How to Write an Awesome Nonprofit Job Description

Last week, I wrote about why most nonprofit job descriptions suck, so it’s only right that today I share some thoughts on how to write a non-sucky one, right? Right.

In my last nonprofit job as Director of Development and Special Programs, I was the one who led the process for most of our new hires (yes, this was one of those “additional duties as assigned” but I loved it!). Over the years, we got better and better as an organization in writing compelling job descriptions, recruiting great talent, conducting interviews and checking references.

How?

Mostly through research, trial and error, and using the resources at our disposal as a small nonprofit.

In general, the very best resource I used as a nonprofit hiring manager was the Bridgespan Group’s Hiring Toolkit. It’s free, comprehensive and very well-designed and easy to use, especially for a small shop. The toolkit covers everything from building a recruitment team to conducting interviews to making an offer and managing employee transition. And of course, it also covers writing job descriptions.

What I did was take the guidance from Bridgespan and add everything else I’d learned about being a human organization to create a process for writing awesome job descriptions. Feel free to use this as an outline for your own positions or use it as inspiration to take into your next recruitment team meeting!

Introduction

• A brief (very brief!) description of your organization, it’s mission and major accomplishments.
• Include details about budget, staff size and office location to give candidates an idea of the overall organizational structure.

The Ideal Candidate

• Describe the ideal person for the job. What type of background, skills or characteristics would they have?
• Be honest about the qualities that will make this person successful. Flexibility? A Type-A level attention to detail?

Culture and Perks

• Talk about the impact this position will have on the organization. How will the candidate be able to lead and make a difference?
• Give candidates a sense of your organizational culture. Share details on what a day in the office is like. What kinds of people will they be working with? If your culture is informal, quirky or irreverent, try to convey that personality in how you write the description.
• What are the major perks of working for your organization? Close to great restaurants, beautiful parks? Staff get off at 3pm every Friday? Are flexible schedules available? Mentoring with senior staff members? Casual Fridays?

Details About the Job

• State the official name of the position and where it fits into the overall organization. Who will it report to?
• Frame the job responsibilities as opportunities, not boring duties – you’re not hiring a janitor! (Unless, of course, you are.)

Qualifications

• What experience, education and skills would the ideal candidate really need to do the job well? Note: Just because everyone else is hiring for Master’s degrees doesn’t mean your organization has to.
• Keep the list of qualifications short and sweet. Only mention those that are absolutely relevant to the position. You want to be realistic in describing a human being who actually exists.

Salary and Benefits

• Be transparent and honest here – it will only help you in the long run.
• State the salary range for the position. A range within $10,000 is probably best. Example: $40,000-50,000 per year.
• List the benefits – don’t hide what you offer! Healthcare, vacation time, tuition reimbursement, telecommuting, free lunch on Fridays, etc. Don’t hold any punches here. You are competing for talent with thousands of other organizations. Act like it.

Organizations Who Are Doing it Right (sort of)

Here are just a few nonprofit job descriptions I’ve come across recently that embody at least some of the ideas of human organizations recruiting talent in an authentic, effective, transparent way.

• Social Media and Online Journalism Intern, Rare
• Development Director, American Geophysical Union
• Executive and Research Assistant, DC Central Kitchen

By the way, Bridgespan also offers a ton of nonprofit job description examples. They’re not all as “human” as they could sound, but they’re definitely a great start for a blank slate to build from.

What do you think? How can these ideas help you write a better, more awesome nonprofit job description?