned (faculties and institutes) and the sector to which they belong.	Second term of academic year preceding hiring
Posts created	The Rectoral Council, UCLouvain’s governance body, decides to create posts.	June
New posts advertised	Newly created posts are advertised on the UCLouvain website and relayed via Academic Positions, Euraxess and specialised channels.	September
Submission of applications	The advertisements call for applications and specify the deadline.	Application deadline: mid-November
Evaluation of applications	The Selection Committee shortlists, interviews, and ranks candidates.	November, December, January, February
Authorities rank candidates	After interviewing the top-ranked candidate, the Rectoral Council either confirms or disagrees with the Selection Committee’s ranking. In addition to its own interview, the Rectoral Council’s decision is informed by the Selection Committee’s report, the opinions of institute deans/presidents, and an interview report from the Human Resources Department (Recruitment Service).	March and April
Offer made	An offer is emailed to the selected candidate.	Soon after Rectoral Council interview
Other shortlisted candidates	The other shortlisted candidates are notified by email and can discuss the decision with the vice-rector for personnel policy.
Appointment confirmation	The UCLouvain Board of Governors, followed by the Board of Trustees, confirms the appointment and employment conditions. This is followed by the sending of the official appointment letter, employment contract, and all documents required to hire the selected candidate.	May, June, July
Entry into service	The new employee enters into service.	Start of academic year (September)