How do I complete a vacancy request? (BSA)

New Vacancy Request 

When initially selecting 'New vacancy request' within Trac, you will be required to provide the following information. 

Department 

Select the option relevant to your vacancy

• NHS BSA - External Recruitment: This is the standard NHS Jobs application form. This will be available to candidates in both NHS Jobs and at jobs.nhsbsa.nhs.uk
  
  
• NHS BSA - Internal Recruitment: This is the short application form. This will be available to candidates at jobs.nhsbsa.nhs.uk
  
  
• NHS BSA - Apprentices: Only select this option if you are recruiting apprentices. Candidates will be sent a hidden link to NHS BSA’s recruitment page to apply to this vacancy by the training provider. They will then complete a short application form by uploading their CV.
  
  
• NHS BSA - Non-Standard (CV Application): Non-standard - This is a CV only route. Candidates will still need to complete a brief application form to capture personal details as well as uploading the CV. Selecting this option means the online Shortlisting function will not be available. Shortlisting outcomes are still entered into Trac.
  
  
• External Partnership – Only select if you are recruiting vacancies that have been raised in partnership with an external supplier supporting candidates into work e.g. Prince's Trust, Northern Rights. All External Partnership roles should be restricted. 
  
  
• NHS BSA On Boarding Form - Only to be used where a person has been given the role in advance of the recruitment being raised in Trac.
  
  
• NHS BSA - Vacancies on Hold: HR Shared Services (HRSS) use only
  
  

Band / Grade

Select the relevant band / grade as evaluated. 

Disciplines

To select the disciplines, follow the below steps;
 

• choose the appropriate sector from the first box, 
  
  
• click the discipline(s) from the second box (hold ctrl to select more than one)
  
  
• press 'Select' to move your choices over to the 'Selected Items' list. 

Similar Vacancies 

Once the details of the vacancy have been entered, you will be given the option to use a template of a similar existing vacancy as the base for the new vacancy. 

If you choose to use a similar vacancy you will be able to edit the content before you submit it for authorisation. 

To use an existing vacancy, click on the radio button next to the job title and select 'Continue' to proceed to the next stage. Please be advised, only vacancies which have previously been approved through the full authorisation process will display as a 'similar vacancy'. 

Authorisation 

Further guidance on Authorisation can be found on the Trac Website.

* Mandatory information required by HRSS to advertise your vacancy. 

Cost Code*

Code for the department budget that the costs of the new post will be deducted from. 

Position Numbers

If recruiting to an existing role, enter the position number here. 

If you are the employee's supervisor in the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) you will be able to view their current position number on their ESR record. 

If this is a new role, the HRSS Workforce team will complete the position number box through the authorisation process.

Full-time Equivalent*

Enter the full-time equivalent (FTE) of the role. Please ensure you enter the full FTE the successful candidate will be working. 

Job Ref

Please leave this box blank. 

This will be created and entered by the HR Shared Service (HRSS) Admin Support team once they authorise your vacancy request. 

Job Title*

This should be an exact match to the Job Title on the Job Description in Trac and within the Electronic Staff Record (ESR).  
  
Vacancy requests will be rejected if the Job title on Trac and the Job Description do not match.  

Reason for vacancy request*

Details entered here provide Authorisers with information as to why this post is required. 

a) If the post is vacant due to a leaver, please select ‘Vacant post - Current post holder leaving or left’ and complete the additional text boxes regarding leavers’ details.

b) If this reason selected is ‘Current post holder has reduced their number of hours’ additional text boxes will appear to request details of the current post holder.

Where is the funding for this post being generated?*

Enter the relevant information. 

For example, project, leaver, etc. 

As part of the Occupational Health pre-employment checking process, our OH provider must understand the Health and Safety risks for a particular job role*

Please confirm here which category this role should be assessed against (Role 1 –10):

1. General office worker
2. Prescription processors
3. CCS call handler
4. Bursary and pensions
5. Dental check officer
6. HR Shared Services
7. Scanning/ “Digi” suite
8. Porter
9. Catering/ Kitchen
10. Warehouse operative

Please outline why the post is critical to business delivery and what alternative methods or options of undertaking these critical business activities have been considered.

Provide an explanation within this text box. 

Risk assessment*

      Please summarise the key risks to the business should the post be rejected and any mitigating actions.

Please provide the rationale for the contract type and length?*

Enter the relevant information within this text box. If this is an apprentice recruitment, please ensure the contract type is fixed term and that it covers the duration of the apprenticeship. New apprentices should only be placed on a permanent contract if this has been agreed with the Head of Service, Corporate HR, and the Apprenticeship Lead.

