2 Job design – role profiles, job descriptions and person specifications

It is important to design jobs that are attractive to people with the relevant competences, sustainable over time, and offer opportunities for development.

Standards-based job design involves three components:

  • Role profile
  • Job descriptions
  • Person specifications

Role Profiles

A role profile is a list of the units of National Occupational Standards relevant to a particular job. A role profile may contain units both from the Legal Advice Standards and from other sets of National Occupational Standards (eg administration, management and leadership, health and safety, volunteer management and trusteeship). See Section D for guidance on developing role profiles.

Job Descriptions

Standards-based job descriptions incorporate the National Occupational Standards relevant to the job. As well as role profile, it will usually include

  • Job title
  • Organisation
  • Name of the post-holder
  • Grade or salary
  • Location – where the post-holder will usually work
  • Reporting relationship – job title of the post-holder’s line manager
  • Team members – job title(s) of anyone who reports directly to the post-holder
  • Key relationships – people inside or outside the organisation with whom the post-holder has regular contact
  • Purpose of job – what the post-holder is expected to achieve
  • Responsibilities, duties or tasks – this list of responsibilities can be based on units of National Occupational Standards or cross-referenced to relevant units
  • Other information required by the organisation

Person specifications

Person specifications are concise descriptions of the qualities that post-holders need to possess to carry out their duties competently. These qualities are often listed under the following headings

  • Skills
  • Knowledge
  • Experience
  • Qualifications

In recruitment or promotion procedures, it is important that person specifications are clearly understood by all involved (both selectors and candidates) and that they do not discriminate unfairly against any individual or group.

By using National Occupational Standards as the basis of job descriptions and person specifications, the required skills, knowledge and performance levels are made clear. If job descriptions are vague, imprecise or inadequate, time and resources can be wasted. Worse, the wrong candidate could be selected at interview.

All jobs change over time and the role profiles, job descriptions and person specifications should be reviewed every time someone leaves a post. It is also important to consider whether the job – and the skills needed to carry it out – will change in the foreseeable future.

Steps to take:

Step 1 Be clear about the purpose of the job
Specify what the job holder will be expected to contribute to achieving the team, organisational or partnership objectives.

Step 2 Develop the role profile
Identify the units from the Legal Advice Standards and other sets of National Occupational Standards relevant to the role.

Use the guidance in Section D to help you with this.

Step 3 Develop the job description
Complete the detail of the job description according to your organisational requirements.

You may choose to use the units of National Occupational Standards as the basis for defining the responsibilities, duties or tasks of the job. Alternatively, you can define the responsibilities, duties or tasks of the job in your own words and cross reference these to the relevant National Occupational Standards.

Step 4 Develop the person specification
From the units of National Occupational Standards selected, identify the critical areas of skills and knowledge that the post-holder will need to possess and list these.

Add to these a statement of the experience you expect candidates for the post to have and any qualifications they must hold in order to meet legal requirements or your organisation’s policies. These may include the possession of a driving licence or proficiency in the language of the client group(s).

Step 5 Check the role profile, job description and person specification
Test the role profile, job description and person specification by checking it out with managers and other post-holders.

Check that it also meets your organisation’s requirements.

Step 6 Review role profiles, job descriptions and person specifications
Role profiles, job descriptions and person specifications should be kept under review and revised to reflect changes to requirements.

They may also need to be reviewed, if it proves impossible to attract candidates with the identified requirements. This may involve amending the role profiles, job descriptions and person specifications of other workers to accommodate these changes.

Checklist

  • Do you have clear, concise and up-to-date job descriptions and person specifications for all posts?
  • Are these job descriptions and person specifications based on National Occupational Standards?
  • Do all employees and volunteers have a copy of their job description and the relevant units of National Occupational Standards?