AW-05 · Delegation of Authority and Approval Routing

1. Purpose and scope

Purpose. To ensure that every approval given in IoL's name is given by someone who holds the authority to give it, at the value and for the category concerned, that no one approves their own transaction, that authority does not lapse when a post-holder is absent, and that the approval routing built into University's systems matches the written register rather than the other way round. An approval outside delegation is not an approval, however senior the person who gave it.

Scope statement. This procedure manages the IoL delegations register from the receipt of University's delegation to the head of IoL, through sub-delegation, acting arrangements and system configuration, to the annual attestation that the register and the systems agree.

Applies to. Approvals for purchasing, payments and claims, contracts and MoUs, staff appointments and changes, leave, external communications, and learner-facing decisions where IoL holds delegated authority (fee waivers, holds, adjustments, letters). Committee authority stated in terms of reference under AW-01 is cross-referenced here.

Does not apply to. The institutional matrix itself; academic decisions vested in academic bodies by University's academic regulations (WF-01, WF-09, WF-10, WF-11); authority University has not delegated to IoL, which is routed to University and never assumed.

2. Trigger, boundary and interfaces

3. Roles and accountability

Process owner. Head of Administration and Operations (HAO), with authority to suspend any system routing that does not match the register. Administration Affairs (SDO) maintains the register.

[CONTROL] Segregation. The person who maintains the register does not hold a delegation above the lowest band in it, or where unavoidable the Dean, IoL, approves every change to that person's own entry. The system administrator configures routing but holds no approval authority. A delegate never approves a transaction they requested, benefit from, or are the subject of.

4. Procedure

1. Receive the institutional delegation. The Dean, IoL, obtains the current University delegation to the head of IoL in writing and the process owner files it as an external document of origin under AW-03. [CONTROL] IoL sub-delegates only what University has delegated; the register cites the institutional clause for every entry.

2. Build the register. For each approval category the register states the role (not the person) holding authority, the value band, the conditions, whether sub-delegation is permitted, and the system in which the approval is given. IoL operates three internal tiers below the DOA levels. The three values are the single most important gap in the pack: every merged procedure cites them and none states them [HAO to state: the internal limit for tier 1, the HAO limit for tier 2, and the Dean's authority under the DOA Manual for tier 3].

   Tier	Approver	Up to	Notes
   1	SDO Head of Finance	The internal limit set by the HAO [HAO to state]	Budget confirmed by SDO before approval
   2	Head of Administration and Operations (HAO)	The HAO limit [HAO to state]
   3	Dean, IoL	The Dean's authority under the DOA Manual [HAO to state]	The Dean's own transactions go to the Dean's superior [to name]
   Above 3	Dubai Health HQ	Level 3, Level 2 (CEO) or Board as the DOA Manual assigns	Submitted through HQ by the HAO or the Dean

   Categories, with the DOA Manual chapter the OPS pack cites and the tier or level that applies:

   Category	Chapter	Tier or level	Conditions
   Purchase requests (AW-10)	2, 4, 5	Tiers 1 to 3 by value; above the Dean, Level 3 through HQ	Direct purchase justification and variations (30% cap under Law No. 12 of 2020) approved by HAO or Dean
   Honoraria, speaker fees and claims (AW-11)	3, 9	Tiers 1 to 3 by value; visiting professors or experts Level 2 (CEO) before engagement	Beneficiary rule: nobody endorses or approves their own claim; a Chair's claim goes to HAO or Dean, the HAO's to the Dean, the Dean's to the Dean's superior

