What Are The Duties, Tasks, And Skills To Include In Management Job Descriptions

20th June 2022

A management job description is a crucial document that has an essential role in the hiring and recruitment process. Comprising management tasks, skills, job duties, and responsibilities, the manager’s job description can be used to create a job advert, during interviews and candidate screening, and also later on during appraisals and performance reviews.

Considering these points, it is clear that you need to write a good management job description that is as close to perfect as possible. With this in hand, you have the first part of the recruitment solution you need to hire an outstanding manager that will ensure your business’s success.

But where do you get started?

In this explainer, we discuss:

What Is A Management Job Description?
How To Write Management Job Descriptions
Management Duties And Responsibilities To Include In A Job Description
Management Tasks To Include In A Job Description
Management Skills To Include In A Job Description
How To Engage Management Candidates
How To Use Hiring People’s Management Job Description Templates

What Is A Management Job Description?

What Is An Office Managers Job Description

A management job description is a document that sets out the role’s duties, tasks, and key skills. Putting these in black and white is vital and will help you find the ideal operations or office manager for a position that directly affects your workforce, business operations, revenue, profit, strategy, and the overall success of your company.

An effective job description should be transparent and clearly set out who you are, who you want, what they will do, and why management professionals might want to work for you. It helps tremendously to use language and jargon that connects with and engages your audience.

When you get all of this right and include the best words to use when writing management job descriptions, you will get job applications from qualified candidates that closely match your ideal person profile.

You can read more about Why It Is Important To Define What People Do In Their Jobs here.

How To Write Management Job Descriptions

What To Include In A Management Job Description

When writing an office manager job description either for advertising a job or an internal job specification you need to focus on 5 main criteria:

What are the key jobs, tasks, and duties required for a management position
Consider all the job responsibilities required for a management role
What key skills the person must have for the job
What personality traits the person must have to work in the management team
Appropriate and relevant education and qualifications

These five criteria should help you build a picture of your ideal candidate. Good questions to consider that will help you write a concise management job description that stands apart from others (essential in the current competitive job market), and attracts candidates of a high calibre, include:

What value does this role bring to your department?
How does the role align with your company culture, values, and mission?
How does this role differ from other positions?
How is this role similar to other positions?
What are the minimum management or transferable skills?
What are examples of your goals, standards, and targets?

Suppose you are not hands-on with the day-to-day management functions or highly familiar with the company’s management policies. In that case, it can help to interview one of your office managers or upper management team to gain a greater understanding of the role.

A word about jargon: The phrase ‘jargon’ has good and bad connotations, and if it isn’t carefully considered, it may deter suitable candidates from applying. Ask yourself if words and phrases are company or industry exclusive or recognisable by individuals who may have valuable transferable skills refined in an alternative business sector.

Furthermore, if you are hiring for senior-level management positions, you should expect candidates to have a greater vocabulary and understanding of leadership jargon. However, if you are hiring supervisors or entry-level office managers, consider being as straightforward and transparent as possible.

Management Duties And Responsibilities To Include In A Job Description

Management duties are the must-do essential functions and high-priority responsibilities of the role. These are the job aspects that you will likely govern the person’s performance on, and as you can imagine, they differ significantly depending on the level of seniority and whether the individual is managing people or the business’s strategy and direction.

THE JOB RESPONSIBILITIES REQUIRED FOR A MANAGEMENT ROLE

Business and office manager responsibilities and job duties might include:

Managing people, training, performance, and motivation
Developing and implementing business strategies to meet KPIs
Managing day-to-day business operations
Planning budgets
Identifying risks
Setting sales and quality goals
Presenting performance and activity reports to stakeholders and senior executives
Hiring staff
Project management

These duties are pretty generic, but you can make the job’s duties more engaging and meaningful by saying how the responsibility should be accomplished. For example, ‘You will be responsible for project management and deadlines, overseeing planning and coordinating the activities of other staff.’

Management Tasks To Include In A Job Description

The tasks of an office manager are any other activities that they complete occasionally or on a daily basis. These are usually subsidiary tasks such as administrative tasks.

It is tempting to leave some of the more ‘mundane’ tasks out to make your jobs sound more attractive, but this can lead to trouble down the road as you may recruit an individual that is not a perfect match or willing to carry out certain tasks. If you hire the wrong managers for your business, its employees, customers, and financial performance may suffer. The employee might leave your company, and you are back to square one, requiring another investment in recruitment and training.

