Personnel Development and Leadership
Vice-Presidency for Personnel Development and Leadership (VPPL)
The working environment at ETH Zurich is heterogeneous, complex and extremely dynamic. It is essential to adapt quickly to changes in the university landscape and legal framework conditions. On behalf of the Executive Board, we are actively involved in supporting and shaping this process of change with regard to personnel policy issues. We focus on lifelong learning, strengthening inclusion and diversity, professionalising conflict management, further development as well as digitalisation and automation of HR processes.
Our vision is the unifying, inspiring target image for the future of our Executive Board area. It defines our future self-image as well as our role in implementing the cultural change that has been initiated. The vision represents a great opportunity for all of us: As the common denominator of the VPPL, it creates identification and orientation to align our daily actions – among ourselves and towards our stakeholders – and adjust them if necessary. In this way, we make an active and common contribution to achieve our VPPL goals and the overarching ETH vision.
The VPPL vision is underpinned and made concrete with a mission – in the form of six guiding principles that we align our actions with. The individual principles are deliberately based on the indicators of the social and leadership competencies at ETH and at the same time reflect the diverse activities of the VPPL. In this sense, they ensure connections in both directions. The individual guiding principles contain two statements: The first places the focus internally, on internal cooperation. The second statement focuses externally on how we deal with our diverse stakeholder groups.
Organisation
Consulting for Professors
The team advises full, associate and assistant professors as well as members of the Executive Board from the time of employment, through onboarding, to retirement and beyond. It is also responsible for advising the partners of professors on their professional and private integration in the context of their appointment at ETH Zurich.
HR Consulting
HR Consulting provides consulting at eye level and excellent personnel management for the departments and central bodies. The administrative unit consists of the following teams:
HR Consulting for Departments, Executive Board and Administrative Units: These teams support the organisation and the employees with a personnel policy tailored to their needs within the framework of the legal requirements. Superiors and employees find competent partners in HR Consulting for all questions concerning leadership as well as in the area of operational personnel management (personnel recruitment, retention and development).
Vocational Education and Training: ETH Zurich trains 170 apprentices and commercial trainees in 15 different professions. We are responsible for providing optimal support for the apprentices and for the continuing education of the vocational trainers. ETH has a lot to offer young people who want to start their careers with basic vocational training! Further information on vocational education and training can be found here.
Recruiting: The Recruiting team supports recruiters in finding the right talent.
Case Management: In the case of health restrictions, existing or foreseeable health-related incapacity to work of employees of ETH Zurich, Case Management supports affected persons and offers active and systematic process support. The aim is to restore and maintain the ability to work and to reintegrate them into working life.
HR Operations
HR Operations is responsible for implementing and ensuring HR administration and payroll processing, for HR data, interfaces and systems, as well as for the further development and implementation of digitalised HR processes.
The department consists of three teams: HR Payroll, HR Administration and Digitalisation, Systems and Data.
HR Administration: A competent team of HR administrators looks after the employees of ETH Zurich during their employment period in close cooperation with HR Consulting in all matters of personnel administration.
HR Payroll: The HR Payroll team takes care of payroll processing and supports HR Administration.
Digitalisation, Systems and Data: The team is responsible for the smooth IT operations at VPPL and are responsible for lean, modern administrative processes and optimise procedures where necessary. They look after HR applications on a professional level and work closely with the technical side, with IT Services and the SAP Competence Centre.
Development and Leadership
The Development and Leadership unit provides personnel development and lifelong learning services for professors, supervisors and employees of ETH Zurich and supports organisational units in their development and transformation. It also offers career and labour market counselling for students and doctoral students.
This department consists of the Development and Leadership team and the Career Center.
Career Center: The Career Center is the central platform for companies and students, doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers in their career entry. These students are accompanied until they start their careers and are prepared for the world of work. The team is also committed to putting companies in touch with suitable young talent at ETH Zurich.
Diversity and Collaboration
This unit provides concepts, programmes and measures for inclusive, non-discriminatory and constructive collaboration between members of ETH Zurich. It maintains an effective conflict management system with solution-oriented procedures and low-threshold counselling services for all ETH members in the areas of prevention and intervention. Find out more about ETH Diversity.
Office of Personnel Development and Leadership
The office supports the Vice-President for Personnel Development and Leadership and the management team in the further development of VPPL as well as in strategic projects or issues. In addition, the office fosters relationships within ETH Zurich with other divisions, departments, etc.