Create or Update Staff Positions

The Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) determines whether a position is eligible for overtime pay.  Positions that are “exempt” are not eligible for overtime pay.  “Nonexempt” positions are eligible for overtime for hours worked above 40 hours in one workweek.  Use the guide below to help you determine the FLSA status of a position:

The executive exemption is used for high-level management positions that have the authority to formulate, affect, interpret, or implement management policies.  Some professions that may be covered under the executive exemption include:

• Directors
• Associate Provosts
• Assistant Deans

The administrative exemption is used for employees whose main job is to “keep business running.” Administrative exempt employees provide support to the operational employees and must perform work that involves the exercising of independent judgment and discretion about matters of significance.  To meet the administrative exemption, the employee must be performing office or nonmanual work related to matters of significance.  Clerical employees are not administratively exempt.  Some professions that may be covered under the administrative exemption include:

• Human Resources
• Payroll and Finance
• Assistant to...

The professional exemption is used for positions that require specialized education and involve the exercising of discretion and judgement.  These positions must have an education in a recognized field of science or learning.  Employees may also fall under the professional exemption when their primary duty requires invention, imagination, originality, or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor.  Some professions that may be covered under the professional exemption include:

• Registered Nurses
• Accountants
• Content Editors/Writers

The computer exemption is used for employees who apply systems analysis techniques and procedures to determine hardware, software, or system functional specifications, or who design, develop, test or modify computer systems or programs based on user or design specifications.  Some professions that may be covered under the computer exemption include:

• Systems Analysts
• Programmers
• Software Engineers

When employees do not meet any of the above exemptions, they are nonexempt.  Nonexempt employees are entitled to overtime for each hour they work over the FLSA overtime threshold.  Some professions that are nonexempt include:

• Administrative Assistants
• Clerical Employees
• Maintenance/Trades

Opinion letters are issued by the Department of Labor following a case review of a specific position and can often assist in interpretation of the FLSA regulations.

The position summary is the applicant-facing preview of your job. The position summary is a marketing tool and should not be a job description.  The first sentence or 300 characters is critical to draw an applicant’s interest to want to learn more about your position.

When writing a position summary, it is important to create a summary that markets the job effectively and is welcoming to applicants from all backgrounds. In an increasingly competitive market, it is key to keep position summaries brief with broad qualifications to ensure a broad and diverse applicant pool can be considered. When crafting your position summary, consider the following:

• Make the most of the first 150-350 characters
• Use bulleted lists to describe the essential job duties (5-10 bullets max)
• Avoid using gendered language; when referring to the candidate, use ‘you’ – for example, “in this position, you will…”
• Make text understandable to external applicants – avoid UB specific language

Minimum and preferred qualifications play a huge role in developing a pool of qualified applicants to consider. It is important to understand that narrow qualifications can unintentionally limit the diversity of your applicant pool. When defining qualifications, be sure to:

• Be clear and realistic about the requirements
• Focus on competencies rather than experience
• Talk about successes as a qualification
• Avoid listing number of years and instead, define specifically what the best candidate needs to have accomplished in their experience
• Consider using qualification equivalencies to consider candidates with a variety of educational and experience backgrounds

• Make the most of the first 150-350 characters
• Include a marketing paragraph or use a department specific paragraph if one is available at the very end
• Include a statement highlighting the value the department places on diversity and inclusion
• Write a posting that describes a normal business day to the applicant

Consider using some of the statements below as a guide to craft a statement that demonstrates the university’s commitment to diversity and encourages applicants that diversify our workforce to apply. Ideally, a diversity statement should be thoughtfully developed by the department to reflect their own values.

• The university is especially interested in qualified candidates who can contribute, through their research, teaching or service to the diversity and excellence of the academic community.
• Women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply.
• The university seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce as a reflection of our commitment to serve the diverse people of Buffalo, to maintain the excellence of the university and to offer our students richly varied disciplines, perspectives and ways of knowing and learning.
• The school/department is interested in candidates who have demonstrated commitment to excellence by providing leadership in teaching research or service toward building an equitable and diverse scholarly environment.
• We welcome candidates whose experience in teaching, research or community service has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence.

Choose statements to market the university and benefits associated with the position type in your posting. Options available: 

• Brief marketing and benefits statement 
• Detailed marketing statement and detailed benefits statement 
• Your department mission statement and the detailed benefits statement.

Once selected, Copy and paste the selected language into your UB Jobs posting.

Learn more:

• Our benefits, where we prioritize your well-being and success to enhance every aspect of your life.
• Being a part of the University at Buffalo community.

Learn more:

• Our benefits, where we prioritize your well-being and success to enhance every aspect of your life.
• Being a part of the University at Buffalo community.

