ACTED, Afghanistan

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION SOP

1. SoP Statement
ACTED, Afghanistan employees are its greatest resource and the key to fulfilling ACTED’s vision and
long/short-term objectives. ACTED, Afghanistan is committed to attracting and retaining talented,
skilled, and committed people by offering a conducive, supportive, and rewarding but challenging work
environment. The purpose of this SoP is to meet these commitments in a fair, transparent, and
accountable way to ensure that the best candidate is chosen for each job vacancy.

2. Related Policies and Procedures

This SoP should be read in conjunction with the ACTED, Afghanistan Internal Rule. No decisions
regarding recruitment or selection should be made by a person who has not read and understood this
SoP and the HR internal rule. Decisions should not be made without the involvement of the HR
Department or their authorized representative. For the Areas that do not have an HR Department,
AC/SAC and Project Manager will identify someone to represent HR in any Recruitment and Selection
decision.

3. Scope of SoP
This SoP is applicable to the recruitment and selection of employees engaged to provide services for
ACTED, Afghanistan on the following type of contract;
a. Fixed-term contract
b. Permanent contract
c. Short term contract

The SoP will be made available to all employees and applies for both internal and external
recruitment.

ACTED, Afghanistan reserves the right to amend this SoP and procedure from time to time.

4. General Principles

4.1 ACTED, Afghanistan will:

4.1.1 Determine the requirements of each position within its structure by using Job Descriptions

4.1.2 Recruit to fill vacant positions based on the Job Description, associated Person Specification or
ACTED Afghanistan generic job profiles

4.1.3 Assess the skills and attributes of individuals it wishes to recruit, including experience,
capabilities, educational background (including any formal relevant qualifications), previous
employment references, performance history, and health
4.1.4 Consider staff composition that reflects the community that it serves when making hiring
decisions

4.1.5 Ensure that recruitment processes are appropriate for women applicants in order to ensure
gender balance in line with the Gender practices

4.4 ACTED, Afghanistan employees must not:

4.4.1 Promise or guarantee hiring for any position. All applicants must go through the Recruitment
and Selection Process

4.4.2 Tamper with any part of the Recruitment and Selection Process and/or result

4.4.3 Coerce, pressure, intimidate, bribe or carry out any other such action, to any individuals
involved in the Recruitment and Selection Process

4.4.4 These above conditions apply to internal and external applicants. If any employee is found to
have contravened any of these conditions they will be subject to the strongest disciplinary action
including the possibility of immediate termination as detailed in the Disciplinary SoP under Gross
Misconduct.

4.4.5 All ACTED, Afghanistan recruitment and selection must be carried out by following this SoP and
Procedure and individuals will be screened against the job requirements as laid out in the Job
Descriptions and Person Specifications/Competency Framework

4.4.6 ACTED, Afghanistan strives to promote diversity as well as provide an equal employment
opportunity to each candidate, regardless of age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, language, marital
status, origin, political affiliation, religion, sex, or social status. Any information gathered during the
Recruitment and Selection Process relating to the above will only be used to monitor the numbers of
applications from different groups. This information will not be used in the selection process or for any
use other than this purpose

4.4.7 Employees summarily dismissed or separated from ACTED, Afghanistan for disciplinary reasons
will be excluded from any future employment and contractual opportunities with the organization

4.4.8 Employees who resign from ACTED, Afghanistan whilst being investigated under the disciplinary
process will be excluded from working with ACTED, Afghanistan under any circumstances until they are
fully cleared from any allegations of misconduct that are raised against them

4.4.9 Any selection tests used should be specifically related to job requirements and should measure
the person’s actual or inherent ability to do or train for the job

4.4.10 Selection tests should be reviewed regularly to ensure they remain relevant and free from bias,
either in content or in scoring mechanism

4.4.11 Anyone (including Hiring Managers and HR staff) taking part in recruitment and selection must
treat all applications and information gathered in the process as confidential

4.4.12 Interviews will assess candidates against job-related criteria and competencies required only,
i.e. those which relate to the requirements/competencies required for the job

4.4.13 Any information held about a candidate must be used only for the purpose for which the
information has been collected
4.4.14 Where women applicants apply for a role they should be given special consideration even if
they meet the average criteria set for the role. Consideration should also be given as to whether they
could meet full requirements if a Development Plan is put into place and implemented

4.4.15 Reasonable adjustments should be made to reduce any disadvantage faced by disabled people
in making an application in response to an advertisement

4.4.16 Where disabled applicants enter the Recruitment and Selection Process, the process should
take into account such adjustments to working arrangements or physical features of the
workplace/station/premises as are reasonable to accommodate their needs and be such that they are
not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared with non-disabled applicants

4.4.17 The HR Department is responsible for providing all administrative tasks relating to the
Recruitment and Selection Process and for communicating with the candidate prior to and following
any interview

5. Process
The Recruitment Process should be followed in accordance with the following steps and the principles
detailed above

In contrast to the principle, all the position should be announced in local job fairs for more diversity
and gender inclusion

The position with less than 5 months contract and project life cycle can be recruited via justification
memo, all other position behind 5 months contract type should be announced in local job fairs

A Hiring Manager (Technical Supervisor) will complete a Staff Request Form to be sent together with a
Job Description and associated Person Specification/Competency Framework to their Supervisor for
approval (where required) before sending it to the HR Department for processing.