| Business travel (AW-11) | 3 | Dean decides every IoL travel request; HAO authorises processing | Business class limited to Directors and above, People of Determination, or HQ HR exception | | Budget proposal, reallocation and unbudgeted spend (AW-02) | 10.4, Section A | Proposal HAO and Dean; sub-account reallocation HAO; unbudgeted spend HAO or Dean plus written agreement of the CFO and the functional executive | No transfer between the University and DAHC budget entities | | Staffing priorities and starting salary (AW-07) | 6 | Priorities: Dean after Operational Committee review; allocation: HQ HR and HQ Finance; starting salary to grade midpoint HAO or Dean, above it Level 3 with the COO | No recruitment before HQ approval | | Asset transfer, retirement and disposal (AW-13) | 4, 8.1 | HAO or Dean; disposal Level 2 through HQ Asset Management | Condemnation letter for biomedical assets | | Consumables replenishment and disposal (AW-13) | 5 | Tier 1 within the internal limit, otherwise HAO or Dean; disposal HAO | Through the HQ Inventory Management system | | Contracts, MoUs and agreements (AW-23) | 2 | HAO or Dean after HQ Contracting and Procurement review and HQ Legal clearance; beyond the Dean, Level 3; revenue contracts countersigned at Level 3 | Total value decides the level; revenue is not offset against cost; no auto-renewal beyond one term | | Workplace services and civil works (AW-14, AW-15) | 4, 5, 9 | Cost: tiers 1 to 3; civil works: HAO or Dean then the Space Committee (inside University premises) or the Capital Committee (outside) | Standard services on the Annex A list need no endorsement | | Learning activities (AW-21) | 9, 2, 3, 5 | Resources: Operational Committee; content: CE Committee; final approval of an educational event: HAO or Dean under Level 4 | No commitment before final approval | | External prices and cost attribution (AW-12) | 2, 9 | Short-course prices Level 2 (CEO) after HAO or Dean endorsement; change of events fee structure VP or Level 3; attribution memo HAO or Dean | Full-cost pricing; no price quoted before approval | | External communications (AW-22) | | Communications lead for routine; Dean for positions and media | University communications above | | Learner-facing decisions (AW-18, AW-19) | | Learner services lead within policy; programme lead; Dean | University registrar or committee above |

3. Approve sub-delegations. Each sub-delegation is approved in writing by the Dean, IoL, names the role, the limit and any conditions, and is entered in the register with the date. A delegate may not sub-delegate further unless the register expressly permits it. [CONTROL] No sub-delegation exceeds the authority of the person granting it.

4. Confirm delegates on appointment. When a post-holder changes (AW-07), the process owner issues the new incumbent a statement of the authority attached to the role and obtains a signed acknowledgement before any approval is given. The outgoing incumbent's routing is removed the same day.

5. Arrange acting authority. For a planned absence longer than ______ working days [IoL to confirm] the post-holder's line manager nominates an acting delegate at the same or higher grade; the Dean, IoL, approves; the arrangement has a start and end date and is entered in the register and the system. For unplanned absence the line manager assumes the authority until an acting delegate is approved. [CONTROL] Acting authority is never assumed by the absentee's subordinate without written approval, and it expires on the stated date.

6. Apply the register at every approval. Each interfacing procedure checks that the approver holds the category and band before treating the approval as valid. [CONTROL] Self-approval is prohibited: a requester, claimant, contracting party or subject of a decision never approves it, and the next level up approves instead. [CONTROL] Splitting a transaction, invoice, contract or claim to bring parts under a threshold is a breach; related items within a quarter are assessed together at their combined value and reported to AW-24 where splitting is found.

7. Configure system routing. The process owner specifies routing rules for the procurement, finance, HR and learner-records systems [IoL to confirm systems] from the register, and the AW-15 system administrator or University system owner implements them. Where a system cannot enforce a band, the manual check in step 6 is documented as the compensating control. [CONTROL] No routing change is made without a register change approved first.

8. Reconcile routing to the register. Quarterly, the process owner obtains the routing configuration from each system and reconciles it to the register. Differences are corrected within the service standard and any approval given under an incorrect routing is reviewed and ratified or reversed.

9. Attest annually. Each delegate confirms in writing that they hold the authority shown, have not approved outside it, have not self-approved and are not aware of splitting. The Dean, IoL, attests the whole register to University where University requires it [IoL to confirm]. [CONTROL] The attestation is evidenced by a sample of approvals from each system tested against the register by AW-24.

10. Report and treat breaches. Any approval found outside delegation, any self-approval and any splitting is logged, the transaction is referred to the Dean, IoL, for ratification or reversal, and a non-conformity is raised through AW-24. Repeated breach by the same delegate leads to withdrawal of the delegation.

Exception routes. Emergency approval where no delegate is available: the Dean, IoL, or the acting head approves and the process owner records the emergency and the reason. Where University changes the institutional matrix mid-year, the register is updated within 10 working days and routing within a further 10; approvals in the interval are given at the lower of the old and new limits.

5. Service standards

6. Records, retention and controls

Key controls. (1) Every entry in the register cites the University authority it derives from. (2) No sub-delegation exceeds the grantor's authority. (3) No self-approval. (4) No splitting; related items are assessed at combined value. (5) Acting authority is written, dated and expiring. (6) System routing matches the register, reconciled quarterly. (7) Departing incumbents lose routing the same day. (8) Annual attestation with sample testing by AW-24.

OBEF touchpoint. None.

7. Performance measures

8. Change control