Advertising the position for certain time periods is typically a requirement related to using federal funding obtained through grants for paying personnel from certain agencies or a general university policy.
The process OP described is extremely common when groups already decided who they want to hire, but have to appear above board. Your resume essentially becomes the job posting making it nearly impossible for someone to compete (assuming you have niche skills/experience which is likely).
I worked in academic research for over a decade and have received a raise using the exact process OP described (I was/always have been a full citizen). I've also seen it used by other collaborating groups.
The process OP described is extremely common when groups already decided who they want to hire, but have to appear above board. Your resume essentially becomes the job posting making it nearly impossible for someone to compete (assuming you have niche skills/experience which is likely).
I worked in academic research for over a decade and have received a raise using the exact process OP described (I was/always have been a full citizen). I've also seen it used by other collaborating groups.