5.1 Job Descriptions and Person Specification/Competency Framework

A Job Description should be produced by the Hiring Manager with full details of the position, tasks,
reporting line, responsibilities of the jobholder, number of subordinates if applicable, grade, title and
salary range. This will be completed by the HR Department. The skills, experiences, qualifications and
competencies of the jobholder should be laid out in the Person Specification/Competency Framework.
The database of existing Job Descriptions should be reviewed to avoid duplication.

5.2 Grade, Title, and Salary Assignment

5.2.1 ACTED, Afghanistan positions are given a grade, starting with grade “F” as the least senior.
Grades are determined according to the levels of responsibility, supervisory roles, job knowledge,
skills, education, experience, and complexity associated with the position. Each grade relates to a set
of generic position titles and a salary scale. Grades and their associated position titles and salary
scales/ranges are created by HR Department, in consultation with Sector Heads and with the approval
from the CD.

5.2.2 Once a successful candidate has been identified the final salary to be offered will be
determined by discussion between the Hiring Manager (Technical Supervisor) and relevant HR staff. If
the Hiring Manager wants to offer a salary that is outside of the normal salary scale for that role then
additional approval from the CD is required
5.2.3 Grades and titles must not be changed for a role without prior approval from the CD

5.2.4 The ACTED, Afghanistan Grading Structure is shown in Annex 1

5.3 Vacancy Advertisement

5.3.1 All Job Advertisements must be developed and posted by the HR Department (following
consultation with the Hiring Manager and/or their Manager as required) and be based around a valid
Job Description and Person Specification/Competency Framework using the standard advertisement
format.

5.3.2 All Job Advertisements must include the following wording where the role is suitable for a
female employee - “ACTED, Afghanistan is an equal opportunities employer. Women are encouraged to
apply”

5.3.3 All advertisements must include the position title, location, details, and requirements of the
position, competencies required, Equal Opportunities statement, closing date for applications, and the
electronic/physical name and address for submitting applications

5.3.4 If the recruitment is urgent the advertisement must be issued by HR no longer than 5 working
days after the completed Recruitment SRF Form and associated documents are received from the
Hiring Manager with proper justification

5.3.5 To ensure transparency, equal opportunity, and to cover the broadest recruitment base for
getting the best candidates:

a. All positions must be internally and if appropriate publicly, advertised for a minimum of two
weeks as widely as possible. Advertisements for less than two weeks require approval from the
Country HR Manager

b. Positions should always as a minimum be advertised internally (refer to Hiring Section for an
exception regarding direct appointments) but the CD has the right to decide if a particular
position is exempt from internal advertisement and selection

c. Internal vacancies will be posted as per the circulation list held in the HR Department. For
external positions, a variety of advertising mediums will be utilized.

d. As much as possible, all advertisements for a position must happen simultaneously. Taking into
account different processing times and potential corrections, requests for posting the
advertisement must happen within 24 hours

5.3.6 A position can be re-advertised if a suitable candidate is not identified. The Job Description
and advertisement should be reviewed before re-advertising to see if they need to be amended

5.4 Shortlisting

5.4.1 If anyone, who may be involved in a recruitment and selection process, believes there is or
maybe a perceived or real risk of conflict of interest, bias, or risk to the organization if they take part
in the shortlisting process then they must disclose this at the outset. They may not then be able to
continue with any involvement in the process

Examples of potential conflicts that may occur are:

 a. If participation in the process will potentially put the credibility, reputation, or existence
of the organization and any positions in it at risk

b. If the candidate is an immediate family member (including ex-spouse and in-laws)

c. If there is:

 Any perceived or real undue pressure (including direct/indirect threat and

intimidation) that makes it difficult to make an impartial and unbiased judgment

 Any promise for personal benefit from any of the candidates

5.4.2 All employees must ensure that all job applications (including any from personal
contacts/family members) are submitted to the HR Department

5.4.3 All external applicants will be pre-screened by the HR Department and the Hiring Manager,
ensuring the principles of the Recruitment and Selection SoP and the Equal Opportunities SoP are fully
adhered to. All applicants that meet the specified criteria will be sent to the relevant Hiring Manager
for consideration for shortlisting for an interview

5.4.4 Priority in the selection process will be given to internal candidates

5.4.5 The HR Department will inform any applicants that are not put forward at this stage in writing
(including those that are to be put in the active files). If the applicant is via an agency then the HR
Department need only inform the agency who will be responsible for informing the applicant

