How to write a job description around work that needs doing

If the job description says "help the owner with everything", list the actual tasks before going further. Write the recurring work down, group it into responsibilities and decide which results the new employee will own. The finished description should explain the job clearly enough that two people could use it to assess the same application.

This guide is for an owner defining a role before recruiting. It produces a working description, rather than an employment contract. If the problem itself is still unclear, start with the two-week workload check.

Start with a week of real work

List the tasks you handled last week and the tasks that slipped. For each, record its frequency, approximate time, consequence of delay and current decision-maker. Include interruptions and checking time. "Administration" hides more than it explains; "confirm tomorrow's bookings and flag missing customer information" is something you can discuss.

Separate work you intend to delegate from decisions you will retain. A person cannot own an outcome if every routine step waits for your approval. Equally, asking someone to prepare a quotation does not necessarily give them authority to change prices.

The Interview and recruit employees starts with the work and gaps in the existing team. Use that review before borrowing a title from another business. A title such as office manager can describe very different duties.

Turn duties into outcomes and selection evidence

For each responsibility, finish two sentences: "The result we need is…" and "An applicant could demonstrate this by…". Booking accuracy might be assessed through an example of maintaining a changing schedule. It does not automatically require five years in your particular software.

Keep three lists: essential capability on entry, useful experience, and skills you can teach. If you mark everything essential, you will struggle to explain which criteria actually decide the shortlist. Include an unfamiliar-system learning plan when you can support one, rather than quietly expecting a new starter to learn it alone.

Annotated example: an administration coordinator

Callout	Example wording	Why it is here
1. Purpose	Keep customer bookings and job paperwork ready for the operations team.	Defines the problem this role solves.
2. Outcomes	Tomorrow's booking list is checked; missing job details are flagged; completed-job paperwork reaches the owner for approval.	Names results without promising control over other people's work.
3. Essential capability	Explain a time you corrected a record error and kept the people affected informed.	Requests evidence of accuracy and communication.
4. Supervision	Reports to the operations manager. Escalates price changes and unresolved customer complaints.	Shows where decisions stop.
5. Working requirements	Works at the service desk during the agreed coverage window. Discuss access arrangements and the actual tasks involved.	Describes the work, rather than a preferred type of person.

Original ASBG worksheet. Names, situations and figures are fictional; the readable table is the text equivalent.

This example deliberately leaves pay, employment type and final hours to the employer's separate terms assessment. It is an annotated scoping sheet, not a ready-to-issue offer. Add the actual location, reporting name and approved arrangements before using it.

Describe working requirements without guessing about people

Replace "young and energetic" with the actual work to be done. Replace "must drive" with the travel task if travel is genuinely involved, then check whether a licence is necessary for that task. Describe any physical activity precisely and consider how it can be performed with suitable equipment or adjustments.

Use the AHRC recruitment and selection guide when reviewing criteria. Remove requirements you cannot connect to the job, even if they appear in other adverts. Seek advice where safety, access or discrimination questions remain unresolved; this worksheet does not decide those legal questions.

Have someone challenge the draft

Ask the person who currently does the work to read it. What has been left out? What authority is missing? Which deadlines depend on a supplier or the owner? Reduce the scope or change the resources when the promises cannot be met together.

Before advertising, arrange the current award/classification, pay, hours and jurisdiction-specific recruitment checks. The modern awards guide explains where to start that separate task. Then use the approved description to write the advert. Keep the dated description with the recruitment records so later changes do not move the selection criteria without explanation.

Key takeaways

• Define the recurring work and decision limits before choosing a title.
• Ask for evidence of a few essential capabilities and name what you can teach.
• Check the proposed terms and requirements before turning the description into an advert.

Find the rest of the sequence in the hiring and onboarding guide.

Where to get help

• Interview and recruit employees
• AHRC recruitment and selection guide