Writing Job Descriptions using the

Aurora University Job Description Template

This manual summarizes the process of writing job descriptions utilizing the current Aurora University Job Description Template.

Contents:

I.Introduction, Job ElementsPage 1

II.FLSA General GuidelinesPage 2

IV.Position Purpose, Core Competencies, Essential Job FunctionsPage 3

V.Essential Job Requirements, Education and Experience, Page 4

Required Certifications, Skills

VI.Physical Requirements, Completed by, Note and DisclaimerPage 5

Appendix A:Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)Page 7

Appendix B: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)Page 11

Commonly Used Action VerbsPage 13

Aurora University Job Description TemplatePage 18

References and ResourcesPage 20

Writing Job Descriptions using the

Aurora University Job Description Template

Introduction:

Job descriptions serve multiple purposes: they give an indication of the culture of the organization by their treatment of mission and values, and the way in which they outline the essential work duties of a specific job. They state the skills, education and other qualifications necessary to be minimally qualified, and typically also what qualification the ideal employee would hold. They assist as training tools for new hires, outlining the most important duties and responsibilities of a position.

Up to date job descriptions are important to both the employer and employee, and are used for purposes ranging from advertising to training to determining accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. An accurate job description states clearly what is expected from the employee, thus is a useful development tool. For the employer an up to date job description can prevent potential law suits by laying out what is required and expected both in skills, physical/mental abilities and job duties.

This Job Description Manual will lead you through the process of creating a job description utilizing the Aurora University Job Description Template. It explains each section of the Description in greater detail and provides tools to assist in completing the Job Description.

Job Elements:

Fill in Job Title. Date Prepared would be the date sent to Human Resources for final approval, or enter “draft” and date.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) information: either “Exempt” (does not receive overtime, salaried position) or “Non Exempt” (hourly position, eligible for overtime). Determination of Exempt or Non Exempt status is based on a series of tests, briefly summarized below. Please use these as a general guide for a preliminary determination of Exempt or Non Exempt status, final determination will be made in discussion with Human Resources.

FLSA General Guidelines

Whether an employee is exempt or non exempt depends on three basic elements:

  • What kind of work the employee does?
  • The salary of the position.
  • How the employee is paid?

To be considered an exempt staff employee, the employee must perform exempt level duties and be paid at least $23,660 a year, ($455 per week) on a salary basis. Salary basis means the individual is not “docked” for arriving late or leaving early, though discipline may apply.

There are several different classifications of exempt status. The most commonly used at the university are administrative, executive, and professional. All must meet the salary test. A brief overview of these classifications is given below. Please note that these are only brief overviews, additional information is utilized to make determinations.Appendix A has a more extensive review of the FLSA.

To qualify forexecutive exemption the employee must:

  • Regularly supervises two or more other employees.
  • Have management as the primary duty of the position.
  • Have genuine input into the job status of other employees.

To qualify for administrative exemption the employee must:

  • Have primary duties which include the performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers.
  • The employee’s primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.

The key words are “exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance.” Administrative Assistants do not meet the test for an administrative exemption, based on Department of Labor decisions.

To qualify for professional exemption the employee must:

  • Have primary duties which include the performance of work requiring advance knowledge in a field of science or learning customarily requiring an extensive course of study leading to a Bachelor’s degree. Intellect must also be specialized.

“Customarily” means the exemption may also be available to such professionals who have substantially the same knowledge level and perform same work as the degreed professional but attained the knowledge through a combination of work experience and intellectual instruction.

Position Purpose:

This section should answer the following questions:

  • Why does the job exist? In what manner does it support learning at the university?
  • What is the person in the job responsible for accomplishing?
  • What is the overall end result of the job?

The Position Purpose should be no more than 3-5 sentences. This statement should help employees understand the essential reason for the job and how it fits in with the Mission of the university. Consider this the “elevator speech” version of the job description – how you would describe the job in 2 minutes or less. Focus on the core, critical duties only.

Core Competencies:

This section must stay as it is written in every job description. It states the proficiencies that are the foundation of every position at the university. It also clarifies that every job needs to be viewed flexibly; all employees need to be ready to carry out responsibilities that may not be specified in the description itself. As employees, we need to work together to carry out the mission of the university, which may mean completing work out “outside” of our regular duties from time to time.

