Build Skill — Job Description Optimization Production Workflow

How to Use This Skill

Follow this workflow in order. Do not skip steps. Do not start writing deliverables before the gap protocol is complete. Build in sequence: position profile first, then job description, then job ad.

Step 1: Read Reference Data

Read the client's reference data file. Every proper noun must match.

Step 2: Read the Extraction Interview

Routing Check

• Extraction available → proceed
• No extraction → stop. Go to 06-consultant-methodology.md first.

Read all source material:

• Extraction interview transcript (primary)
• Prior job description (supplementary — note what's stale, inflated, or missing)
• Compensation benchmarking output (if available)
• Client brand or organizational materials

Step 3: Identify Gaps

Work through the Required Inputs table in 01-context.md. Pay special attention to:

• Must-haves not distinguished from nice-to-haves
• Role purpose missing or stated only as responsibilities
• Organizational context generic or stale
• Compensation range not established
• Success measures not captured

Document every gap using the gap report format.

Step 4: Stop — Present Gap Report to Advisor

Do not proceed until every gap is resolved.

Step 5: Build the Position Profile

The position profile is built first because it feeds everything else.

Build Order

1. Role Title and Organizational Placement — Confirm the title is current and appropriate. Include department, reporting line, and direct reports if applicable.

1. Role Purpose — Write 2-3 sentences explaining why this role exists. This is not a responsibility summary. Test: would a reader who knows nothing about the organization understand what capability this role provides?

1. Organizational Context — Write 2-3 sentences about what's happening in the organization right now that makes this role critical. This must be current — not boilerplate. Test: could this paragraph only describe this organization at this moment?

1. Key Responsibilities — List 6-10 major responsibility areas. Each one is an action the person performs, not a competency they possess. Write 1-2 sentences per responsibility providing enough specificity that a scorecard designer could build an evaluation around it.

1. Must-Have Requirements — List each must-have with a brief rationale for why it's non-negotiable. Each must-have should pass the test: "If a candidate meets every other requirement but not this one, do you pass?" If yes, it's genuinely a must-have.

1. Nice-to-Have Requirements — List preferred qualifications that strengthen a candidacy. These inform sourcing priorities but don't create screening gates.

1. Competency Expectations — Behavioral expectations beyond technical qualifications. Written in observable terms, not labels. "Navigates complex stakeholder dynamics with competing priorities" not "strong interpersonal skills."

1. Key Relationships — Internal and external stakeholders this role interacts with. Helps candidates understand the organizational landscape and helps the scorecard designer identify relevant focus areas.

1. Success Measures — What success looks like at 6 and 12 months. Specific enough to be evaluated.

1. Compensation Range — Market control point, range, and any relevant context (where the organization expects to hire within the range, whether the range has board approval, etc.).

1. Working Conditions — Location, travel requirements, remote/hybrid/on-site, physical requirements if applicable.

Step 6: Build the Job Description

The job description formalizes what the position profile defines.

Build Order

1. Header — Role title, department, classification (exempt/non-exempt if applicable), employment type, location
2. Role Summary — 3-4 sentences adapted from the position profile's role purpose and organizational context
3. Responsibilities — Expanded from the position profile, written for clarity and completeness. Organized by priority or functional area.
4. Required Qualifications — Derived from must-haves. Include specific education, years of experience, certifications, technical requirements. Calibrate to the actual role — review for inflation.
5. Preferred Qualifications — Derived from nice-to-haves
6. Reporting Structure — Who this role reports to, who reports to this role, key peer relationships
7. Working Conditions — From position profile
8. Compensation and Benefits — Range plus benefits overview. Include salary range where legally required.
9. Equal Opportunity Statement — Organization-specific or standard language

Cross-Check

After building, compare to the position profile:

• Same must-haves? Same role purpose? Same organizational context?
• Any requirements added that aren't in the profile? (Remove them or update the profile.)
• Any profile elements missing from the JD? (Add them or confirm intentional omission.)

Step 7: Build the Job Ad (if applicable)

The job ad translates the position profile into attraction language.

Build Order

1. Headline — More compelling than the role title alone. Can include the organization or the opportunity's defining characteristic.

1. Opening Hook — 2-3 sentences that answer: "Why would someone excellent at what they do leave their current job for this one?" Lead with what the candidate gains, not what the organization needs.

1. About the Organization — Mission, culture, what makes it distinctive. Written for someone who hasn't heard of the organization. Not corporate boilerplate — specific, vivid, honest.

1. About the Role — Responsibilities rewritten for attraction. Not a copy-paste from the JD. Use active language, emphasize impact, show the scope of influence. "You'll lead a team of eight through a full organizational transformation" not "Oversee change management initiatives."

1. Who You Are — Requirements reframed as identity. "You've spent a decade building teams and you're ready for a role where the stakes are real" not "10+ years of management experience required." This section should feel like the candidate recognizing themselves.

1. What We Offer — Compensation range (if disclosing), benefits, growth opportunities, culture elements, work-life context. Written as value to the candidate.

1. How to Apply — Clear instructions: where to apply, what to submit, what happens after they apply, expected timeline.

Tone Calibration

The ad's tone must match both the organization's brand and the target candidate's expectations:

• Nonprofit seeking a CEO: mission-driven, inspiring, serious about impact
• Biopharma startup seeking an HR lead: dynamic, growth-focused, opportunity-forward
• PE-backed company seeking a COO: results-oriented, transformation-focused, direct
• The target audience determines the voice, not the practitioner's default style

Cross-Check

After building, compare to the position profile:

• Same must-haves? (No requirements added for the ad that aren't in the profile)
• Same role? (The ad promises only what the role actually delivers)
• Compelling elements grounded in reality? (Nothing the organization can't back up)

Step 8: Run Gate 2 QC

Run the Gate 2 checklist from 04-quality.md across all deliverables produced.

Step 9: Deliver for Advisor Review

After Gate 2 passes, present all deliverables to the advisor. The deliverables do not go to the client until the advisor reviews and approves.

When Building a Revision

When the role evolves, when the organization changes, or when a search pivot requires updating:

1. Identify what changed
2. Update all affected deliverables (the change may flow from profile → JD → ad)
3. Run Gate 2 on all deliverables after updating
4. Increment version numbers