Job description template | World Enterprise

How to use this. Replace each bracketed prompt with your own words. Write outcomes before tasks, separate what a person must have from what they can learn, and state how you will decide.

1. The role in two sentences

[Job title] at [company]. This person will [the main result the role exists to produce] so that [who benefits and how].

2. What the company does

Two or three sentences in plain words: the problem, the customer and the stage you are at. State only what is true today.

3. Outcomes of the role

Describe what a person in this role will have achieved by the end of their first period, in terms someone could check. Write results, not activities.

[Outcome one, with how you will know it happened]
[Outcome two]
[Outcome three]

4. What the person will do

[A recurring responsibility, in a verb-first sentence]
[A recurring responsibility]
[A recurring responsibility]
[Who the person works with and who they report to]

5. What you need and what you can teach

Keep these two lists apart. Long lists of requirements make capable people decide not to apply.

Must have (things the person cannot start without):

[Requirement]
[Requirement]

Can learn on the job (things you will teach):

[Skill or tool]
[Skill or tool]

6. How you will decide

Tell candidates the steps before they start, so no one is surprised.

Step	What happens	Who is involved	What you are looking for
Application	[What the candidate sends]	[Name or role]	[The same criteria for everyone]
First conversation	[Format and length]	[Name or role]	[Criteria]
Work sample or structured interview	[Format]	[Names or roles]	[Criteria and how you score them]
Decision	[How and when you tell candidates]	[Names or roles]

7. Pay, terms and working arrangements

Pay: [how pay is determined, or the range you have decided to state]. Check whether the place where the role is based requires pay information in a posting, and ask your counsel if you are unsure.
Type of engagement: [employee, contractor or other]. Ask your counsel which applies to this role.
Where and when the person works: [location, time zones, expected overlap with the team].
Equipment and expenses: [what you provide].

8. Equal opportunity and adjustments

[Your company’s own equal opportunity statement. Ask your counsel to review it.]
[How a candidate can ask for an adjustment to the application or interview process, and who to contact.]

9. How to apply

[Where to send an application, what to include and what happens next.] Say whether and how you will tell unsuccessful candidates.

10. Checks before you post

[ ] The title describes the work and is not inflated.
[ ] The outcomes can be checked by a third person.
[ ] No requirement is there only out of habit.
[ ] Every candidate will be assessed against the same criteria.
[ ] The steps, the pay information and the working arrangements are stated.
[ ] The page can be read with a keyboard and a screen reader.