A position description is a key element in the process of
recruiting and managing the human resources of an organisation.
A position description has many purposes:
Helps people to understand positions within the organisations
Helps the organisation management to find the right person
for the position
Provides objectives and guidance for people who take on
positions
Useful in advertising vacant positions
Ensures some consistency in performance of people who
take on a position
Ideally an organisation should have position descriptions
for volunteers and paid staff.
Position descriptions for a voluntary positions do not need
to be as complex as for paid staff, but they are still needed.
Typical sections of a position description include:
The type of employment i,e, full-time, part-time, casual
Organisation relationships, including who the holder of the position reports to, and whether the holder of the position has any responsibility for supervising/managing staff.
The purpose of the position within the organisation. This section may state the most important objectives of the position
Key duties of the position. In this section, the position description sets out e more lengthy account of the regular tasks that the incumbent of the position will undertake
Key selection criteria, this is the criteria against which any applicants for the position will be assessed.