If you get to the end of the process outlined here and find that your job description is too long and concise has gone out the window, it is time to review your first draft. To bring things back into line, you should delete unnecessary phrases and fluff, remove prepositional phrases, focus on what is role critical, and refrain from putting your entire ‘about us’ page in your content.

THE IMPORTANT TASKS OF THE POSITION

Important tasks of management roles might include:

Business administration
Attending management meetings
Setting standards to ensure regulatory compliance
Allocating resources to a department or team
Communicating the company’s vision and mission
Monitoring sales
Overseeing health and safety
Organising staff rotas and schedules
Resolving problematic situations

Management Skills To Include In A Job Description

Management skills are defined as hard or soft skills. Soft skills are more general and can include desirable personality traits, such as communication skills and organisational skills. Hard skills usually prove a person’s knowledge or their aptitude and include professional qualifications, certifications, accreditations, or previous experience.

THE PERSONAL SKILLS THE PERSON MUST HAVE FOR THE JOB

The relevant skills or personal traits a good management candidate should demonstrate include:

Business awareness/business acumen
Good communication skills
Negotiation
Active listening
Excellent interpersonal skills
Presentation skills
Decision making
Time management
Integrity
Receptiveness
Coaching and mentorship
Market research skills
Team-working and collaboration
Problem-solving skills
Objectivity
Planning and organisation
Committed
Stamina to meet the mental and physical demands
Adaptable
Influential
Multitasking
Detail orientated/attention to detail
Motivational leadership (senior management)

THE HARD SKILLS THE PERSON MUST HAVE FOR THE JOB

The hard skills, education, and qualifications depend on the role and level of seniority, but might include:

A Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Operations Management, Business Administration, Marketing, or similar
Knowledge of financial and accounting principles
Computer and MS Office proficiency

How To Engage Management Candidates

As a final note for employers and recruiters, it is crucial to remember that while a job description is about what and who you want, describing this alone will not create an inbox full of eager candidates willing to comply. A good job description and job advert must go beyond the duties, skills, education, qualifications, traits, and tasks that you want and communicate the position’s value to job seekers.

Your company or organisation should convey its employee value propositions to engage candidates, highlighting both monetary and other benefits. Benefits that will entice qualified job seekers to apply might include:

Stating the average salary range (find the average salary here) rather than saying ‘competitive salary’
Focusing on work-life balance
Flexible working – is the role remote (work from home), standard office hours, or are hours flexible?
Further training opportunities
Career development opportunities
The quality of facilities, equipment, products, or services
How the organisation’s values align with those of employees or its customers

How To Use Hiring People’s Management Job Description Templates

We have a job description template available for all management jobs. You should pick the job description example most appropriate to your roles and job titles, considering what job seekers may search for on job boards and in search engines.

Once you have selected your sample job description template, download it, personalise it, or convert it to a job advert. From here, you can post/advertise your job across our network of general, niche, and geographical job boards.

FIND YOUR MANAGEMENT JOB DESCRIPTION BELOW:

PROJECT MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

The Project Manager title is held by a person whose duties include overseeing project teams and deadlines. The tasks are wide-ranging, and other duties include submitting project parameters, managing communication, closing projects, and evaluating their success.

Project Manager Job Description Example

OPERATIONS MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

The Operations Manager job describes a role where the functions include introducing operational procedures and policies. They collaborate with the Board of Directors to determine the company’s mission and values, plan budgets, address problems, and motivate employees.

Operations Manager Job Description Example

PRODUCT MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

The Product Manager title defines the person whose duties include improving the customer experience through pricing, research, and idea generation. These individuals are responsible for pitching new product ideas, collaborating with the marketing and PR department, identifying product gaps, and developing product road maps. Many employers prefer candidates with an engineering or computer science degree.

Product Manager Job Description Example

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (COO) JOB DESCRIPTION

The Chief Operating Officer title is held by a professional with a high level of business analysis understanding and planning knowledge. They use their leadership skills to provide daily management, ensure employees and teams hit their goals, and develop the business and its systems.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) Job Description Example

FACILITIES MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

The Facilities Manager title describes a person whose duties include overseeing the safety, function, and efficiency of the work environment. Usually, with a civil engineering degree and excellent problem-solving skills, they are responsible for building maintenance, working conditions, refurbishments, security, cleanliness, and parking.