Essential Job Functions:

  • Select five to eight key tasks or duties vital to the position. If possible, list them in descending order, from more important to less important.
  • List other duties for which the incumbent may be responsible. Sentences should begin with an action verb followed by an explanatory phrase clarifying the action. This sentence should explain the how, where, why, and how often for each of the core competencies.A list of common action verbs is attached.
  • Be concise. More than 12 key tasks or duties are too many.
  • Spell out acronyms the first time they are used.
  • Use present tense.
  • Do not use modifiers, e.g. use “provides customer service” rather than “provides high quality customer service.” Use “completes monthly reports” rather than “completes accurate monthly reports by the third business day of the month.” The modifiers are for your performance guidelines and procedures, not for the job description.

Essential Job Requirements: Education and Experience:

  • Essentials would include what types computer programs an individual should know, e.g. “Proficient with Microsoft Office,” “DATATEL experience preferred.
  • Other essentials would be knowledge of specific functions and processes specific to that position.
  • Minimum education and experience needed for a new person being hired into the role. Preferred education and experience can be listed.
  • If experience can substitute education, list that as well.
  • Examples:
  • High school diploma required, Bachelors degree strongly preferred.
  • Some prior experience in a clerical role. Two to three years secretarial experience preferred.
  • Eight years of high level accounting work may substitute an accounting degree.

Required Certifications:

  • If specific certification or licensure is required or preferred, list it in this section.
  • Some examples of certifications are Certified Public Accounting (CPA), Professional in Human Resources (PHR), and Registered Nurse (RN).
  • Some jobs require an individual to drive to offsite locations. Requiring a valid driver’s license may, in those cases, be required.

Skills:

This section may overlap Essential Job Requirement and Physical Requirements for some positions. List duties and/or activities that are necessary for the position. Some examples are:

  • Ability to interact verbally by phone, and in person
  • Ability to interact via electronic media
  • Ability to multitask
  • Ability to do high level spreadsheets
  • Ability to attend conferences
  • Understanding of Microsoft Office
  • Understanding of Datatel or other payroll HRIS systems

Physical Requirements:

Physical requirements must tie back to the position’s core competencies and essential job functions. This section is utilized to determine if a qualified individual will be able to perform the job with or without accommodation. It also helps determine which job requirements cannot be accommodated. Be very clear in this section as to what is and is not physically and/or mentally required. Remember that there are many ways most tasks can be performed. Think through each requirement.

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities so that those individuals are able to perform in their job adequately. Appendix B has information on the ADA.

  • Physical demands include both the physical actions that may be required to perform a task and the physical environment in which the task is performed.
  • Some examples of physical requirements:
  • Ability to move about campus in clement and inclement weather. (For many positions that need to move about campus – note it does not specify walking, as an individual in many jobs could move about campus in a wheelchair, etc.)
  • Ability to run up several flights of stairs carrying heavy equipment. (For a Campus Public Safety Officer or a Residence Hall Director – ties to ability to run up stairs with a fire extinguisher.)
  • Ability to read print on the spine of a shelved book. (On a Reference Librarian job description.)
  • Ability to spend long periods of time at a computer station.
  • Ability to interact verbally, via electronic mail, and via telephone.
  • Other typical physical requirements include: Walking, standing, carrying, writing, hearing, speaking, visual acuity, reaching, kneeling, ability to move about campus, and traveling to other locations.

Completed by:

  • Indicate who completed the job description. List their title, the date of completion, and approvals. Required signatures are also a part of this section.

The final sections: Note and Disclaimer.

These sections remain the same for all job descriptions. The employee should review the job description with the supervisor and sign the form after the review. Be sure the employee has a copy of the signed Job Description. The supervisor should keep a copy as well. The original should be sent to Human Resources. Additionally, an electronic version of the WORD document should be sent to HR.

Appendix A: Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

FLSA - Overtime Eligibility & Exemption

CONTENTS

  • FLSA Overtime Requirements
  • FLSA Overtime Exemption
  • Exemption Categories & Checklists
  • Duties Not Qualifying for FLSA Exemption

FLSA Requirements

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that most workers receive overtime pay at 1.5 times the employee's regular pay rate for all hours worked over 40 hours in a payroll workweek, and that employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage. In Illinois and Wisconsin, the state minimum wage must be paid, as it is higher than the federal minimum.

FLSA Overtime Exemption Standards

To be exempt from FLSA overtime regulations a position's salary amount and job duties must meet criteria specified in the regulations. These criteria are referred to as the “salary basis” and “duties” tests, respectively. Some types of "blue collar" and "Police, Fire Fighters, Paramedic & Other First Responder" work do not qualify for exemption by definition.

