Technical Generic+ Job Description Guidance

This guidance is for managers using the Technical Generic+ descriptors for recruitment. You can also refer to the Technical Role Types Information Toolkit in the Career Framework for Technical Staff.

The aim is to maintain the generic nature of the job descriptions. If they are altered significantly, they are no longer generic job descriptions.

How to use the Generic+ job descriptions

Overview

• Please send all your queries about Generic +Technical roles to your local HR team. So that can make sure you're using the closest template.
• Your local technical staff lead and the HR Business Partner must be involved with reviewing and approving the job description.
• Generic+ roles have been developed to provide the core elements of all technical roles supporting academic work.
• The generic elements of the role define the job title, activity level, skills, knowledge and experience required. They also include the general position in the technical reporting structure.
• The '+' (plus) element of the role defines the specific title, specific activities, specific skills, knowledge and experience. They also include the specific technical reporting structure. These areas are highlighted in yellow. Managers may make small changes to the content to reflect the local variations.
• Please talk to your HR contact if your role isn't available in the Career Framework

Step by step guidance

Once you've found the closest Technical Generic+ job description with HR, you must:

• Use ‘Track Changes’ to make it easier for HRBPs to see what changes have been made from the generic versions.
• If you make small changes, or remove wording, please check that everything makes sense and it is easy to read.

Job Title

You should keep the generic job title but remove the Grade/Level for the advert and contract. You can add a specific descriptor to the generic title. For example, 'Specialist Technician – Workshop'.

Main Job Purpose

Please keep the generic wording. You can add specifics, where guided by the yellow highlighting. If you're adding additional text, please ensure it is clear and does not repeat the advert text. 

Main Statement of Responsibilities:

• You can add one additional responsibility only if essential and if it is taken directly from another technical generic of the same grade. Please don't any other additional responsibilities
• You can only remove two responsibilities.
• If you add any specifics, please only add them if they are relevant to the generic statement you're adding them to.
• Do not duplicate anything in the generic statements and only reflect necessary information. Any specifics and details should be kept to a minimum.

Relationships

Some technical staff are managed by a Principal Investigator (PI) or academic member of staff. In these cases, a technical or professional services manager must be included as an associate line manager. This person should be involved in agreeing the job description and play a role in the recruitment process.

Organisation Chart

You should make sure that reporting lines are clear and the chart includes enough detail. This is so that someone outside the University could understand the team structure and where the role fits.     

Job Hazards/Safety Critical Duties

Please include any hazards that the employee could be exposed to in this section, if appropriate. We can make sure the right health screening is in place.

Person Specification

Essential criteria

Do not delete any essential criteria.

• You can add a maximum of 2 essential criteria. For example, additional qualifications for the role, for example legally required safety qualifications. Please keep these to a minimum. Please can you make any additions are suitable for the recruitment process.
• Please do not add any other type of essential criteria to any of the sections.

 Desirable criteria

• Please keep any additional desirable criteria to a minimum. You should make sure these could be truly tested as part of a recruitment exercise.
• Where you add any specifics, please ensure these are relevant to the generic statement they have been added to.

Work Examples

You don't need to revise generic work examples. However, it could be useful to write one specific work example. This could help to check you understand the role and that the JD selected is at the right level. Your HR contact may ask you to do this as part of their checking process.

Contacts

Please list only the most significant internal and external relationships for the role. This should also include the purpose of the relationship. Please remove any of generic relationships that aren’t significant to the role.