5.4.6 The HR Department at the close of the date application dateline shall automatically send
Internal applicants’ details to the Hiring Manager

5.4.7 The Hiring Manager (and, if requested by the Hiring Manager, the relevant HR staff) will review
in detail the applications against the Job Description and Person Specification/Competency Framework.
The Technical/Functional Supervisor must be invited to participate in the shortlisting process, as can
other relevant internal parties. Valid reasons for shortlisting or not must be recorded against each
applicant

5.4.8 The HR Department will write to the candidates selected for an interview, including any
further information about the organization, role and responsibilities. If the applicant is via an agency
then the HR Department need only inform the agency that will inform the applicant

5.5 Interviewing/Assessment
5.5.1 All interviews must consist of at least two interviewers, the Hiring Manager (or their designate)
and ‘Technical/Specialist’ wherever possible, a representative from the HR department must be
present for all interviews for all grades

5.5.2 A candidate is assessed on their technical and non-technical attributes according to the
requirements set out in the Job Description and Person Specification/Competency Framework

5.5.3 To ensure the questions posed are assessing only relevant criteria, a question and answer sheet
will be designed by the Hiring Manager and the HR Department, before the interview, based on the Job
Description and Person Specification/Competency Framework, and the outcome recorded. Each
interviewer should complete the interview sheet and the results co-ordinated in the interview debrief
5.5.4 Prior to inviting candidates for interview the interview team should decide if any form of ‘Test’
is to be used as part of the process. Only valid and reliable tests, available via the HR Department,
should be used and only where appropriate. Such information will be stored together with other
assessment data

5.5.5 It is the responsibility of the HR Department and the hiring manager to be as transparent as
possible and free from any doubt about the integrity of any test process. Interviews will at all times be
conducted in a professional manner
5.5.6 If an HR representative is not available, the Hiring Manager should ensure that any documents
required are collected and that interview expenses are dealt with according to this SoP

5.5.7 All paperwork relating to an interview must be returned to the HR Department for storage
5.5.8 Candidates must be informed that their application will be kept on the active file for up to six
months

5.5.9 Candidates should complete an ACTED, Afghanistan Employment Application Form

5.5.10 All candidates must be asked to disclose if they have any family members working in the
organization and informed of the potential consequences if they do not disclose. If at any point it is
found that they have a family member working for ACTED, Afghanistan that they did not disclose during
the Recruitment and Selection Process, disciplinary action will be taken if they have since been
employed by ACTED, Afghanistan. If they have not yet been employed their application will be
withdrawn from the Recruitment and Selection Process

5.6 Hiring
5.6.1 The Hiring Manager and the Technical Supervisor should make the hiring decision following
interview/assessment in consultation with those present at the interview (the Interview Team). The
salary to be offered should be decided by the budget and HR consulation.

5.6.2 The HR Department will handle all offers. They will send the successful candidate a written
offer subject to satisfactory reference and background checks. Under no circumstances should Hiring
Managers infer to a candidate the outcome of the selection process

5.6.3 Once a candidate has accepted an offer the HR Department will start the reference and
background check process and prepare the Employment Contract ready for the person to sign on the
first day of their probationary period

5.6.4 Direct appointments to a vacant position are counter to the Recruitment SoP and must be
avoided under normal circumstances. However, if there is a situation in which the organization would
suffer if an appointment is not made immediately, only existing ACTED, Afghanistan employees are
eligible to be directly appointed. Such appointments require the approval of the CD in all instances

5.8 Reference and Background Check for Afghan Nationals

All ACTED, Afghanistan offers of employment are subject to the following reference and background
checks. The checks will not be carried out until the person has accepted the offer in writing and will
be carried out by the HR Department.

Checks by ACTED, Afghanistan:

  Date of birth

 Nationality (if Nationality is not Afghan) then the HQ Clearance process must be followed in
addition)

 References from current/previous employers - a minimum of three satisfactory references,

with at least two from current and/or previous employers, if applicable

 Academic documents i.e. Masters, Degrees, Certificates etc

5.9 Reference and Background Check for Non-Afghan Nationals

5.9.1 All ACTED, Afghanistan offers of employment are subject to the following reference and
background checks.
5.9.2 Under normal circumstances, all reference and background checks for all candidates must be
completed satisfactorily before the person joins ACTED, Afghanistan for their probationary period. If
any of the checks are not satisfactory then the offer of employment may be revoked

5.9.3 Any information obtained during the reference and background check process must be kept
confidential

5.10 Induction
Induction of new employees starts as soon as an applicant accepts a position.

HR will organize for new employees to receive a copy of the Contract and all related new starter forms
that need to be completed before joining.

All new employees will receive a timetable from HR for their successful induction into the organization.

7. Document Approval
Francios Hercher Country Director Signature:

8. Revision History

Date Revision Number Change Reference Section

Afghanistan Labour
Law