Facilities Manager Job Description Example

PROGRAM MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

The Program Manager title defines an individual with performance evaluation, change management, and program management experience. They use their knowledge to ensure projects deliver a return on investment, supervising teams, risk strategies, resources, and project leads.

Program Manager Job Description Example

BUSINESS MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

The Business Manager role requires a person with leadership experience, with responsibilities for designing strategies to achieve business growth and financial success. They set department goals and budgets, identify new market opportunities, hire new employees, and assess team performance.

Business Manager Job Description Example

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (CEO) JOB DESCRIPTION

The Chief Executive Officer title is held by a professional with senior management experience and an aptitude for building relationships with executives, partners, and the workforce. They provide employee inspiration, communicate the company vision, ensure regulatory compliance, and develop business systems, plans, and strategies.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Job Description Example

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR JOB DESCRIPTION

The Commercial Director job is held by a person who typically has a business admin or management degree. They use their skills to complete tasks such as leading teams, monitoring commercial performance, setting pricing, building relationships with clients and stakeholders, and providing direction for product and service innovation.

Commercial Director Job Description Example

ASSISTANT MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

The Assistant Manager title covers professionals who lead an office or retail team. Working towards a permanent manager role, they help maintain policies, standards, and best practices, schedule training and rotas, oversee safety, control stock, and motivate junior employees.

Assistant Manager Job Description Example

MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

The Manager job title is given to an employee who manages a team and its standards and productivity. They may interview and recruit new employees, conduct appraisals, ensure workplace safety, introduce new work systems, and enforce company procedures.

Manager Job Description Example

SUPERVISOR JOB DESCRIPTION

The Supervisor job title describes a person who supervises a team and acts as an intermediary between managers and junior staff. They may train new team members, oversee safety, organise rotas, assign tasks, and ensure the progress of targets or deadlines.

Supervisor Job Description Example

GENERAL MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

The General Manager job title covers professionals whose duties include business operations and financial responsibilities. Usually, with a business management degree, they review budgets and financial documents, allocate resources, motivate staff, analyse performance, and ensure productivity and standards are maintained.

General Manager Job Description Example

MANAGING DIRECTOR JOB DESCRIPTION

The Managing Director title is held by an individual whose duties include managing corporate strategy and long-term business goals. They manage resources, act as the face of the corporation, oversee investments and ventures, and drive talent acquisition.

Managing Director Job Description Example

DIRECTOR JOB DESCRIPTION

The company director usually has senior-level management experience with excellent knowledge of financial strategies and business activities. They use their business acumen, organisational skills, and communication skills to implement strategies, drive growth, ensure compliance with the law, and acquire talent.

Director Job Description Example

HEAD OF OPERATIONS JOB DESCRIPTION

The Head Of Operations works with individuals at all levels, implementing business solutions, overseeing policies, and ensuring good customer service. They may plan daily activities, provide strategic advice to senior executives, coach staff, and review customer satisfaction data.

Head Of Operations Job Description Example

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS JOB DESCRIPTION

The Director Of Operations should have excellent regulations knowledge and critical thinking skills. They might manage daily business activities, interview and recruit managers, evaluate company performance, retrieve information and review activities of the operating unit, and liaise with the board and stakeholders.

Director Of Operations Job Description Example

FURTHER MANAGEMENT JOB DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES

Further Resources For Employers And Hiring Managers

If you are not quite ready to submit your job advert and are at the beginning of the hiring process, we recommend reading:

Management Job Description FAQS

Here we answer your questions on management roles, job titles, and writing job descriptions.

WHAT QUALIFICATIONS SHOULD MANAGERS HAVE?

When you interview managers, an excellent candidate does not necessarily need a degree or even a high school diploma or GCSEs, although many do. Proven experience in a management position or extensive industry knowledge may suggest the individual has the foundation for senior leadership positions.

WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF A BUSINESS MANAGER?

Business managers use their skills and general knowledge to lead a company and its employees. They may oversee Human Resources, planning and organising staffing and evaluate the business’s performance on various tasks.

Duties, Tasks, And Skills For Different Sectors

Find the duties, tasks, and skills for different sectors and job descriptions: