Frequently Asked Questions
We have complied the responses to some commonly asked questions about applying for a role or working at Greater Brighton Metropolitan College. If you can’t find the response that you are looking for or need any further information please feel free to contact us on jobs@gbmc.ac.uk.
What will the selection process be?
The selection process can vary depending on the position, but if you are successful in being shortlisted for the role you have applied for, you will be invited to attend an interview at the College. As part of this process, you may be asked to do a test (maybe an IT test or another type of test relevant to the role), a micro-teach or a presentation. You will receive all the details for this in your invite to interview correspondence.
When you come for your interview, you will meet the recruiting manager for the role and the rest of the interview panel which will be a total of two to four people, depending upon the role. Sometimes a decision is made after one round of interviews. At other times, you will need to come back to the College to attend a second round of interviews or further tests or assessments. If you are successful at this stage, then you will be contacted after the interviews and progressed for the role.
What does being ‘progressed for a role’ mean?
Being progressed for a role simply means that your background checks, which include your references, DBS form and an ID check will be carried out before a formal offer of employment is made.
The time this takes varies from person to person but we will try and get you to come into the College as soon as possible to check your ID and complete a DBS form. It is always a good idea to inform your referees beforehand so they will be expecting us to contact them, which can greatly speed up the process.
We don’t offer subject to satisfactory references as we prefer to complete all of our pre-employment checks before reviewing all the information and making a final decision.
After all the pre-employment checks have been made, we then make an offer of employment. This is normally subject to a satisfactory DBS check being received. If your DBS check has not been returned by your start date, normally a risk assessment will be carried out by the department prior to you starting your role with us.
You will also be required to undergo a health assessment, to ensure that you are fit to carry out the role and to let us know if there are any adjustments that we need to make to enable you to carry out your job.
What type of job opportunities do you offer?
We offer a full range of Lecturing, Support and Management roles across the College. We offer full time and part time roles which may fall into permanent, sessional or term time only contracts.
What does a ‘Sessional’ contract mean?
A Sessional contract is for a variable number of hours as we need flexibility and the hours for this type of work will fluctuate. Staff on this type of contract will normally be given their hours of work for the term ahead (and sometimes for the whole academic year). Some ‘bank’ roles will be offered hours on an ad-hoc basis.
Sessional staff on teaching contracts are normally paid an additional half hour for every hour they teach to take account of the extra duties required of a lecturer. These would include preparation, marking, attending meetings etc.
All staff on this type of contract also have their holiday pay paid to them, which is shown as a separate item on their payslip. The calculation is made taking into account the pro-rata holiday entitlement to that of a full time member of staff.
Will my application be considered if I’m a non-EU resident?
Yes. The College will consider all applications received. However we are required to check that all of our employees are eligible to live and work in the UK. If you are successful in your application, you will be required to provide evidence of this.
We will need to see a valid working visa or residence permit as part of our background check.
Will my referees be contacted before I am formally offered the role?
No, your referees will be contacted after we make any formal offer of employment, however, we will not take up your references without your permission.
We will ask you for three references, one of which must be your current or most recent employer.
Is there any flexibility on interview dates/times?
In the majority of cases we are unable to re-schedule an interview date as it is very difficult to get the panel together for more than one date to conduct interviews due to time restraints and resources. However if the panel do not recruit from the current round of interviews we will contact you regarding an alternative date to interview if you are still interested.
If you are unable to attend your interview please email jobs@gbmc.ac.uk stating which role you are being interviewed for, the time, your reason for not attending and any alternative days/times that you are available.
Please note: The College is unable to reimburse any interview expenses you may incur.
