How we recruit - our commitment to you
We are committed to making sure our recruitment process is fair, consistent, transparent and inclusive. We want to be an employer of choice, that attracts and retains talented staff that have the right skills and behaviours that together will make life more inclusive for deaf people and those with hearing loss or tinnitus.
We will do this by hiring people from the widest possible talent pool and offering development opportunities to our employees. We are committed to improving the representation of minority groups within RNID, particularly improving representation of deaf staff and those with hearing loss or tinnitus.
This information provides an overview of our hiring policy and sets out our principles to ensure our process is fair, consistent, transparent and inclusive.
Our hiring principles
We choose the person we think will do the best job, based on their skills, knowledge, experience and our values and behaviours. We only ask relevant questions. And if we test people, we make sure the tests are relevant to the job.
We make sure that our application process is as accessible and inclusive as possible.
Our approach supports applications from everyone regardless of their race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, marital status, religion, or beliefs.
We are a Disability Confident employer, and we encourage people to contact us.
Reasonable adjustments include offering communication support to people who need it.
We learn from others and promote best practice in all areas of hiring.
Disability Confident
Disability Confident is a government scheme designed to encourage employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with health conditions.
RNID is proud to be a member of Disability Confident and as Disability Confident Leader we recognise the value disabled people bring to RNID. We offer interviews to any candidate that tells us they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the role.
It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-peak times, the employer may need to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered. This will include the number of interviews offered to disabled people that meet the minimum criteria for the job.
Thriving at Work (Stevenson/Farmer) review of mental health
We are committed to adhering to both core and enhanced standards as set out in the Thriving at Work review of mental health (GOV.UK).
Core standards
We:
- produce, implement, and communicate mental health at work plans
- develop awareness
- encourage open conversations
- provide our colleagues with good working conditions
- promote effective people management
- monitor our employee’s mental health and wellbeing.
Enhanced standards
We:
- increase transparency and accountability through internal and external reporting
- demonstrate accountability
- continuously review and improve the disclosure process
- ensure the provision of tailored in-house mental health support and signposting.
Hiring ex-offenders
Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us. This will depend on the offence and the relevance of the offence in relation to the role you have applied for.
The factors considered will include:
- the responsibilities of the position
- the vulnerability of the customer group
- the nature of the offence(s)
- the number and pattern of the offences (if there is more than one)
- how long ago the offence(s) occurred
- the age of the offender when the offence(s) occurred.
We treat DBS/Access NI/PVG applicants who have a criminal record fairly and make sure we do not discriminate because of a conviction or other information revealed.
Please contact us for a copy of our policy.
Conflicts of interest
To ensure our hiring processes are fair we ask hiring managers to let us know if they have a personal relationship with an applicant. The personal relationship could mean they are a family member, a partner or a friend. We ask you to declare this as soon as you are aware of their application. If you aren’t sure about whether there is a conflict of interest, please speak to the People team who will work with you to agree if it is still appropriate for you to remain part of the selection process.
FAQs
Welcome to our FAQ section!
Here, you'll find answers to common questions.
If you need any support in completing the application, please contact us on contact@rnid.org.uk.
After submitting an application, an acknowledgement email will be sent within two working days. If you meet the requirements for the role, the hiring manager will be in contact within two weeks.
We really appreciate the time you have taken to complete the application.
However, due to high volumes of applications, we are not always able to go back to applicants with individual feedback.
All interviews will take place on Microsoft Teams.
We will be asking you about some of the important factors that makes working at RNID great. Some of the themes we may discuss at your interview include:
About us
Who we are, where we are going and how we can work together.
About you
We want to understand how well the role matches your experience, interests, personal values and career aspirations
Working Collaboratively
Working remotely is something we are fully committed to; we want to know how you could help us achieve our goals through collaboration whilst working remotely.
Technical Skills
The necessities, we want to know do you have the technical skills and to help your team support the charity’s future success.
What and How
We will be assessing what you know but also how you would apply it at RNID. Therefore, be sure to give examples of how you have implemented your talent in your previous roles and how that could be relevant at RNID.
If you’re successful, we will need to see your right to work in the UK documents, as well as running some basic background checks specific to the role. For example, some roles may call for a criminal record check.
We require at least two referees who can comment on your work ability. These references will need to cover the past three years, with no gaps.
For certain roles, a disclosure will be requested to assist with the decision-making process.
We have a legal duty to make sure that all employees working either in person and/or online with adults at risk on a regular basis are suitable.
In addition to requesting references, we’ll carry out appropriate employee checks in-line with regulations such as Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks in England and Wales, and equivalents in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
For applicants in Northern Ireland that will be undertaking RNID Near You Coordinator roles, we will carry out an AccessNI Enhanced check.
A copy of our policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders; our policy on the Secure Handling, Use, Storage and Retention of Disclosure information and the AccessNI Code of Practice is available from contact@rnid.org.uk.