The Constitution of the State of Alaska includes a provision requiring that "The legislature shall establish a system under which the merit principle will govern the employment of persons by the State." The State Personnel Act (AS 39.25) was enacted to establish the Executive Branch system of personnel administration based upon the merit principle and adapted to the requirements of the state with the result that persons best qualified to perform the functions of the state will be employed, and that an effective career service will be encouraged, developed and maintained. The regulations adopted to implement the Personnel Act, commonly referred to as the Personnel Rules, can be found in the Alaska Administrative Code at 2 AAC 07.005, or by clicking on "Personnel Rules" in the Quick Links list below.

Under the Personnel Act, the Director of the Division of Personnel is responsible for the administration of the Personnel Act and all regulations adopted to implement the Act.

The Personnel Board, also created by the Personnel Act, is an independent agency composed of members appointed by the Governor. The Board hears complaints of Ethics Act violations brought against Executive Branch employees and disciplinary appeals from classified employees not covered by collective bargaining, approves amendments to the Personnel Rules and acts on recommendations for extensions of the partially exempt or classified services within the Executive Branch.

The Division's primary administrative and support functions are located in the Director's Office.

The Training and Development Unit provides supervisory, management, leadership, EEO compliance, and interpersonal skills training courses.  The Training and Development program has a separate web page that can be reached through the Division of Personnel's home page.

The Administrative Services Section handles the Division's business and financial affairs - budget development, financial management, accounting, procurement of goods and services, internal human resources activities, clerical support, and management of property, space and records.

The Information Technology Section is responsible for providing information systems and services to facilitate the capture, retrieval and utilization of data related to all aspects of workforce development and management. Activities include the design, development, implementation and maintenance of systems such as WorkplaceAlaska, TrainAlaska and the under-development on-line position classification system.

The principal office of the Division of Personnel is located in Juneau at:

Anchorage Offices of the Division of Personnel are currently located as follows at:

The Fairbanks Office of the Division of Personnel is located at: