Section 2 – The Role
This should focus on giving candidates a detailed picture of the scope and content of the role, containing the following elements:
- Job Title
Many people make the mistake of using an internal job title which means little to those outside. Job titles should generally be in common use and describe the main content of the role.
For example if you are seeking a Project Manager then using an internal title such as ‘Business Relationship Liaison Manager’ is confusing and likely to fail to attract the right candidates.
- Background
This section should answer the question of ‘why is this role vacant?’. You should aim to make the reasons positive and informative to help candidates put the role in context. An example might be:
‘XYZ Plc has recently undergone a strategic review of their sales operations. The review has generated a number of projects aimed at ensuring new efficiencies are driven into the area. Successful completion of these projects will reduce the administrative burden and free up the sales professionals (some 600 people) to focus on client facing activity. We are therefore appointing a Senior Project Manager to assume responsibility for initiating, running and completing all of the identified projects within the sales operations.’
- Role Summary
This section should be brief and summarise the overall purpose of the role. An example might be:
The Senior Project Manager will be responsible for project planning and managing projects within the scope of sales operations. The strategic review has identified a number of projects that need to be undertaken. These include:
The incumbent will be expected to work with both internal staff and external suppliers and will assume full budgetary responsibility for each of the project streams.
- Structure and Reporting
This section helps create context for applicants. You should detail reporting lines, mentioning names and job titles of key personnel to which the incumbent will have direct reporting lines.
It is often useful to put an organisation chart into this section to allow applicants to see how they fit into the organisation, and offer an outline view of the resources they will be managing.
- Specific Responsibilities
This section should detail key deliverables required to fulfil the role. Typically these are shown in bullet points such as:
This section is the main part of the specification and should detail all the key activities in which the incumbent is likely to be engaged. Where possible a deliverable should be associated with each activity. For example ‘manage the contract negotiation process and ensure that the final SLA has been signed off by the project steering committee’.
- Resources
This section should indicate the levels of responsibility and authority that the incumbent will exercise in the role. Typically good indicators are:
- Location
To what extent will the incumbent be working away from the main office, and which additional locations are likely to fall within the scope of the role.
- Length of Project
Most projects have a projected end date, but it is worth letting candidates know how long the engagement is likely to last. If the end date has not been determined this can be couched in terms of three or six month commitments on the part of the organisation.
- Remuneration
In most instances remuneration is expressed as a day or hourly rate. It is possible to express this as a projected range of rates at the specification stage. Some companies offer a completion bonus to ensure on time and on budget project delivery.