Job Description Guidance - Professional Services
Introduction
All Professional Services roles must be graded before they can be advertised for recruitment. This guidance is intended to support Managers writing job descriptions.
If you need advice, please contact your HR Business Partnering team. You can also refer to the University’s recruitment and selection guidance. for more help.
Please be aware that the UBJES process is not used for roles in the Research and Teaching job family. Instead, you'll need to use the appropriate academic career pathway and role profile to determine the grade. Please use the relevant pathway and Faculty specific template.
General advice about using the job description template
The Job Title
Please consider the University’s job taxonomy model when deciding job titles. The University has implemented a suite of generic job titles. You should take advice from HR to decide the most appropriate titles for new roles.
If a role is being re-evaluated, you may want to revise the current job title. In these cases, it's a good idea to talk to HR and gain approval from the role holder(s).
Section 1: Job Description
- Faculty/School or Division: Name of the Faculty, School or Division where the role is based.
- Faculty/School or Division Address: Include the full address of where the role is based.
The following information should only be completed once the role has been graded and is ready to be submitted for recruitment.
- Job Family/Grade: Professional/Administrative or Operational Services or Technical Services
- Grade: Grades A-M.
- Salary range: The salary range advertised must be in line with the University's Starting Pay Policy. Any salary offer made outside of the terms of the policy will not be supported. Please seek advice from HR before talking to candidates.
- Hours of work: Number of contracted hours per week
- Contract type: Open-ended or fixed term (state length of contract if fixed term).
- Work pattern: Full or part time (if part time specify days to be worked, for example 5 mornings a week, 2 ½ days per week). Indicate if job share is available.
- Vacancy Reference Number: HR will complete this box.
Section 1.1: Main Job Purpose
The main job purpose outlines the overall contribution the job makes, or alternatively “why” the role exists.
- Job Purpose - what is done (verb); to what or whom, the area of impact and the result achieved.
- The statement should be succinct and no more than two or three sentences.
- Consider what the job intends to achieve. What would not get done if the job did not exist, what is the specific contribution that the job makes.
- The main job purpose should not be a list of how the job is done.
Section 1.2: Main Statement of Responsibility
This section includes the key responsibilities of the job. This sets out “what” the role intends to achieve.
For Professional/Administrative roles only:
- A set of Professional and Administrative Grade Descriptors exist to help identify the level of role required. They are a guide and should not be directly duplicated. The Grade Descriptors relate to Professional/Administrative roles. They describe examples of typical activities for grades D to M.
For all roles
Aim for 10-12 main statements of responsibility that you would expect the role to fulfil.
Additional Responsibilities
- You can add additional responsibilities to a generic role in this section. However, you should get advice from HR to make sure that these don't change the grade of the role.
- Consider the overall purpose of the role and the key areas where results need to be achieved.
- Make each responsibility distinct and focused on important results within the role. Describe what needs to be achieved rather than how the work is done.
Section 1.3: Relationships
- Line manager, Line manager to (where appropriate)
- Please complete the job title of the line manager and, if the role-holder line manages staff, the titles of their roles. Do not include names. Reference matrix management as appropriate.
Section 1.4: Job Hazards/Safety Critical Duties (Pre-employment health screening)
- In line with the Equality Act 2010, the statement of responsibilities must outline any potential Job Hazards Information for Job Descriptions (PDF, 367kB), when specific health checks are needed due to the nature of the role
- The Job Description should identify the need for a DBS check
Please refer to the guidance notes at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/hr/resourcing/practicalguidance/appointment/checks.html
Section 2: Person Specification
Section 2.1: Relevant Experience, Skills, Knowledge, Qualifications, Communication and Interpersonal Skills
You should include all skills essential for the role. For example, the experience, skills and knowledge, relevant qualifications, communication and interpersonal skills. These should be within the main responsibilities.
- You might find it helpful to refer to the set of Professional and Administrative Grade Descriptors, ‘Qualifications, knowledge skills and experience’ section of the relevant descriptor.
- Think about how the person specification will be assessed during the selection process. Use the following criteria: A – application form; I – Interview; T – Test or scenario; O – other (for example, focus group, presentation).
- This helps the hiring manager identify requirements for a successful role holder. So that the role holder can be successful. This also helps the applicant understand the hiring manager's focus during the selection process.
- Include details of the nature and context of each type of experience required. Remember that experience does not have to be gained in an identical environment.
- Avoid specifying a required length of experience. This could be seen as discriminatory, especially if it's for a long period.
- Indicate if it’s essential for a role holder to maintain professional accreditation. This could be by regularly updating skills and knowledge.
- Is a particular skill, knowledge or qualification needed for the role. For example, a degree? If you quote specific qualifications or training accreditations, such as a degree, you should add ‘or equivalent’.
- Do not include age-related criteria anywhere in a job description or person specification. Avoid words like "young", "recently qualified" and "mature", as these could potentially be seen to be discriminatory.
- Don’t overstate formal qualification requirements. Consider whether specific knowledge or skills, proven through experience, is more important.
Section 2.2: Additional Responsibilities and Additional Skills, Knowledge and Experience
These sections only apply in JDs that will be generic.
For generic roles, the role purpose remains the same. But the role content will differ between role holders. This could be because the JD will apply in different areas or within one area but with a slightly different specialism/focus.
Sometimes there is only one role holder, or all role holders have the same responsibilities. If this is the case, everything should be included in 2.1 - Standard Responsibilities and Standard Skills, Knowledge & Experience.
Additional sections are usually highlighted yellow, so they can be easily identified and tailored. The wording of any additional sections should remain intact unless it is designed to be tailored. For example, by including options in square brackets, such as ‘[team/project/service]’.
These sections should only be added where they reflect role-specific responsibilities. Or requirements not already covered by the generic job description. Any of these additions must be reviewed and approved by HR. This ensures they remain appropriate and do not alter the grade of the role.
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Section 3 Job Evaluation
Section 3 is essential to support the Job Description through the evaluation process.
Section 3.1: Typical Work Activities (across a day/week or month)
Please describe in more detail the typical work activities relating to the role - maximum of ONE PAGE of A4.
- Explain how the role-holder will fulfil the responsibilities of the role.
- Explain the steps that are involved, who else is involved and how qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience are used.
- Typical work activities should include the nature and scope of planning and organising. As well as the role holder's planning decisions and organising timescales (daily, weekly, monthly etc).
- Include a typical or frequent decision the role-holder might have to make.
- Include a typical or frequent problem the role-holder will likely encounter in their day-to-day work.
Section 3.2: Organisation Chart(s)
- Include an organisation chart. This should show the whole School/Division and where the role sits in the larger structure.
Section 3.3: Additional Statistical or other relevant information
- Provide any relevant statistics that can give a fuller understanding of the job. These can relate to:
- Operational (for example, service provision, number of customers and/or students)
- Financial (for example, budgets, grants and contracts) or
- Staffing (for example, number of employees supervised) aspects of the job.
- This can also include any other relevant contextual or specific School/Department/Team.
Section 3.4: Relevant Physical and Environmental Information
Describe any physical and environmental information which is not covered elsewhere. For example, relevant information about physical effort or working conditions.
Section 3.5: Key Contacts
Identify up to 5 most significant internal and external relationships that the role engages with. This is outside of their management line. You should also add the purpose of the contact. Reference matrix management as appropriate.
