What are the main roles and responsibilities of the job? The answer to this question forms the job description. The job description outlines the job and the expectations of the person in the job and shows how the job fits with the rest of the organisation.
What skills and qualities will the person need to carry out the job? The answer to this question forms the person specification. The person specification defines the type of person required and plays a big part in the process of selecting people to interview. It is important that the requirements in the person specification are directly related to the needs of the job. If the requirements are more than are actually needed for the job, someone might be disappointed and unhappy in a new job when they find they are not fully able to use their gifts.
Job descriptionConsider the main roles and responsibilities involved in the job. Then write a job description based on them. We suggest a structure for a job description below. Main purpose of job: up to two sentences stating why the job exists. For example, a job purpose for an administrator might be ‘To provide administrative support to the Finance Director.’
Line management / Position in organization: this indicates how the job fits into the organisation. In which department will the job be based? Who line manages the person in the job? Does the job involve management of other staff? If so, which staff? Who will the person in the job work with closely? This section should also mention the decisions that the person in the job can make without asking their line manager, such as:
How much can they spend or allow other staff to spend?
Can they be entrusted with funds? If so, what level of funds are they responsible for? For example, for an Administrator role, this section may state: ‘This role is based in the Finance Department and will be managed by the Finance Director. The main aspect of the role is to carry out administrative duties for the Finance Director. It also involves providing administrative support to the Payroll Officer during the last week of every month.’
Scope of job: this section is used to identify the major activities of the job. A maximum of eight major activities should be given. They should be prioritised in order of the time the person in the job will spend on the activity, starting with the activity requiring the most time. This section may not be necessary where there is only one major activity. For example, for an Administrator role there may be two key activities: Providing administrative support to the Finance Director; and Assisting the Payroll Officer with the payment of staff.
Duties and responsibilities: underneath each major activity, list the specific duties and responsibilities. Start each duty or responsibility with a verb. The box of verbs below may be helpful. There is no need to give a description of how the work is to be done.
Maintain the calendar of the Finance Director
Take accurate minutes at team meetings and distribute them
Make travel bookings for team members.
This part of the job profile is used to assess whether someone has the right qualities and experience for the job. The table on this page can be used for the person specification.
The ‘essential’ column contains the minimum qualities and experience needed for the job. All applicants should be judged against these. If there are any that are not met by the applicant, they may not be considered for the job.
The ‘desirable’ column lists qualities and experience that are not necessary for the job, but would be useful. If there are many applicants who meet all the essential requirements, the desirable column can be used to identify a smaller number of candidates who can be invited for interview.
Once the job description and person specification have been drafted, look through the job profile and ask the following questions:
Is it realistic?
• Consider whether it is possible for one person to carry out the tasks and responsibilities.
• Ensure that there is not too much or too little to do.
• Consider whether it will be possible to find someone to carry out the job. If the range of tasks is too wide, it might be very difficult to find someone with the right set of skills.
Is it clear?
• Consider whether someone who does not know the organisation will be able to understand what the job involves.
• A clear job description should attract the right people to the job.
Is there equal opportunity for all?
• Ensure that what is asked for in the person specification can be applied equally to all groups, where possible. For example, check that the person specification does not discriminate on the basis of gender or disability.