Learn more:

• Our benefits, where we prioritize your well-being and success to enhance every aspect of your life.
• Being a part of the University at Buffalo community.

Learn more:

• Our benefits, where we prioritize your well-being and success to enhance every aspect of your life.
• Being a part of the University at Buffalo community.

Learn more:

• Our benefits, where we prioritize your well-being and success to enhance every aspect of your life.
• Being a part of the University at Buffalo community.

Learn more:

• Our benefits, where we prioritize your well-being and success to enhance every aspect of your life.
• Being a part of the University at Buffalo community.

Learn more:

• Our benefits, where we prioritize your well-being and success to enhance every aspect of your life.
• Being a part of the University at Buffalo community.

Learn more:

• Our benefits, where we prioritize your well-being and success to enhance every aspect of your life.
• Being a part of the University at Buffalo community.

About the University at Buffalo
The University at Buffalo (UB) #ubuffalo is one of America’s leading public research universities and a flagship of the State University of New York system, recognized for our excellence and our impact. UB is a premier, research-intensive public university dedicated to academic excellence. Our research, creative activity and people positively impact the world. Like the city we call home, UB is distinguished by a culture of resilient optimism, resourceful thinking and pragmatic dreaming that enables us to reach others every day. Visit our website to learn more about the University at Buffalo. 

Outstanding Benefits Package
Working at UB comes with benefits that exceed salary alone. There are personal rewards including comprehensive health and retirement plan options. We also focus on creating and sustaining a healthy mix of work, personal and academic pursuit - all in an effort to support your work-life effectiveness. We support your growth and development through our career coaching and training department and we qualify as a public service loan forgiveness organization. Learn more about the great benefits the University at Buffalo has to offer. 

Outstanding Benefits Package
Working at UB comes with benefits that exceed salary alone. There are personal rewards including comprehensive health and retirement plan options. We also focus on creating and sustaining a healthy mix of work, personal and academic pursuit - all in an effort to support your work-life effectiveness. We support your growth and development through our career coaching and training department and we qualify as a public service loan forgiveness organization. Learn more about the great benefits the University at Buffalo has to offer. 

Outstanding Benefits Package
Working at UB comes with benefits that exceed salary alone. There are personal rewards including comprehensive health and retirement plan options. We also focus on creating and sustaining a healthy mix of work, personal and academic pursuit - all in an effort to support your work-life effectiveness. We support your growth and development through our career coaching and training department and we qualify as a public service loan forgiveness organization. Learn more about the great benefits the University at Buffalo has to offer. 

Outstanding Benefits Package
Working at UB comes with benefits that exceed salary alone. There are personal rewards including comprehensive health and retirement plan options. We also focus on creating and sustaining a healthy mix of work, personal and academic pursuit - all in an effort to support your work-life effectiveness. We support your growth and development through our career coaching and training department and we qualify as a public service loan forgiveness organization. Learn more about the great benefits the University at Buffalo has to offer. 

Outstanding Benefits Package
Working at UB comes with benefits that exceed salary alone. There are personal rewards including comprehensive health and retirement plan options. We also focus on creating and sustaining a healthy mix of work, personal and academic pursuit - all in an effort to support your work-life effectiveness. We support your growth and development through our career coaching and training department and we qualify as a public service loan forgiveness organization. Learn more about the great benefits the University at Buffalo has to offer. 

Outstanding Benefits Package
Working at UB comes with benefits that exceed salary alone. There are personal rewards including comprehensive health and retirement plan options. We also focus on creating and sustaining a healthy mix of work, personal and academic pursuit - all in an effort to support your work-life effectiveness. We support your growth and development through our career coaching and training department and we qualify as a public service loan forgiveness organization. Learn more about the great benefits the University at Buffalo has to offer. 

Outstanding Benefits Package
Working at UB comes with benefits that exceed salary alone. There are personal rewards including comprehensive health and retirement plan options. We also focus on creating and sustaining a healthy mix of work, personal and academic pursuit - all in an effort to support your work-life effectiveness. We support your growth and development through our career coaching and training department and we qualify as a public service loan forgiveness organization. Learn more about the great benefits the University at Buffalo has to offer.

Outstanding Benefits Package
Working at UB comes with benefits that exceed salary alone. There are personal rewards including comprehensive health and retirement plan options. We also focus on creating and sustaining a healthy mix of work, personal and academic pursuit - all in an effort to support your work-life effectiveness. We support your growth and development through our career coaching and training department and we qualify as a public service loan forgiveness organization. Learn more about the great benefits the University at Buffalo has to offer.

Show these positions in your organizational chart:

• The proposed position
• All positions reporting to the position in question, including vacant positions
• All position reporting to the immediate supervisory, including vacant positions
• The reporting chain up to the president
• Student positions including work study, students, interns, student assistants, graduate assistants