Tendering and recruitment

The group of academic staff includes employees in academic qualification positions (WN positions), academic service positions (WD positions), teaching staff for special tasks and lecturers.

In principle, all vacant positions must be advertised internally and externally. A vacancy does not have to be advertised in the following cases:

• A newly appointed professor brings a third-party funded project to Leuphana University of Lüneburg and the intended person is already working on the project and is to continue working on the project here.
• n the case of remaining terms of externally funded projects where the employment period is shorter than 3 months. If the project is extended, a call for tenders is necessary in these cases.
• In the case of contract extensions, if a call for tenders was issued for the initial contract.
• In the case of contract extensions, provided that a job advertisement was issued for the initial contract.

The job advertisement is formally the responsibility of the department. However, in order to prepare the subsequent selection procedure in the best possible way, the Staff Council and the Equal Opportunities Officer are informed in advance of the advertisement.

It is important that you clarify the funding before advertising positions. This may, for example, involve funds from a specific position defined in the establishment plan, from vacant positions, but also from personnel funds, material resources or third-party funds that have not yet been budgeted for a position. If the employment is financed by third-party funds, please enclose a copy of the approval notice from the third-party funding body with your application. For more information on the financing and advertising of positions, please refer to the GUIDELINE ON POSITION MANAGEMENT.

Befristung von Beschäftigten in Verwaltung und Technik ohne Sachgrund (§ 14 Abs. 2 TzBfG)

Eine letzte Möglichkeit der Befristung von Stellen für wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter*innen besteht auf Basis des Teilzeitbefristungsgesetzes (TzBfG) auch ohne besonderen Sachgrund. In diesem Fall muss eine Befristung mindestens sechs Monate betragen und kann nur bis zu einer Gesamtdauer von zwei Jahren erfolgen. Innerhalb dieses Zeitraums ist eine bis zu dreimalige Verlängerung eines befristeten Arbeitsverhältnisses möglich (also bis zu vier Arbeitsverträge in Folge). Dabei ist jedes Arbeitsverhältnis mit der Universität oder ihren Rechtsvorgängerinnen – zum Beispiel auch als studentische Hilfskraft – und auch zeitlich weiter zurückliegende Arbeitsverhältnisses anzurechnen.

The conclusion of fixed-term employment contracts is only permitted if there is a reason for a fixed term or if the law permits a fixed term without objective grounds. Reasons for fixed-term contracts are specified in various laws. The most important regulations for the higher education sector are the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act (TzBfG) and the Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act (WissZeitVG).

Choosing the right reason for a fixed-term contract is important, among other things, because it determines the permissible duration of the fixed-term contract. When the position is advertised, it must be clarified whether and how the position in question can be filled. The legal check as to whether a reason for a fixed term is actually relevant and whether the person to be hired meets the personal and professional requirements is carried out by Human Resources Development.

Temporary employment of academic staff for the purpose of their own qualification (Section 2 (1) WissZeitVG)

According to Section 2 (1) WissZeitVG, the fixed-term employment of academic staff without a material reason (up to 6 years before or after the doctorate) is only permitted if the fixed-term employment is for the purpose of promoting their own academic or artistic qualification. In the case of employment in the first or second qualification phase, the qualification objective must be stated and the appropriate duration of employment to achieve this objective must be justified. The term "further academic qualification" must be interpreted broadly. A formal doctorate or habilitation does not necessarily have to be pursued.

A supervision or qualification agreement signed by the supervising superior and the academic employee is also required before the employment contract is concluded. Care must be taken to ensure that the employment meets the stated qualification objective.

Please also note that the duration of contracts for new hires for qualification positions should generally not be less than three years and that, in the case of contract extensions, the contract period should be calculated in such a way that the agreed qualification objectives can be achieved. Based on the above-mentioned specification in § 31 para. 4 NHG, care must be taken when preparing job descriptions for academic qualification positions to ensure that the proportion of time spent on further academic qualifications is at least 33.33%.

However, §§ 1, 2 para. 1 WissZeitVG only apply to academic staff and research assistants. A strict distinction must be made here between administrative and technical staff, who, unlike academic staff, do not provide at least predominantly academic services.

There is no generally applicable definition of what constitutes a "scientific service". Section 31 (1) NHG stipulates that academic staff provide academic services by contributing to the fulfillment of the university's tasks, in particular in science, research, teaching and continuing education, in accordance with instructions. According to this regulation, they can also be assigned the teaching of specialist knowledge, practical skills and scientific methodology as academic services in teaching.

Academic services are characterized by the fact that they should be conducive to the realization of the direct purpose of the university and its institutions - i.e. the cultivation and development of science and the arts through research, teaching and studies. Only organizational preparatory and supporting activities in administration do not qualify as academic services.

Scientific services are characterized by the fact that they should be conducive to the realization of the direct purpose of the university and its institutions - i.e. the cultivation and development of science and the arts through research, teaching and studies. Only organizational preparatory and supportive activities in administration do not qualify as academic services.

