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University of California, Berkeley

JOB STANDARDS GLOSSARY

A - H

I - M

N - Z


Berkeley Job Builder - An online application for viewing job standards and creating pre-populated job description templates. The Berkeley Job Builder replaces the Job Mapping Tool (2006 and 2007) and the Job Family Matrices (2006 and 2007) that were formerly on the Career Compass website.

Comment Period - A period (typically 30 days) in which the campus community can make suggestions for changes and improvements to the content of draft job fields and job families.

Custom Scope - Refines the differences between levels of jobs based on distinctions that are meaningful for a specific job family.  It is customizable for an individual job description, unlike Generic Scope which is fixed and unalterable.  Examples of criteria that differentiate custom scope might include: decision-making on department policy, complexity of computer issues resolved, impact of program on a significant part of the campus, or difficulty of problem solved. 

Essential Function - A responsibility considered "essential" to the successful performance of the job when it meets one or more of the following criteria defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):

  • Performance of the responsibility is considered to be of major importance.
  • A limited number of employees are available to perform the responsibility.
  • The responsibility is highly specialized, requiring special expertise or abilities.
As required by the ADA, responsibilities that are essential functions of the job should be identified on the job description in the Key Responsibilities section by indicating a "Yes" in the Essential Function column.

Exempt Employee - An employee who, based on duties performed and manner of compensation, is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime provisions. Because of hourly pay practices, an employee appointed to a per diem position in an exempt title shall be treated as a non-exempt employee subject to FLSA minimum wage and overtime provisions.

An exempt employee is paid an established monthly or annual salary and is expected to fulfill the duties of their positions regardless of hours worked. An exempt employee is not eligible to receive overtime compensation or compensatory time off, and is not required to adhere to strict time, record keeping, and attendance rules for pay purposes. Exempt titles are identified in University-wide title and pay plans.

FLSA - The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is a U.S. federal law governing minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor, and recordkeeping requirements.

FTE - Full-Time Equivalent

Generic Scope - The amount and breadth of responsibility and impact of all jobs at a certain job level. For example, all Supervisor 2 positions have identical Generic Scope regardless of the specific field and family. Generic Scope provides a uniform measurement against which all managers can compare their individual jobs.

Human Resources Information System (HRIS) - An automated database for collecting and managing information about employees, volunteers, and other types of employees of an organization. UC Berkeley's Human Resources system is referred to as the "Human Resources Management System," or "HRMS."

Job Category (also referred to as Category) - This defines the type of work performed, as opposed to the occupation or subject matter. The three categories in UC Berkeley's job structure are: 1) operational & technical, 2) professional, 3) supervisory & managerial. Refer to Job Structure Layout.

Job Description - A summary of the key responsibilities of a job, for a specific employee or group of employees. It includes the general nature of the work performed, the level of the work performed, the skills and knowledge required for competent performance of the job and other elements. A job description describes and focuses on the job itself and not on any specific individual who might fill the job.

Job Description Template - A Career Compass job standard that is downloaded into a Microsoft Word document, which can then be customized for an individual job description.

Job Family (also referred to as Family) - A more specific occupational area within a job field. In a job family, the same or relatively similar work is performed, a similar skill set is required, and it is possible to move within the family with minimal training. For example, in UC Berkeley's job structure, Purchasing is a family within the Finance field. Refer to Job Structure Layout.

Job Family Description - A description of the functions and activities that commonly occur at all levels of a specific occupation.

Job Field (also referred to as Field) - A group of job families that involve work in the same general occupation. These jobs have related knowledge requirements, skill sets, and abilities. Finance and General Services are examples of fields in UC Berkeley's job structure. Refer to Job Structure Layout.

Job Level (also referred to as Level) - The amount of responsibility, impact, and scope that a job has within a category. UC Berkeley has determined the appropriate number of levels within each job family by looking at market survey data and working with subject matter experts for that family and field. For example, in the Buyer family the Professional job category has five levels with Level 5 being the most complex in scope. Refer to Job Structure Layout.

Job Market (also referred to as Labor Market) - Identifies and defines a combination of the following factors:

  • geography (local, regional, national, international);
  • industry;
  • education, experience and licensing certification required; and
  • function or occupation.
In the new Career Compass job structure, average salaries for a given job in the job market are compared to UC Berkeley jobs.

Job Mapping (also referred to as Mapping) - The process of determining the accurate job field, job family, job category, and job level of a position.

Job Standard - A description of the scope, key responsibilities, and knowledge and skill requirements of a specific job level within a family. In UC Berkeley's job structure, jobs with similar duties will share a common job standard. View a sample job standard.

Job Structure - Defines how Career Compass job fields, job families, job categories and job levels are organized. Refer to Job Structure Layout.

Non-Exempt Employee - A employee who, based on duties performed and manner of compensation, is subject to all FLSA provisions. Because of hourly pay practices, an employee appointed to a per diem position shall be treated as a non-exempt employee subject to FLSA minimum wage and overtime provisions.

A non-exempt employee is required to account for time worked on an hourly and fractional hourly basis and is to be compensated for qualified overtime hours at the premium (time-and-one-half) rate. Non-exempt titles are identified in title and pay plans.

Non-Represented Employee - An employee in a job for which terms and conditions of employment are not bargained by a union, and instead are covered by UC policies.

Personnel Policies -

  • Non-represented Employees. There is one set of personnel policies - Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM) - for non-represented career staff employees in the following groups:
    • Management/Senior Professionals (MSP). This group is composed of managers and senior professionals who provide leadership and professional expertise at the highest levels to major University units, programs, or fields of work, and are accountable for their areas of responsibility. Positions at this level are responsible for identifying objectives, formulating strategy, directing programs, managing resources, and functioning effectively with a high degree of autonomy.
    • Professional and Support Staff (PSS). This group is composed of professional and support staff who provide administrative, professional, technical, and operational support through independent judgment, analytical skill, and professional or technical expertise, or are responsible for providing clerical, administrative, technical, service, and maintenance support for University departments, programs, and fields of work.

All non-represented positions will continue to be governed by PPSM. Positions will be assigned to either the MSP program or the PSS program based upon the body of work and the level of the job.

Personnel Program - See Personnel Policies and Represented Employee.

Represented Employee - An employee in a job for which terms and conditions of employment are bargained by a union. These include: campus clerical, service, registered nurse, patient care technical, police officer, staff research, technical, printing trades, hospital residual professionals, graduate students, and skilled crafts employees.

Salary Grade - Designates a salary range to which a number of job titles are assigned. The grade's salary range is based upon wages paid in the market for comparable duties. Every non-represented Career Compass job title will be assigned a specific Career Compass salary grade.

Salary Range - The range of pay established for a salary grade. This is used as a guide to set individual employee salaries for a job. The salary range generally has a minimum, a midpoint and a maximum.

Salary Structure - The hierarchy of salary grades and salary ranges established for an organization.

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