Staff Position Description

In 2-4 sentences, provide a high level overview of the primary purpose of the position. Keep in mind you’ll be able to elaborate in more detail about the duties, scope, responsibilities later in the Position Description. 

Examples of well-written position summaries:

• “The purpose of this position is to serve as an admission counselor for Penn State World Campus. This includes interacting with prospective students via email, phone, webinars, and face-to-face, planning and coordinating recruitment events and communication campaigns, and coordinating the World Campus Alumni Ambassador Program.”
• “This position is responsible for the leadership, strategic direction, project management, and operations for the recently established Online Professional Education unit within Penn State Outreach and Online Education (Outreach). In addition to these strategic and operational roles, a significant portion of this resource must be devoted to developing and fostering high level relationships with University leaders within Outreach, the administration, and Colleges, including: Deans, Assoc. Deans, department heads, and faculty in order to understand potential opportunities within academic units and connect them to the most appropriate resource to help them address their needs.”

List between three (3) and ten (10) primary duties of this position and estimate the percentage of time spent on each duty over a given period of time. When indicating the percentage of time spent on each duty, consider what is performed over a given period of time.

Order the duties based on percentage of time, from most to least. The percentages must total 100%. Each duty should not be smaller than 5% or greater than 50%. The chart below provides assistance in determining percentage of time.

Strive to be accurate and concise. Be specific to the work being performed on a day-to-day basis. Use words which convey a good understanding of the work being performed rather than vague generalities.

Use the following pattern to write a primary responsibility statement: Action Word + Subject + Activities. For example: Reviews and validates (Action Words) transactions (Subject) by ensuring completeness and accuracy of the account balances (Activities). 

Determine the type and scope of Supervision the position has:

• If the position has authority to make decisions related to hiring, compensation, performance evaluation, etc. for full-time employees, select “Direct Supervisor for Full-Time Employees.”
• If the position has authority to make decisions related to hiring, scheduling, etc. part-time, student, and/or temporary workers or volunteers, select “Direct Supervisor for Only Part-Time, Student, and/or Temporary Workers or Volunteers.”
• If the position has no supervisory responsibilities, select “None.”

If the position has supervisory responsibilities, indicate the number and level(s) of direct staff that the position supervises. If the position supervises both individual contributors and other supervisors, select both options.

Select the highest level of supervisory responsibilities. For example, if the position is a direct supervisor to both full-time staff and student workers, select “Direct Supervisor.”

Determine the minimum and preferred Job Requirements:

• Indicate the level of education minimally required and preferred for the position. If applicable, identify the specific field of study.
• Identify whether relevant experience can substitute for some or all of the education.
• Indicate required and/or preferred certifications, licensures, etc. for the position.
• Indicate the level of experience minimally required and preferred for the position. If applicable, identify the type/field of experience.