JASAME HR Consulting Ltd
Performance Growth & Development
+256 772 373 703 · [email protected]

Purpose, duties, outputs and person specification

Job Description Guide

A job description describes the post, not the person currently in it. Write it in the present tense, in plain language, and keep it to two pages. Use the template below and delete the guidance in brackets as you go.

How to write each part

1. Job title: the title actually used in the structure, not an inflated one. Avoid internal jargon a candidate would not recognise.
2. Reports to: one post, by title. If a role genuinely reports to two people, say which one handles performance and leave.
3. Job purpose: one sentence saying why the post exists and what it is accountable for. If you cannot write it in one sentence, the role needs splitting.
4. Key duties: six to ten statements, each starting with a verb and naming an output. "Prepares the monthly payroll for approval by the fifth working day" beats "responsible for payroll".
5. Outputs and measures: what good looks like, in terms someone could check. This is what the appraisal will use.
6. Person specification: split Essential from Desirable, and be honest about which is which. Every essential requirement excludes candidates, so justify each one.
7. Do not list qualifications you would waive for the right candidate. Put those under Desirable.

Template