Series Overview and Advice to Managers
The CNT series encompasses a wide range of technical duties with CNTs playing a variety of roles in campus organizations. The 2007 revision of the series adds a new level between what was previously the CNT III and IV and provides revised descriptions of the different levels.
Title Conversion Table
Old |
New |
||
| CNT I | PSS 2 | CNT I | PSS 2 |
| CNT II | PSS 3 | CNT II | PSS 3 |
CNT III |
PSS 5 | CNT III | PSS 5 |
| CNT IV | MSP 2 | CNT IV | MSP 1 |
| CNT V | MSP 4 | CNT V | MSP 2 |
| CNT VI | MSP 4 | ||
With the implementation of the new series, current positions will maintain their same PSS or MSP level, and the CNT level will be adjusted to reflect the new levels. That is, a current CNT IV/MSP2 will become a CNT V/MSP2 in the new series, without any associated reclassification or salary action by the department.
The new CNT series will include positions that concentrate on System Administration/ Support Services and those that are responsible for Software Development and in some cases, combinations of the two. Positions focusing on web development will share characteristics of the other two areas, and although not a perfect fit with either, will be classified based on the application of the same concepts of organizational, operational, and technical responsibilities.
The revised descriptions of the System Administration/ Support Services CNT series focus on three different dimensions of responsibility that CNT employees might typically have as part of their jobs. These three dimensions are defined as follows:
Organizational role: What role does the employee play in the identification and prioritization of departmental technical goals? Does this employee work on tasks determined by someone else in the organization or does he/she devise tasks to achieve technical goals?
Operational responsibilities: Is this position responsible for the delivery of one or more technical services? What is the complexity of the implementation of those services? What is the impact on the organization if those services fail?
Technical expertise: What in-depth technical expertise and experience is required for this position? To what extent is this position responsible for the design of standards, definitions, processes, common structures/models, and implementation approaches to meet organizational strategic goals?
Although the revised System Administrators series description is an attempt to achieve more clarity by distinguishing between dimensions, most job descriptions will be a blend of duties and responsibilities that combine aspects of all three. In some cases job descriptions may be focused on just one dimension (e.g., a technical specialist with little or no organizational or operational responsibilities). But the classification process will account for these variations by looking at the various levels associated with the different responsibilities, taking into account where the preponderance of duties falls and factoring in the added complexity of multi-faceted jobs.
Classification reviews often require clarification of organizational roles and responsibilities and can result in a request for supplemental information. One of the purposes envisioned for the new matrix is to initiate conversations between HR, the System Administration committee and the department about the distribution of tasks and responsibilities within its IT unit. Departments may be asked to define the organizational roles of their CNT’s more precisely in their job descriptions.
Advice for managers writing new job descriptions:
Organize component duties based on level rather than the nature of the service provided. For example, rather than combining cluster system administration with associated purchase order tracking in a single duty called “cluster management”, create separate function descriptions for each with separate percentages attached. These distinctions will make classification easier and more transparent.
In the general summary of duties, describe the role this position plays in the technology efforts of your unit, as well as a brief description of the role of technology for the overall goals of the unit.
For each duty, try to indicate the organizational, operations, and technical components of that duty. If there are other employees with related duties, the relationship between the responsibilities of this position and the others should be clear.
Be sure that the text of the job description is also reflected in the org chart and in other job descriptions within your unit. For example, only one person can have "primary responsibility" for a given duty.
Advice for managers submitting CNT job descriptions for reclass:
If the position you wish to reclassify is primarily devoted to system administration, consult the CNT sysadmin series concepts and compare your position to the language of the concepts at the appropriate level. For example, if you wish to reclassify a position to the CNT III level, your revised jd should reflect to some degree the language of the III level as described in the series concepts. The Compensation Analyst will be comparing your jd to the series concepts to determine the degree to which they match. The Sysadmin Advisory Committee will assist in this effort. If you feel you need assistance in writing a revised jd prior to submission, please feel free to contact your compensation analyst. He/She and Committee member will meet with you to discuss the structure of your IT organization, how tasks are distributed and how your positions conform to the new series concepts. They will assist you in writing new job descriptions.
If the position you wish to reclassify is primarily devoted to software development, create a new job description and complete the software matrix found at http://hr.ucsb.edu/comp/pdf/New CNT Software Matrix.pdf. In addition complete the supplementary questionnaire to be found at http://hr.ucsb.edu/comp/cnt_software_questionnaire.php. Submit this information together on-line. Your Compensation Analyst will review these materials and make a classification decision based on the data presented in conjunction with the IT Committee’s recommendation. If you need help prior to submission, contact your Compensation Analyst for assistance.