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[oatmeal]

I have a question that might have been discussed on here but I cannot find it. It is detailed, so my apologies in advance.

Does anyone have advice on strategies and timing to discuss securing (or attempting to secure) a staff position for one's partner in a move to another university? The move entails a tenured chair of department position at the rank of full professor--it is a very good position. Moving at the senior level is always full of complications and most are of a personal nature (firm roots in a community, excellent position already, partner has a good job, all the usual things). When would be a good time to bring up the partner issue, at the on-campus interview stage or if and when an offer is made (I always think that is too late). Is seeking a full-time staff position for one's partner a possibility and something a university should be open to? (not a teaching position or tt position). How would one bring this up? I am interested to hear what people think. Thanks in advance.

[helpful]

If they want you for a chair position, then you are in a strong position. I would ask about the possibility at the interview stage. I would not ask a Dean or an HR person, though. Keep the discussion as being with the Search Committee who need to know that this is an issue for you (and for them, too, if they want you).

[totoro]

If the university is in a small town where there aren't other employment opportunities it could be a legitimate thing to raise. Otherwise usually a spousal hire would be for an academic position as these are usually very scarce everywhere. I guess if your partner's career is academic specific though not academic it makes sense too perhaps.

[justanotherucprof]

Yes, it is reasonable for you to expect them to make an effort to help with this. For a staff position, unless there is real time pressure, I would actually wait for at least an informal offer to bring it up, and then I would frame it as one of a number of issues you and your family must consider in deciding to make a move.  If you have kids, then clearly the options for schools will be another consideration in this category.  Any sensible institution will recognize that they need to make a relocation work for a family, not just for an individual, if they want to be able to attract their top choice employees.  This is an issue for the dean who is responsible for recruiting a chair, not for the search committee.

Despite the reasonableness of the request, you should not be surprised if they cannot provide a partner hire.  In some institutions, union rules or open search requirements are even more constraining for staff appointments than academic appointments, and in these economic circumstances some institutions have staff hiring freezes or have policies that favor rehiring laid off workers. Or if his or her skill set is narrow, there might not be an appropriate opening. But even then, if they really want you they will do what they can to introduce your partner to other employers in the community, or to helpful members of the alumni network, etc.

At my institution, even the most junior faculty recruit would get assistance in this kind of situation, though the thinner the pool of attractive candidates (as for a chair's job), the more stops we would pull out in trying to make things work.

[oatmeal]

Thanks for the comments so far. They are useful. I think I might post this on the mid-career one too.

[navelgazer]

My university hires spouses for staff jobs all the time. I think it's at least as common as the lecturer track. It is a "right to work" state.

[oatmeal]

Thanks for the replies thus far. They are useful. I will let you know what happens, if you are interested.

[fedscholar]

I am interested. I may be in the same position. I just applied for a job that seemed to me like a pipe dream, as my wife is employed after several years as a stay at home mom, and I figured she would not relish leaving it to move to an uncertain fate in a small town.

It have become very clear that the best way to help that situation is to go full hog for an offer, then see if that results in any leverage for my wife. In my case, I can say it is probably unlikely that I could accept unless they did something for her.

One other option I have been thinking about is whether they could get a tuition remission for a master's degree. My wife has been talking about going back for a graduate degree for a while, and perhaps that would be a bridge strategy for her.  Do universities do this often?

[helpful]

Yes, tuition remission is an option, especially if it is a unionized university and it is in the contract.

[oatmeal]

Thanks for all the replies to my initial questions. I posted a question to one thread yesterday but I did not get any responses, so I thought I would try here again. I am now a finalist for a chair of department position and  I will interview on campus for this chair of department position. I have received lots of good advice from colleagues and friends and I have asked for some thoughts on here too. The question I have is, when should I bring up the issue of a position for my partner? This would be a staff position and not a faculty position but it would need to be full time unless the salary for chair is excellent (that is very high). This is not a "deal breaker" but it would make things a lot easier and make the position more attractive. I have not had the opportunity to raise the issue before the campus visit at all, so now that I am a "finalist" I would like to bring this up. Should I raise it with the Dean (who does the hiring)? or the Provost? Or the Committee in the Department? Any words of wisdom?

[totoro]

I've got an interview next week for a professor position in Europe. I haven't raised the two body issue but the people there just contacted me with a bunch of suggestions of possible positions for my wife. I do link to her professional website from mine, so this wasn't any kind of secret. I'm inclining more and more to be open with people up front about things and not springing any surprises.

[recruited]

I just got recruited for a senior position. I stated my need for a spousal position at the beginning when they first called me up - if they couldn't do that, then we were wasting each others time.

It wasn't even a minor issue.  They said "sure, we can do that!"  and that was that.