EMPLOYER GUIDE: WRITING A JOB DESCRIPTION
Job descriptions are essential to the recruitment process. How can you as an employer expect to get the right candidate or to have your employee
know what you expect without one?
Would you commit to a job where you don't know what you are responsible for or accountable for?
The process of writing a job description is straight forward, but it is a task that is often overlooked by many employers.
You are not expected to itemise every single task that they will do in their working day, however it is crucial that you define what they
are responsible for and what is expected of them.
Some things that should be included are:
- Who they report to and who reports to them, as well as the monitoring of their work
- What they are responsible for planning and organising
- Who and how they have to communicate to and what they have to communicate
- Their role and their output
- What they have to produce
- Any budgets or financial responsibilities they have
- Any management roles they have and responsibilities for developing others - including training and recruitment
- Health and safety obligations and quality standards
This list is not exhaustive and should be tailored to the individual roles where applicable.
Writing a description allows employers to define the role, by doing this you manage the employees expectations and it is also a tool to monitor progress and success. It also allows you to clarify in your mind where this person will fit in the organisation.
Here is a basic template for a job description, if you stick to some simple guidelines it will ensure that you don't miss out anything:
- Job Title
- Location - including travel involved in the role
- Reporting structure - who they report to, where they will be based and who reports to them.
- Summary of the position.
- Duties and key responsibilities
- Territory and scope of role if applicable
- Management responsibilities
This is just a basic template, for example director and senior level appointments will obviously have a larger scope including strategic and operational
responsibilities.
A good job description should be concise and to the point. It should also be clearly written and easily interpreted.
EMPLOYERS' GUIDES
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