If this is an external recruitment request please explain the rationale?*

Enter the relevant information within this text box.  

If this role is a new post has this role been through job evaluation?*

Enter ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ within this text box.

Target employment start date

A provisional date may be entered however this is not a definitive date.

Advertising Scope*

Select the intended audience for the advert. If unsure, please review your Organisational Policy or speak to a Corporate HR Advisor. 

Public - Advertised on NHS Jobs, Health Jobs, jobs.nhsbsa.nhs.uk (NHS BSA microsite) and other third-party advertisers. 

Internal - Advertised on jobs.nhsbsa.nhs.uk and it will be marked as restricted with a note indicating this role is only available to internal applicants. 

Restricted - Not advertised. All restricted vacancies are advertised as hidden links. All External Partnership roles should be restricted.  

Authorisers*

This is the authorisation path. Enter the names and email addresses of the people / teams approving the vacancy. 

Authorisers are emailed for approval in number order which is set using the numbers on the right-hand side, for example, the number 1 should be entered next to the name and email address of the head of service. 

The next authoriser in the path will not be emailed until the previous authoriser has given their approval, for example, Finance Business Partner (2) will not receive an email until the head of service (1) has given their approval.

Vacancy details 

 
* Mandatory information required by HRSS to advertise your vacancy.

Contract Type* 

Select the relevant Contract type from the dropdown. 

For example, Permanent, Fixed Term, etc. 

For apprentice recruitments, please ensure the contract type is entered as 'Fixed term' and that it covers the full duration of the apprenticeship. New apprentices should only be placed on a permanent contract if this has been agreed with the Head of Service, Corporate HR, and the Apprenticeship Lead. 

Additional contract details (if required) 

If the Contract type selected is not permanent, please enter the length of the Contract type. 

For example, 'For XX Months/Years' or 'until DD MMM YYYY'. 

Working Pattern (Hours)*

Select the appropriate option.

Once selected, a drop down will appear for you to enter actual hours and whether its hours per week or sessions.

Hours / sessions per week

Enter the number of hours for the role per week, for example, ‘Full time 37.5 hours per week’ 

Grade (display)*

The band/grade of the role being recruited.

If the band/grade is Executive and Senior Management (ESM), please ensure you enter whether this is ESM1, 2, 3 or 4. 

Min grade (search)*

If a candidate is searching by band/grade, this is the minimum band/grade they can enter for their search that will match this vacancy

Max grade (search)*

If a candidate is searching by band/grade, this is the maximum band/grade they can enter in their search that will return this vacancy. 

Salary period

Select the relevant option from the dropdown. 

When 'Yearly' is selected, additional rate options will appear. Please ensure that 'Base rate' is selected. 

Salary range

Enter the salary range for the band/grade for this role. 

The automatically generated range is pulled from the 'Min grade (search)' and 'Max grade (search)' fields. Please amend this field to state the bottom and top of the 'Grade (display)' as this is what will appear on your advert. 

If you are recruiting for an apprentice, please calculate and enter the salary as 75% of the bottom of the band you are recruiting into. 

For example, if you are recruiting an apprentice into a Band 2 role;

Bottom of a Band 2 = £17,652

0.75 x 17,652 = £13,239

Therefore the salary entered into Trac would be £13,239. 

It is the responsibility of the Recruiting Manager to ensure the amount entered is correct. 

Additional salary details*

Enter 'per annum' if Full time or 'per annum pro-rata' if Part time. 

DBS Check required

Select the relevant option from the drop down. 

This will generate an automatic message on the advert to alert candidates. If a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is required, please complete the additional boxes that become available. 

If no DBS check is required, select the 'No DBS Check' option. 

UK professional registration*

Select 'Yes' or 'No' from the dropdown. This will generate an automatic message on the advert to alert Candidate's. 

Occupational health requirement*

This should always show as 'No special occupational health requirements'. 

Advertising start date*

No action required.

This field automatically defaults to the current date when the advert goes live. 

Closing date*

Select the date which you would like the advert to close, the time should always be midnight. 

If when HRSS come to authorise the vacancy this date is less than 5 working days or in the past they will contact you to request a closing date. The advert will not be made live until this closing date is confirmed.

Proposed interview date

Please ensure you enter a future date. This will display on the Trac and NHS Jobs advert. 

Vacancy site 

The site where the role is based. A full list of BSA bases and their addresses can be found on My Hub under the workforce tab

Vacancy street address

This information is not required. A full list of BSA bases and their addresses can be found on My Hub under the workforce tab. 

