How to Write Roles & Responsibilities on a Job Description

When you are writing a job description, such as for an employee evaluation or a job advertisement, include roles and responsibilities. Roles outline the essential functions of the job, and responsibilities detail tasks to be completed.

Instructions

1. Create a standard template for the job description, and include all information to describe the job in detail. This includes the job title, education required, skills, who the position reports to and supervises, roles and responsibilities.

   If someone is hired or promoted into the position and does not meet the requirements, the job description helps the employee and supervisor create goals and expectations for the employee to learn the required skills.

2. Receive input from hiring managers, supervisors and employees currently performing the roles and responsibilities. They have a thorough understanding of the scope of the work involved. Understand the tasks involved and how the position relates to the department and organization's success overall.

3. List roles in several brief statements. This includes the primary job function, departmental function and organizational function. This helps the the employee understand how the roles relate to the organizational operation and success.

4. When listing responsibilities, detail each task required to complete the job in a satisfactory manner. This includes daily job responsibilities and required tasks for the department and organization. Required tasks should also be given standards for satisfactory completion, such as time frames or accuracy. If a group of tasks should be completed on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, those tasks can be categorized under those time frames. If tasks require a level of accuracy, list the expectations for accuracy.

   When a position requires additional responsibilities not related to the job, they should be listed as part of the responsibilities. This can include learning other responsibilities within the department and taking on additional responsibilities if another departmental employee is absent.

5. Compile, edit and create the job description to be informative and cohesive. Roles and responsibilities should allow employees to have clear metrics to perform their jobs satisfactorily and understand the expectations for completing each task. Avoid using broad task descriptions when listing responsibilities.

   If the job description is for a newly created position, work with employees and supervisors related to the position to continue to develop and revise the roles and responsibilities.

References

• Sample Job Descriptions
• Applying for a Job

Resources

• Job Descriptions