University Of Limerick
Job Evaluation for Research Staff
JOB DESCRIPTION QUESTIONNAIRE
Guidance Notes
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INTRODUCTION
A job description is the usual format for the presentation of information on a job. This
questionnaire style job description has a number of headings and these guidance notes
describe what you should aim to provide for each. Please look through the
questionnaire and these notes fully before completing each part.
This job description has been designed to facilitate job evaluation and places an
emphasis on the purpose and accountabilities of your job within the organisation. It
should be concise, systematic and results-oriented. Therefore, a bullet point style is
entirely acceptable. You will need to distinguish the tasks, activities, duties - the “how”
of your job – from the end results achieved by these activities – the “why” of your job.
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1.
JOB PURPOSE
Please summarize, in one sentence, what you feel to be the main purpose of your job.
This should be a summary of the accountabilities outlined in section 2 below, and it
may be easier to leave the drafting of this sentence until you have completed that
section.
2.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES
This is the core part of your job description. The Principal Accountabilities (otherwise
known as Principal Objectives or Key Result Areas) are statements of the ongoing end
results required of a job. These statements should:
(i)
together represent all the key outputs of the job;
(ii)
focus on results, and not on tasks, actions and duties;
(iii)
focus on the job as it is now – they should not be confused with historic roles
or with future aspirations;
(iv)
be individually distinct, each describing an explicit area in which results must
be achieved by your actions;
(v)
suggest measures or tests which could determine whether they are being met.
Experience shows that for most jobs, all the associated outputs can be described by
between
four
and
eight
principal
accountabilities.
Before
drafting
these
accountabilities, it is useful to list for yourself all the main areas of contribution in the
job. Taking a typical manager of a service or process operation, for example, these
might be the operation itself, its quality and efficiency, customer relationships,
technical innovation, the operational budget, staffing and employee relations.
You then need to construct each accountability statement in a way that summarises
what the job does and why. Following the model overleaf will help you connect the
activity with the desired output.
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ACTION VERB1.....
OBJECT OF ACTION..... END RESULT.....
Develop......
research plans.......
to ensure that the research
group achieves its desired research outputs.
As a guide, four more examples of accountability statements are listed below:

Prepare, monitor and control the annual research budget to ensure costs are in line
with the agreed plan.

Develop and maintain a research team, capable of meeting company objectives.

Effectively represent the interests of the university with major stakeholders to
ensure goodwill towards the university and co-operation for further fruitful
developments.

Articulate and disseminate university values, culture and management style
appropriate to the university’s plans for the future.
Some of the areas of contribution for management positions will be similar, reflecting
the common areas of management.
It is impossible to produce a general set of
accountabilities. Therefore, in completing the Principal Accountabilities for your job,
you need to confirm its unique nature by identifying the output / service deliverables
associated with the job.
3.
CONTEXT
A thorough understanding of a job is not possible without some information on the
context in which it operates. This information depends on the nature and level of the
job and may include:
1
A list of useful ‘Action Verbs’ is attached to these guidelines in Appendix 1.
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
the nature of the services or outputs delivered by your part of the organisation and
to whom;

any technical, market, geographical background which might set the scene;

the major activities (specialist, technical, managerial) in which you are involved
and the main ways in which your time is spent;

4.
major continuing issues and problems which arise in the job.
JOB BOUNDARIES
Include here information about the freedoms available to the job and conversely, the
constraints under which it operates. In answering this question, you will need to
consider such factors as:

the principal instructions, rules, precedents, policies or strategies bearing on the
job;

your authority to take decisions, identifying the extent to which the jobholder acts
independently, consults others or refers to higher authority e.g. on expenditure,
working methods, staff, plans, procedures;

5.
key working relationships inside and outside the organisation.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
What skills, qualifications, training and working experience, in your view, are
essential for the satisfactory performance of the job? These are not necessarily the
same as your own qualifications. Use the same terms as you might use for the job
specification in a recruitment advertisement.
6.
DIMENSIONS
List some of the key numbers or indicators (financial, staff or others) which show the
scope and scale of activities with which your job is concerned such as:

project costs

the annual budget you control directly
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
the level of expenditure for which you have an executive responsibility

the number of staff under your direction

any other quantitative information relevant to the overall impact of your job e.g.
number/size of research projects.
7.
ORGANISATION CHART
Draw a chart showing the formal position of

your job in XXXX, your department/centre/institute;

the job to which you report;

other jobs reporting to the same job as you;

immediately subordinate jobs (add some notes on the nature and extent of their
dealings with your job and on how their work is managed.)
Where there are strong “dotted lines” or functional relationships between yours and
other jobs, please describe these briefly underneath the chart.
8.
SIGNATURE
The completed questionnaire should be signed by both the jobholder and the person to
whom they report, dated and returned.
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Appendix 1
ACTION VERBS FOR USE IN ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENTS
POLICY
MANAGEMENT
SPECIALIST
GENERAL*
Approve
Achieve
Analyse
Administer
Authorise
Assess
Appraise
Assist
Define
Ensure
Enable
Control
Forecast
Liaise
Determine
Identify
Develop
Implement
Interpret
Manage
Direct
Improve
Justify
Supervise
Establish
Maintain
Propose
Plan
Monitor
Recommend
Prepare
Review
Support
 These general verbs are considered imprecise and you are advised to use more
precise action verbs in order to help the evaluators fully understand your job.
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