Job Description Writing Guidance
Overview
The job description (JD) is a detailed description of the role, including all responsibilities and requirements. Included in the standard job description form template is the person specification which is the profile of an ideal employee, including knowledge, skills and experience. The job description forms the baseline against which an individual’s performance is assessed and measured at both recruitment and as part of the annual performance and development review process.
When writing the job description, keep the focus on the duties and responsibilities of the position, as opposed to the personal characteristics of the person performing the job.
Ensure language is kept gender neutral and it is essential that the job description does not inadvertently discriminate on grounds of gender, age, ethnicity, sexuality, or health. This can be done by avoiding any inappropriate requirements, e.g., “must have x years’ experience” or words such as “dynamic” or “mature”. It may be helpful to use a writing-enhancement service (i.e., Texio), which will highlight jargon and help ensure that language is accessible and as inclusive as possible e.g., flagging words which particularly appeal to male candidates.
Use interesting, engaging words to provide more information about the duties and skills required by the individual but do not exaggerate and avoid using jargon wherever possible.
A job description describes a job, at the time of writing, which can be used for a variety of purposes:
- Recruitment, to provide a clear description of the job for candidates along with further information, as appropriate.
- Job grading, to describe the job sufficiently to assess the grade.
- To clarify roles and responsibilities for existing job holders.
- To inform training and development needs.
Examples are provided within this guidance for illustrative purposes. These should not be taken as definitive duties for particular jobs.
JDs should ideally be no more than 3 pages long. The JD should describe the core of the job in broad terms; fine details are not necessary. Also, take care not to repeat the same information in different sections.
Notes on each section of the form
These notes provide guidance for producing Job Descriptions (JDs) using the standard job description form template.
- Job Description Details
- Job Purpose
- Main Duties and Responsibilities
- Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills & Experience
- Dimensions
- Job Features
- Organisation Chart
Please read through the notes thoroughly before completing each section of the form. You can jump to a specific section above using the embedded links.
Where possible, try to make the answers short but to the point. Depending on the nature of the job, it may not be necessary to complete some sections of the form. Please indicate ‘not applicable’ where appropriate. It is important that the necessary information is provided within the form. Additional information or supporting letters will not be accepted unless specifically requested by a grading or job evaluation panel.
Answers should describe the job as it is now and for the foreseeable future, not as it should or might be.
Section 1 - Job Description Details
Please enter the ‘job title’ and the name of the School/University Services Directorate. If the job is in a defined ‘unit’, such as a functional area or Centre, please also enter its name.
Enter the title of the post to which the job reports (e.g., Head of School, Facilities Duty Manager, Chief Technician, Director of Finance) rather than the name of an individual. If the job is answerable to more than one post for different areas of responsibilities, please give a brief indication of this division of reporting line. Please also highlight if the line manager is in a different location to the jobholder.
Section 2 - Job Purpose
This is an accurate and concise statement summarising the overall purpose of the job from the University’s point of view. This statement should be brief and should not normally be more than 2 or 3 sentences in length.
The purpose does not include a detailed list of how the job is done, nor is it a list of problems, tasks and activities.
It may be easiest to complete this section last after giving thorough consideration to all aspects of the job, and considering the following questions:
- What is the job intended to achieve?
- What would not get done if the job did not exist?
Some examples of job purpose are listed below:
Catering & Events Assistant:
‘Assist in the preparation and serving of food and general cleaning duties within the Commercial Services’.
Administrative Assistant:
‘Provide day-to-day support in the delivery of a proactive, efficient and flexible range of administrative activities’.
Technician:
‘Construct and maintain mechanical and electrical components and apparatus for teaching and research’.
Section 3 - Main Duties and Responsibilities
Describe the key areas in which results must be achieved to fulfil the overall purpose of the job. These are the key outputs of the job. It is not necessary to write the responsibilities in order of importance but try to follow a logical sequence. If there are more than eight, they are probably a list of duties rather than main responsibilities.
Section 4 - Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience
Ensure this accurately describes the type of person you need for the role.
The characteristics specified must be relevant, clear, demonstrable and avoid bias in wording. Consider carefully how each criterion will be assessed e.g., interview, application form, test, etc.
The job description should specify education, previous job experience, qualifications, certifications, and technical skills required for the role. You should also include soft skills, like communication and problem solving, that are required.
Do not specify a minimum number of years' experience in job descriptions. Stating a requirement to have a minimum number of years' experience/previous service is potentially indirect age discrimination. Instead, describe the type of experience you require e.g., experience of working in a complex and large (10,000+ employees) organisation.
Keep your list concise. Do not try to list every requirement.
e.g. Professional membership where relevant, e.g., CIPD, state this requirement and if possible, list equivalents e.g., CIMA/ACCA/CIPFA.
Ensure your criteria is objective, specific and measurable. Avoid descriptions like good communication skills, instead explain/set the context of the skills you require e.g., ability to effectively communicate with different audiences of varying seniority, experience of managing a budget in excess of £100,000.
Specific/Unusual Requirements - make sure you mention anything that is important for the role to deliver and might impact upon an individual’s ability to do the job e.g., requirement to travel (frequency/where), unsocial hours (frequency/when/how many), driving licence.
Section 5 - Dimensions
This section should provide relevant factual, quantitative information that describes the management/supervisory responsibilities and scope of the job on an ongoing basis.
