Job Description

An explanation of the requirements and responsibilities of a specific job role. This is an essential document in any recruitment process because it provides potential candidates with information on which to make an informed decision as to whether it suits their aspirations and also for employers in determining how the role meets their business needs. The recruitment advert can be specifically targeted to attract the intended audience, reducing wasted time, effort and monies, which can occur when the purpose of the role is unclear and poorly defined.

There are other reasons for having a job description, including:
• Ensuring compliance with legal obligations for an employer.
• The setting of clear expectations for a job role, enabling appropriate performance indicators to be set. An employee’s performance would then be measured against the performance requirements.
• Contributing towards determining the skills and knowledge needed to fulfil the role, and this would be detailed in a person specification.
• Effective workforce planning, by enabling an organisation to deploy a range of roles which best meet the needs of the organisational aims and objectives. Job descriptions can increase the likelihood of ensuring an adequate balance of roles and responsibilities is achieved, making the best use of, often limited, staff resources.
• Improving awareness of other potential roles, which can help development and career progression within an organisation, or industry.
• Providing a baseline for salary comparisons between employers, potential leading to more equitable salaries and benefits, reducing the likelihood of a dissatisfied workforce.
• Contributing to workforce motivation because clarity of a role can reduce potential confusion of expectations and provide a clear direction of job requirements, which can give a worker greater confidence in knowing that what they are doing is what is expected.

A job description will normally be complemented with a Person Specification.