Context — Job Description Optimization Inputs and Gap Protocol
The Gap Protocol
Read this before every build. A gap is any required piece of content that the source material does not provide. Gaps are flagged — never filled.
When you identify a gap:
- Record it in the gap report
- Stop the build
- Present the gap report to the advisor
- Wait for resolution
- Proceed only after every gap is RESOLVED
What you must never do:
- Fill a gap from the golden example
- Fill a gap by inferring from role title or industry
- Fill a gap from a job description built for a different role or client
- Pull requirements from a job board posting for a similar role at a different organization
- Fill a gap without advisor sign-off
Why this matters: A position profile with invented requirements is the most expensive mistake in a recruiting engagement. Every downstream deliverable — sourcing criteria, screening questions, scorecard focus areas, interview questions, compensation benchmarking — inherits the error. A bad position profile doesn't just produce a bad document. It produces a bad hire.
Gap Report Format
DELIVERABLE: [Position Profile / Job Description / Job Ad] — [Role title] — [Client]
DATE: [YYYY-MM-DD]
SOURCE MATERIAL: [What was provided]
GAPS IDENTIFIED:
1. [Gap name]
Required for: [Which deliverable/section needs this]
What's missing: [Specifically what information is absent]
Resolution needed: [What the advisor needs to find out]
Status: OPEN
RESOLUTION LOG:
[Gap 1] — Resolved [date] by [method]: [What was determined]Required Inputs by Deliverable
Position Profile
| Input | Required | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Role title (confirmed, not assumed from prior documentation) | Yes | Extraction interview with hiring stakeholders |
| Why this role exists (new role rationale or backfill justification) | Yes | Extraction interview — the practitioner validates this with the client |
| Reporting structure (who this role reports to, who reports to this role) | Yes | Extraction interview |
| Organizational context (where this role sits, what's happening in the organization now) | Yes | Extraction interview |
| Must-have requirements (non-negotiable qualifications, experience, competencies) | Yes | Extraction interview — must be explicitly designated, not inferred |
| Nice-to-have requirements (preferred but not required) | Yes | Extraction interview |
| Competency expectations (behavioral and technical) | Yes | Extraction interview |
| Compensation range (or confirmation that benchmarking is a separate deliverable) | Yes | Extraction interview or compensation benchmarking output |
| Success measures (what does success look like at 6 months, 12 months) | Recommended | Extraction interview |
| Key relationships (internal and external stakeholders the role interacts with) | Recommended | Extraction interview |
| Working conditions (location, travel, remote/hybrid/on-site) | Yes | Extraction interview |
| Organization mission, vision, values | Yes | Client documentation |
Gap trigger: Must-haves not distinguished from nice-to-haves → STOP. If everything is a must-have, nothing is. The practitioner's job during extraction is to force this distinction — "if a candidate meets every other requirement but doesn't have this one, do you pass?" If yes, it's a must-have. If "it depends," it's a nice-to-have.
Gap trigger: Role purpose not articulated → flag. "We need to replace [person who left]" is not a role purpose. Why does this function exist? What does the organization lose if this role is empty? What changes about the organization's capacity when this role is filled?
Job Description
| Input | Required | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Everything in the position profile | Yes | Position profile (build this first) |
| Detailed responsibilities (not just competencies — what does the person DO) | Yes | Extraction interview |
| Required qualifications (education, certifications, licenses, years of experience) | Yes | Extraction interview |
| Preferred qualifications | Yes | Extraction interview |
| Physical requirements (if applicable) | Conditional | Client HR policy |
| Equal opportunity statement | Recommended | Client HR policy or standard language |
| Salary range disclosure (where legally required) | Conditional | Compensation benchmarking + legal requirements |
Gap trigger: Responsibilities described only as competencies → flag. "Strategic leadership" is a competency, not a responsibility. "Lead annual strategic planning process, present to the board, and align department goals with organizational priorities" is a responsibility. The job description must tell a candidate what they'll spend their time doing.
Job Ad
| Input | Required | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Compelling elements of the role (what makes this opportunity attractive) | Yes | Extraction interview |
| Compelling elements of the organization (mission, culture, growth, reputation) | Yes | Extraction interview + client materials |
| Target candidate profile (who are we trying to attract — beyond qualifications) | Yes | Extraction interview |
| Publication channels (job boards, social media, industry sites, organization website) | Yes | Extraction interview |
| Application method (how candidates apply — link, email, portal) | Yes | Extraction interview |
| Tone and voice appropriate for the target audience | Yes | Extraction interview + client brand |
| Whether salary range is disclosed in the ad | Yes | Legal requirements + client preference |
Gap trigger: No compelling elements captured → flag. A job ad that reads like a job description has already failed. If the extraction didn't surface what makes this role and this organization worth leaving a current job for, the ad will be generic. Go back and ask: "Why would someone excellent at what they do choose to come here?"
Relationship Between Deliverables
The three deliverables are built in sequence. Each one draws from the previous:
Position Profile → Job Description → Job Ad
(strategy) (documentation) (attraction)The position profile feeds everything. The job description formalizes what the profile defines. The job ad translates what the profile defines into language that attracts.
Build order matters. Do not build the job ad before the position profile. The ad must be grounded in validated requirements — not in what sounds attractive. An ad that promises things the role doesn't deliver is worse than no ad at all.
Source Material Types
Extraction Interview (Primary Source)
Provides: role purpose, must-haves vs. nice-to-haves, organizational context, hiring stakeholder priorities, what makes the role compelling, what the prior incumbent did well or poorly, what's changed since the last time this role was defined.
Prior Job Description (Supplementary Source)
Provides: historical role structure, previously used language, compliance elements.
Does not provide: current requirements (organizations change), validated must-haves (prior descriptions carry accumulated requirements from multiple hiring cycles), or organizational context (the organization that wrote the prior description may be materially different from the organization hiring now).
When a prior description arrives: Use it as a starting point for the extraction conversation, not as a content source. Walk through it with the hiring stakeholders: "Is this still accurate? What's changed? What's missing? What no longer applies?"
Compensation Benchmarking Output (Required Supplement)
Provides: market control point, salary range, compensation context relative to the organization's existing salary structure.
The position profile must reference the compensation range. If benchmarking hasn't been done, flag it as a gap — the profile is incomplete without it.
Reference Data (Required Supplement)
Every name, organization name, and tool name must match reference data. Reference data wins.
What the Golden Example Provides
Use the golden example for structural format, section depth, and the distinction between how position profiles, job descriptions, and job ads read differently. Do not use it for role-specific content.