Career Architecture Project

Recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Best Large Employers for 2023, Arizona State University is committed to building an adaptable, highly skilled and innovative workforce in the face of a rapidly evolving labor market.

As the job market and higher education landscape evolve and change in new and exciting ways, the time is right for ASU to examine its catalog of jobs, job titles and functions, positions and roles and responsibilities. These components create an agile and flexible career structure supporting future growth.

Overview

ASU strives to attract, develop and retain top talent. An established career architecture provides an equitable, market-informed and transparent pathway that enables staff to enjoy a full and rewarding career.

Email the career architecture project team with questions or for more information.

Guiding Principles

  • Design a career architecture that provides the foundation for hiring, developing, and advancing our workforce to attract and retain the best talent.
  • Create the new architecture to support greater visibility and career development without changing an employee’s job responsibilities and/or compensation.
  • Regularly engage ASU stakeholders for input throughout the project.
  • Build a flexible architecture framework to accommodate future job needs.

Project Timeline

Planning and discovery Establish foundations Develop and update job profiles Map incumbents to new titles Communicate and implement
2023 2024

Benefits of a Career Architecture

Adaptable architectural framework

  • A flexible architecture accommodates future job needs.
  • Functions and subfamilies can be added without disrupting other components.

Clear career pathways

  • Jobs are grouped by function and subfamily, not reporting lines.
  • Work dimensions clarify qualifying criteria and expectations.

Consistent practices across the university

  • A Compensation Glossary of Terms creates a shared language.
  • Promotes consistent practices across the university.

Understandable job titles

  • Market-relevant job titles ensure appropriate market pay comparison.
  • Uniform descriptive title guidelines ensure jobs use consistent titling conventions for equivalent levels.

Project scope

The Career Architecture Project will The Career Architecture Project will not
Develop new job profiles and crosswalk current jobs. Change an employee’s job duties and responsibilities.
Provide transparency and consistency of job levels and skills needed. Analyze market competitiveness for compensation.
Create a foundation for career paths.  
Ensure Workday configuration supports compensation administration and career paths.  
Create a shared language for jobs, job levels, and the compensation framework.  

 

Review the Career Architecture Project FAQs