Person Specification - University of Edinburgh



Guidance: Person Specification

The person specification is the key document to be used in the recruitment and selection process. It should be used for:

• identifying the minimum (essential) qualities necessary for the job to be performed to an adequate standard

• identifying the ideal (desirable) qualities for outstanding performance in the post

• forming the basis of a job advertisement

• enabling prospective applicants to self-select by assessing themselves against the requirements for the post

• ensuring that rigorous criteria are consistently applied in the shortlisting and selection of employees so that they are compared against the requirements of the post and not against one another, thus ensuring equality of opportunity and providing a defence against possible claims

• providing a basis for determining selection methods

• providing a basis for determining core interview questions

Essential and Desirable Criteria

The person specification should relate to the job description and identify the essential and desirable qualities required for the post. These qualities should be clear, specific, and measurable. It also identifies the key factors to be tested by appropriate questions at both shortlisting and interview. The key factors are those attitudes and behaviours that result in effective performance of the job. As such they form part of the essential criteria.

The essential qualities should represent the minimum requirements without which a candidate simply would be unable to do the job properly. It therefore follows that if a candidate does not meet any one of the essential requirements of the post, they should be rejected. Please note also that the University has a legal obligation to redeploy current employees who are under threat of redundancy or whose fixed term contract is due to expire, provided that they meet the essential (not desirable) criteria on the person specification (allowing for any reasonable adjustments that may be necessary), so it is important that the essential criteria are carefully defined.

Desirable qualities are those which will enhance performance in the job but which are not fundamental to successful performance. The desirable criteria identify the ‘ideal’ person for the post and form the basis for selection at the interview/assessment stage.

The person specification should indicate how each of the criteria will be measured – whether from the application/CV, the interview, references, from testing or from evidence/work samples requested from candidates and will provide a useful basis for determining selection methods.

Note: It is important to ensure that the criteria on the person specification can be justified and that they are not indirectly discriminatory. For example ‘energetic’ or ‘in good health’ could discriminate against certain applicants with disabilities, who could actually perform the duties of the post perfectly well, or specifying only UK qualifications could rule out good applicants who obtained their qualifications overseas etc.

Examples of Selection Criteria:

Qualifications/Training

Define the level of education and examination standard that the job requires, including professional or technical qualifications, e.g. GCSE, ‘A’ level, BTEC, etc. Consideration should always be given to other qualifications of an equivalent level, e.g. overseas qualifications or NVQs.  Although some jobs require a particular qualification care must be taken not to define higher qualifications than are really necessary as this may have a discriminatory impact. Similarly, relevant experience may be considered in place of a qualification, e.g. a person may have substantial experience of management but may not possess an MBA.

Experience

Experience may not always have been gained at work, valuable experience may have been gained through charity work, hobbies, bringing up a family, etc.  Consider the type, level and quality of experience. The stipulation of length of experience should not be used so as not to breach age discrimination legislation. Quality of experience is usually more important than length so you should aim to describe the experience the candidate should have, e.g. Experience of supervising staff, including conducting staff reviews/appraisals; demonstrable experience of organising a complex recruitment process.

Knowledge, Skills and Competencies

This covers the specific skills and knowledge the person is required to bring to the role and describes the behaviour needed for effective performance, e.g. working knowledge of certain word processing packages; specialist knowledge of an academic area; presentation skills; report writing skills; ability to follow instructions; ability to handle queries efficiently with diplomacy and tact; fluency in a foreign language.

Personal Attributes

This section should refer to particular aspects of personality that are required to carry out the duties of the post. Do not include personality traits. This area is often the most difficult to test objectively and care should be taken to avoid assumptions or stereotyping.

Example: Good interpersonal skills to develop and maintain effective working relationships; ability to work to and meet firm deadlines; ability to work on own initiative.

Other

To be used as necessary to list any criteria not covered by any of the above categories.

 

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