Human Resourcesis responsible for applying the "tests" to determine the positions that are covered by the FLSA overtime regulations. This determination is normally made at the time a position is created and may be reviewed when a position is reviewed for reclassification (classified titles) or for salary or title assignment (professional staff positions).

All of the following requirements must be met for a position to be exempt from the FLSA overtime payment requirement:

  1. The position must be paid on a salary (not hourly) basis, except for certain computer workers (see the Computer Professional Exemption). Being paid on a salary basis means that an employee is paid the same amount per workweek regardless of the hours the employee actually works, consistent with a position's FTE status.
  2. The position must be paid at least $455 per week, regardless of FTE status: e.g. a half-time employee who is paid $454 per week and a full-time employee who is paid $454 per week are both overtime covered, regardless of their job duties, even though the full-time equivalent pay for the half time employee is actually $908 per week.
  3. The position's job duties must meet the duties test for one or more for one of the exemption categories—see below.

FLSA Exemption Categories & Checklists

The following are summaries of the FLSA-defined exemption criteria. Checklists for the most commonly applied exemption criteria may be used to help employees and managers assess whether a position is likely to be covered by or exempt from the FLSA overtime regulations. A link to the checklist follows the exemption category description. Some terms have special meanings as applied by the FLSA regulations.

The exemption categories in the following list are described below.

  • Executive Exemption
  • Administrative Exemption
  • Learned or Creative Professional Exemption
  • Computer Professional Exemption
  • Highly Compensated Employees
  • Outside Sales Exemption

Executive Exemption

To qualify for the executive exemption, all of the following tests must be met:

  • The employee must be compensated on a salary basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week;
  • The employee’s primary duty must be managing the enterprise, or managing a customarily recognized department or subdivision of the enterprise;
  • The employee must customarily and regularly direct the work of at least two or more other full-time employees or their equivalent; and
  • The employee must have the authority to hire or fire other employees, or the employee’s suggestions and recommendations as to the hiring, firing, advancement, promotion or any other change of status of other employees must be given particular weight.

Administrative Exemption

To qualify for the administrative exemption, all of the following tests must be met:

  • The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week;
  • The employee’s primary function must be to perform office or non-manual work that is directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers. The administrative operations of the business include advising management, planning, negotiating, representing the company, purchasing, promoting sales, and business research and control.
  • The employee’s primary duty includes the exercise of discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance. Administrative duties do not include routine or structured tasks such asbookkeeping, data tabulation, or clerical duties.

Learned or Creative Professional Exemption

To qualify for the learned professional exemption, all of the following tests must be met:

  • The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week;
  • The employee’s primary duty must be to perform work requiring advanced knowledge, defined as work which is predominantly intellectual in character and which requires the consistent exercise of discretion and judgment. Discretion and judgment are defined as:
  • Discretion and judgment may be:
  • Making a decision to depart from prescribed standards or permitted tolerances;
  • making decisions that affect the operational policies of the employee’s department;
  • making decisions in connection with negotiations where the individual is given “reasonable latitude” in carrying on those discussions, which are binding on the employer;
  • Formulating recommendations, even if management personnel must review and accept the recommendation prior to implementation;
  • Formulating or participating in the formulation of policy for the business unit; or
  • Broad authority to commit the employer in substantial respects financially.
  • Discretion and judgment is not:
  • Applying knowledge, following prescribed procedures or determiningwhich procedures to follow;
  • Determining whether specified standards have been satisfied, even ifthere is some leeway in reaching a conclusion;
  • Performing inspection functions by following established techniquesand procedures with skills acquired through special training orexperience;
  • Formulating recommendations based upon the development of factsconcerning conformity with a known standard;
  • Comparing items based upon established standards, known throughexperience or written manuals;
  • The advanced knowledge must be in a field of science or learning, such as law, medicine, nursing, accounting, actuarial computation, engineering, education, and various types of physical, chemical, and biological sciences; and
  • The advanced knowledge must be customarily acquired by a prolonged course of specialized intellectual instruction.

To qualify for the creative professional exemption, all of the following tests must be met:

  • The employee must be compensated on a salary or fee basis (as defined in the regulations) at a rate not less than $455 per week;
  • The employee’s primary duty must be to perform work requiring invention, imagination, originality or talent in a recognized field of artistic or creative endeavor, such as music, writing, acting, and the graphic arts.

Computer Professional Exemption

To qualify for the computer professional exemption, the following tests must be met: