3798017 - JobDescTemplate OData API POST Fails with COE0018 sectionId Error

When creating a Job Description Template (JobDescTemplate) via OData API using section types such as LONGDESCRIPTION, SHORTDESCRIPTION, HEADER, FOOTER, or COMPENSATIONDATA, the save operation fails with the following error:

[COE0018] Either vals is null or vals is empty for 'sectionId'

This issue does not occur when using the POSITIONTITLE section type. The template is not created, and no data is saved.

SAP SuccessFactors Talent Intelligence Hub and Job Profiles

1. Log in to your SAP SuccessFactors instance.
2. Open your OData API client (e.g., Postman or any REST client).
3. Send a POST request to create a new JobDescTemplate, including a section with "contentType": "LONGDESCRIPTION" (or any of the affected section types listed above), without providing an ExternalCode for the section.
4. Submit the request.
5. Observe that the request fails with the error:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "COE_GENERAL_BAD_REQUEST",
    "message": {
      "lang": "en-US",
      "value": "[COE0018] Either vals is null or vals is empty for 'sectionId'."
    }
  }
}

This is a known product defect. When a new section is created via the API without an ExternalCode, the section's internal identifier is not yet assigned at the point of validation — before the record is saved to the database. This causes a null value to be passed into an internal query, which triggers the COE0018 validation error and prevents the template from being saved.

The POSITIONTITLE section type is not affected as it follows a different processing path.

A product fix has been identified and is planned for deployment to production by end of November 2026.

Workaround (until fix is available):

Use the Manage Job Profile Content Import/Export feature to create and maintain Job Description Templates, instead of the OData API POST operation.

• refer to: JobDescTemplate | Help Portal
• refer to: API Reference: JobDescTemplate
• refer to: API Reference: JobDescSection

OData V2, JobDescTemplate, JobDescSection, internalId, externalCode, COE0018, GUID should be numeric, section order, insertion order, Manage Job Profile Content Import/Export, UI mismatch, API create template, API create section, system-generated id, order field, WSM-35538 , KBA , LOD-SF-TIH-JPB , Job Profile Builder , Known Error