Preparing and writing a job description is not a legal requirement for a company, but if you have ever been audited by the MHRA or the FDA you will appreciate that they will want to see proof that you have a clear definition of what your staff should be doing.
It’s easy to understand why these bodies see the importance of the job description when you consider how useful it is:
- To give clear direction to somebody in the job as to what is expected from them
- To give a Manager a clear indication as to what they should be asking their staff to be doing
- To help an interviewer understand the job that they are recruiting for in the selection process
- To give an applicant full details of the job that they are applying for
- To provide a company record of the different jobs within the organisation
- To assist in writing and placing any clinical job advertisements
A complete job description should include:
- The job title
- The department
- The location
- The purpose of the pharmaceutical job
- Who the person reports to
- Any supervisory duties
- Accountabilities
- Main duties
- Working conditions (e.g hours of work)
- Qualifications and experience
- Salary and benefits
- Prospects
- Any other relevant information that you think is pertinent to the job
Next step in the recruitment process is writing a person specification to narrow down the type of individual you need to do the job.