Examples of key indicators to include are:
- Number of staff directly reporting to the job holder (headcount number and full-time equivalent (FTE))
- Approximate number of indirect reports
- Approximate number of staff the job affects directly or indirectly
- Financial aspects (responsibility for budgets, grants, contracts etc. with approximate figures)
- Approximate number and type of students/customers the job affects directly or indirectly
- Any other dimensions relevant to the job
Use the dimensions that best describe the scale and complexity of the job and indicate the responsibility held for these items. Only approximate figures are required, but where the dimensions vary significantly over time, the range should be given with an indication of what is typical.
Some examples of dimensions are listed below:
Administrative Assistant
- Provide administrative support for 4 academic staff
- Customers – 200 students, produce course materials, deal with course enquiries, take messages etc.
Research Technician
- Supervise suite of 4 laboratories, 1 storeroom and 1 preparation area.
- Provide technical support to 3 Research & Teaching staff, 3 Researchers and 5 PhD students. Responsible for operation and maintenance of equipment totaling £250k.
- Responsible for annual consumables budget of £15k.
School Administrator
- Line manager for 7 Administrative staff within School
- Monitor School budget - £2 million
- Service 6 School Committees
Section 6 - Job Features
Briefly explain any aspect of the job not adequately covered in previous sections and which is important in understanding the job.
Think about the job in both an internal and external context:
Internally this might include:
- Operating in a wide ranging, rapidly changing, particularly complex or technical field
- Special environmental factors that impact on the job
Externally this might include:
- Politics/public relations issues
- Nature and extent of commercial pressure
Section 6.1 - Planning and Organising
This section describes the job’s requirement for planning and organisation of the workload, other people, or resources. Consider:
- Where does the work come from?
- What planning is required and over what timescale?
Give up to three typical examples for the job. Some examples are listed below:
Facilities Cleaning Assistant:
- Follow weekly work schedule set out by Facilities Duty Manager.
- Some duties are urgent e.g., reacting to spillages and accidents.
Administrative Assistant:
- Planning deadlines for production of grant applications and research papers up to a year ahead to ensure that deadlines are met.
- Planning and organisation of School meetings and seminars three months in advance, including speakers’ programme, room bookings, etc.
Technician:
- Planning required with academic staff at the start of semesters to organise labs and resources .
- Plan set up of laboratories 1 or 2 days ahead – determined by Senior Technician/Academic staff.
- React daily to queries and problems within laboratory from students and academic staff.
Financial Accountant:
- Make a report to College senior management forecasting financial position of various Schools over the next 3-5 years.
- Estimate income and expenditure of School annually.
- Reconcile budgets monthly.
Careers Adviser:
- Self-generate work; normally agree work for the next academic year with line manager. Work is also generated through involvement with the profession at national level.
- Devise activities up to 6 months in advance. Must also be reactive to accommodate immediate customer needs.
- Planning is influenced by the academic year and employer expectations, fluctuating demand, student expectations, available resources, and commitments of other colleagues.
Section 6.2 - Decision Making
This section records how decisions are made and the accountability for making decisions. Give examples of typical decisions that would be made, including:
- Examples of typical decisions the jobholder makes or is involved in, or has a significant influence on, through advising or making recommendations. This would include examples where the jobholder is responsible for giving advice to a decision-making body.
- The nature of the job holder’s role in these decisions. Indicate whether these are taken independently or in collaboration with others.
- What kind of guidance is in place to support the decision making (e.g., policies/procedures/ protocols/legislation)
- What decisions would be referred to the manager.
Two or three examples of typical decisions will normally be sufficient. Some decision-making examples are listed below:
Library Assistant:
- What area of the Library to direct users to.
- Make decisions, in accordance with the rules, about who should have access to the library’s facilities.
Support Assistant:
- Which information to send in response to a general query and who to refer requests for more detailed information to.
- Make decisions on the most appropriate rooms to book.
- Prioritisation of own work.
IT Support Officer:
- What the best programming method to solve a problem is.
- Work alone on a problem, within existing specifications and standards.
- Select the appropriate method and advise on the feasibility of implementing a system and the risks involved.
Chief Technician:
- Prioritise and allocate work to other technicians.
- Determine work method and materials.
- Exercise quality control of output.
Assistant Director:
- Decides on recruitment and staff allocation.
- Decide how to control the budget to achieve targets.
- In conjunction with the Director, decides on the content of polices, processes and systems for the section.
Section 6.3 - Internal/External Relationships
Briefly describe the significant types of internal and external relationships that are important in getting the job done, taking care not to duplicate information provided earlier. Describe the overall purpose of these relationships and the type of communication required.
Some examples are listed below:
Campus Security Officer:
- Contact with staff from across the University for the issuing and recording allocation of keys to ensure security procedures are followed
- Advising academic staff within the School on the most suitable equipment for experiments in order to support research and teaching.
Technician:
- Advising academic staff within the School on the most suitable equipment for experiments in order to support research and teaching.
Section 6.4 - Problem Solving
This section indicates the type of problems or challenges typically faced by the job holder and how they are solved. Give up to three examples. The best examples for this section are not necessarily the most dramatic or unusual ones; think of the problems and challenges that occur most regularly in the job.
Examples should include:
- Examples of typical problems or challenges the jobholder deals with
- The nature of the job holder’s role in solving these problems. Indicate whether the job holder thinks independently or in collaboration with others.
- What kind of guidance is in place to support problem solving (e.g., policies/procedures/ protocols/legislation).
Section 7 - Organisation Chart
To help indicate where the job sits in the School/ Service/ Team, an organisation chart should be included. It should show the direct reporting relationships relevant to the job i.e., the post the job holder reports to and any other jobs reporting to that post, and/or, to the job holder.
If there are indirect reporting relationships these should be indicated using dotted lines.
Only job titles and grades should be shown on the organisation chart, the names of individual post holders should not be included.