Vacancy town*

The geographical location of the role. A full list of BSA bases and their addresses can be found on My Hub under the workforce tab. 

Vacancy postcode 

Enter the postcode of the site where the role is based. A full list of BSA bases and their addresses can be found on My Hub under the workforce tab. 

Payslip address 

Please leave blank, HRSS will complete this. 

Counties*

This will default to the county in which the employer is based. Please add any other relevant counties. This determines the advert location when searching a vacancy, will default to the county in which the employer is based.  Add up to 8 counties to widen your search option on Trac (does not affect adverts published on NHS Jobs).  

Advert Details 

Further guidance on this section can be found on the Trac website.

All text entered into the 'Advert details' tab will be displayed on the live advert. 

Advert

The advert is made up of three sections.  If you are using an advert template that was previously published in the old NHS Jobs service, the old advert text will appear in section two (Main Duties of the Job).  Delete this before you continue to populate the new sections.

Note: Do not copy and paste text with formatting such as bullet points directly from a Word document into Trac as Trac cannot replicate this. To remove the formatting, text should be copied into Notepad first, bullet points and other formatting can be added once your text is within the Advert box field using the formatting toolbar.

Examples of text for the 'Job Overview' and 'Main Duties of the Job' sections are available in the Advert Library on the Hub.

Job Overview

Use this section to give a description of the role, what it takes and why this person should work for you.  Potential candidates will read this first, so this is your opportunity to inform, engage and excite.  This section has a minimum word limit of 100 characters and a maximin of 1,500 characters, including spaces.

Main Duties of the job

Use this section to describe the main roles and responsibilities of the role.  This will help someone decide if they want to apply.  This section has a minimum word limit of 100 characters and a maximum of 1,500 characters, including spaces.

Working for your organisation

This section will be pre-populated.  Do not amend or update this wording.

This section has a minimum word limit of 100 characters and a maximum of 1,500 characters, including spaces.

Job Description

Copy and paste the wording from the Job Description in this section - do not include the Person Specification, this will be entered separately in the Role Requirements section.  There is a character limit for this section of 10,000, including spaces.  If the wording is over 1,000 characters, please make it clear at the top of this section that full details can be found in the attached Job Description.

Contact name

Enter the details of the person that candidates can contact for further details/informal visits.

Contact job title

Contact email address

Contact telephone number

Additional contact information

Enter any additional contact information if required. 

Primary speciality

The main speciality of the post, this is displayed on the live advert. Avoid using acronyms or abbreviations with which external candidates may not be familiar. 

Staff group

Select the staff group that matches the discipline entered below. 

Disciplines

This defaults to the disciplines selected when you first created the vacancy request. 

Documents 

Trac guidance about completing the documents tab can be found on the Trac Website

Public Documents 

This section is for documents such as Job Description (JD) and Person Specification (PS)

All documents uploaded within this section will be available for candidates. 

Internal Documents 

The documents uploaded to this section will not display to candidates. However, will be accessible for authorisers to view. 

You may wish to submit your business case document within this section. 

Longlisting 

This section does not need to be completed. 

Shortlisters

Trac guidance about completing the Shortlisting tab can be found on the Trac Website

Shortlisting Panel 

When listing the Shortlisting panel, please list the Lead Shortlister at the top. 

All Shortlisters entered will be required to Shortlist all candidates. 

Interviewers

Trac guidance about completing the Interview tab can be found on the Trac Website

Interview Panel

Please be advised the Interviewers entered will be identified as ‘provisional interviewers (from authorisation)’ throughout the system until they are confirmed by the Lead Shortlister during the Interview set up later in the recruitment.

Role Requirements

This is where you will enter the requirements for the role from the Person specification.

This information will be used to assess the applicant during the Shortlisting stage. 

This information will be available for the candidate to see and once the advert is published, cannot be amended.  Please ensure all information is correct.

Questions

Application questions are on the ‘Questions’ tab when creating a vacancy request.

The questions form part of the recruitment process. Questions that are not listed cannot be added.


To add questions to an advert, a process change request will need to be sent to Bsahr.processchange.nhs.net to amend the questions required for an advert.


Trac will not action any requests for questions to be added unless the request is sent from the Business Improvement (BI) team.

Notes

 
You will see any notes that have been added to the vacancy here; please do not add any additional information here regarding your vacancy request.

If you have any additional information that is not requested as part of the request, you must email this to HRSS through the vacancy in Trac or using the generic email address.

If you have amended a vacancy request and resaved it, Trac will not allow you to proceed onto the next step without adding a note. This will be highlighted in pink.

For further guidance, please see below under ‘Error Messages.’