Step 1 - Define the purpose of the role

Your first task is to assess what the role entails – what duties will they be required to perform and to what standards?  Not only should you look at the current state of affairs but also, as your business expands, what other skills, knowledge and experience might be useful in the future? 

Once you have established the basics then you can write an accurate job description. This should include the following but is not an exhaustive list:

• Job title
• Who will they report to?
• Is it a permanent role, or if it’s a contract then how long is it for?
• An outline of the main purpose of the role
• Key responsibilities and tasks
• KPI's of the role
• Hours of work and location

In addition you should provide the salary, any bonus and benefits such as pension, life assurance etc. plus holidays. 

If you are unsure on salary, compare the role to similar vacancies on job boards or take a look at b3’s salary surveys to see the average salary levels for UK food manufacturing industry jobs

Then you need to write a person specification - what you want them to bring to the table?  Again, not an exhaustive list, but this should include the following:

• Qualifications
• Experience
• Knowledge
• Skills and abilities
• Personal attributes

A great point can be to divide the above into ‘essential’ must-haves and ‘desirable’ extras. 

Click here for examples of job and person descriptions

Remember that the more information you can provide, the more targeted the response and so the less time you will spend in sifting through applications. If you are using an agency to recruit then the more information you give them, the more they will love you and the better the quality of CV’s they can send you.