Academic services therefore include research and/or teaching staff, which must be distinguished from the performance of tasks in university and academic administration.

Whether the position to be filled actually involves the tasks of an academic employee is checked by the Human Resources Department. For this purpose, it is also necessary to submit a description of the activities to the Human Resources Department in advance of the advertisement or recruitment.

Temporary employment of academic staff in third-party funded projects (Section 2 (2) WissZeitVG)

Pursuant to Section 2 (2) WissZeitVG, it is possible to limit the duration of an employment contract for academic staff if the employment is predominantly financed by third-party funds, the funding is approved for a specific task and duration and the employee is predominantly employed in accordance with the purpose of the third-party funds. The duration of employment must be based on the approved project period.

Temporary employment of academic staff with a material reason (Section 14 (2) TzBfG)

There is a further possibility to limit the duration of positions for academic staff on the basis of the Part-Time Fixed-Term Employment Act (TzBfG) if there is a special objective reason. Section 14 (1) TzBfG contains an exemplary list of reasons for a fixed term. The following reasons are particularly relevant for the willingness of the university:

• Temporary additional requirements (Section 14 (1) No. 1 TzBfG): There is a need for work performance that is only temporarily required.
• Substitution (§ 14 Para. 1 No. 3 TzBfG): Employees are hired to replace employees who are unable to work (for example, due to parental leave replacement, maternity leave, leave of absence, temporary reduction in working hours).
• Reasons in the person of the employee: Sometimes there are also reasons in the person of the employee that justify a fixed term, for example social reasons (bridging the gap until studies), reasons from the sphere of the employee (restricted residence permit), training, further education or training measures, job creation measures (§§ 260ff SGB III).

The Human Resources department is responsible for checking whether there is an objective reason.

Temporary employment of administrative and technical staff without a material reason (Section 14 (2) TzBfG)

A final possibility for the temporary employment of academic staff exists on the basis of the Part-Time Fixed-Term Employment Act (TzBfG), even without a special objective reason. In this case, a fixed term must be at least six months and can only last up to a total of two years. Within this period, a fixed-term employment contract can be extended up to three times (i.e. up to four consecutive employment contracts). Any employment relationship with the university or its legal predecessors - for example as a student assistant - and any employment relationship dating further back in time must be taken into account.

1. Clarify funding: Please first clarify the funding of the position to be advertised. In this regard, please refer to the GUIDELINE ON POSITION MANAGEMENT. The Human Resources Department requires the following information from you in this context:
   • For positions from third-party funds: Cost center number with fund number as well as project application and grant notification,
   • For positions already created in the staffing plan: Specification of the position number from the staffing plan,
   • For positions not yet included in the staffing plan: Information on the planned financing (cost center/fund number or other information on financing). 
2. Clarify the time limit: In the next step, please clarify whether the position can be advertised for an indefinite period or must be advertised for a limited period, taking into account the above information
3. Formulate a job description: Please formulate a JOB DESCRIPTION and describe in particular the activities envisaged for the position.
4. Formulate job advertisement: Based on the job description, please formulate the JOB DESCRIPTION IN GERMAN or a JOB DESCRIPTION IN ENGLISH.
5. Apply for a job advertisement: Please complete an APPLICATION FOR A JOB ADVERTISEMENT, stating the information on funding, the time limit of the position if applicable, the duration of the advertisement (at least 2 weeks) and publication on (possibly fee-based) portals such as Stepstone, Academics, Landeszeitung etc. in addition to publication on our homepage, the Lower Saxony Job Exchange and the job exchange of the Employment Agency. NOTE: In the first step, the personnel service obtains offers from the desired portals. Only after the applicant has approved the budget can the job advertisement be placed on the portals specified here. The colleagues in the Human Resources department will be happy to advise you on the media in which the job advertisement should be placed and will ensure that it is processed quickly and professionally.
6. Submit documents: Please send the above-mentioned documents to the Human Resources Department via the Dean's Office or via the head of department to bewerbung@leuphana.de:
   • Application to advertise a position with details of funding, time limit, duration of advertisement and publication channels
   •  Job description
   •  Job advertisement text (please in Word format, in German and English possible)
7. Publish the job advertisement: The Human Resources Service will check all documents submitted as well as the funding for the position to be advertised and will contact you if there are any queries. The time it takes to process a job advertisement depends on the completeness of the documents submitted. In addition, job advertisements are processed as they are received. As soon as the job advertisement is published on the Leuphana website, you will be notified by the department by e-mail.

To ensure that you can easily fill out, edit and save writable pdf forms, they should be downloaded to your computer and saved. Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader or the Adobe Pro version to fill out the form.

It is expressly pointed out that the notes contain summarized information on the relevant legal provisions and cannot replace the study of these legal provisions. It does not contain information on all detailed questions and does not take into account any individual particularities. The above information is therefore no substitute for any information that may be required in individual cases. If you require clarification or have any questions, please contact the following colleagues in the Human Resources department: