Writing a Person Specification
Most of us understand that the job description is an essential part of planning who we need in our team but we should also take the time to look at our teams and define the job in human terms too. This is the purpose of the person specification.
According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) the Person specification identifies the kind of person needed to fulfill the demands of the job by outlining the characteristics and attributes considered essential or desirable.
One tool to help you produce a person specification is a person specification grid which helps to decide what skills and attributes are essential, desirable or not required. Use 4 columns with the headings Skills and Attributes, Essential, Desirable, Not required. Then in the Skills and attributes column list out all of the attributes that may be required in the job. Now put a tick in the relevant column next to each of these. By the end of the exercise you will have a clearer idea of the person you are looking for.
A good starting point is to consider the following sub-headings to get you started:
- Knowledge, training and qualifications (e.g are they trained in ICH/GCP or will you need to train them)
- Skills and experience (e.g communication skills and experience to demonstrate these)
- Motivation and relevant interests (e.g. are they interested in Oncology or Respiratory Medicine for example and can they demonstrate this by having worked in the area or studied it in the past)
- Behavior and attitude (e.g. can they demonstrate a “can do” attitude and motivation)
- Transport and availability (e.g can they physically make themselves available for the hours of work) – Great care must be taken in this part of the specification though to ensure that you do not unfairly discriminate against people.
- Other requirements (e.g Health and Safety)
If you would like help compiling the person specification for your role then please do get in touch with CK Regulatory on +44 (0)1438 743047 to discuss how we can help. Working exclusively within the pharmaceutical sector means that we can effectively help you with this as specialists.
