I need to create a job/job description/person specification & I don't know where to start, please help?

[Katymac]

I am currently managing 3 other childminders plus 3 assistants all working in my house looking after children.

I am going to open a nursery (next summer but lots of planning starting now) and my deputy was going to take my place at home.

However, she seems to have decided not to want the job.

So I have some paperwork and a few hours available in January but it is the sort of job that will grow and by Easter (June at the latest) there will also be lots of work for the Nursery

It's lots of bits and a job that will get bigger gradually - how do I create a job description/person specification & how on earth do I advertise it?

Have you considered that perhaps it is one job now, temporarily, and a different job when the nursery opens? The danger you face now is writing a JD for a post that will change signifcantly. Can you be sure that the person you recruit now will be the right person then?

WRT the JD, start by listing the day to day duties that the postholder will be responsible for. You need to really capture the spirit of the job to make sure that the person reading it knows what is expected of him/her. Be specific ie "ensure that menus contain vegetarian and meat options and that food hygiene standards are maintained."

The person spec comes after the JD and contains the skills, knowledge and experience that the successful postholder would need to do the job. So using my example above, the postholder would need knowledge of food hygiene standards, possibly a qualification in it.

There is nothing wrong with advertising ajob that will evolve...just make it clear from the outset. It could be a selling point.

That's a good point

And working through bit by bit might be a good way to go

It is very complicated & I'm not very good at this

So:
Food Hygiene commitment to serving high quality food
NVQ CCLD level 3 or registered childminder or prepared to become a registered childminder
Child protection training (up-to-date to able to be updated)
First Aid (up-to-date to able to be updated)
Comprehensive computer skill (not just word processing)

For the nursery
2yrs early education experience

Hours are flexible starting low and growing to about 30 (maybe O/T just before and after the nursery opens)

confused....I am

I am guessing you have probably seen BusinessLink's advice here on what you need to include.

Difficult to recruit when your own knowledge of exactly what the hours and responsibilities will be is not precise yet, but best you can do is be honest about the situation, explain in the ad or however you are planning to find someone that it will start low but will increase.

If you put "Job Descriptions" in Google loads of templates/examples come up if that helps at all.

Do you think there would be many takers for a p/t management position?

It will be such an odd job - very odd for me having a manager in the house

There are hundreds of mothers with bags of management experience who have to work at a level below their capabilities because they need part time work and part time work at a senior level is more difficult to come by.

So I wouldn't be surprised if you find lots of applicants!

That's a good point

It won't be terribly child friendly hours tho'

Mind you you can bring your children to work if you want as long as they will eat what's on the menu

You might find that people apply who don't have childcare experience but bags of management experience and vice versa. You might want to eventually split the role into running the home nursery (all the bits directly related to the children) and the management role taking care of the other paperwork/personnel issues. Could be a jobshare?

I'm not sure how effective that would be

Currently I cover any hours that the others can't and kind of 'step into the breech'

Without the childcare the job would be very bitty I think and a very small part of the business

Invoicing (monthly - 4/5 hrs)
Newsletter (monthly an hour)
Menu (monthly an hour)
Policies (yearly plus ad-hoc maybe 20-25 hrs a year)
Timetabling (staff & children - maybe 2 hrs a week)
Wages (once a month - 4/5 hrs)
Accounts (2 hrs a week)
Shopping List (1 hr a week)
Filing (1 hr a week)

So that's 9.5hrs a week plus maybe 4-10 hrs childcare (more for sickness & holidays)

Humm - I've been tempted over from the other thread, but see you've already got FBB's advice so probably don't need me
Do you know why your deputy doesn't want the job?
One thought, looking at your list, I wonder whether you need an admin/accounts/secretary person - who could do the invoicing, newsletter, menu, timetabling, wages, accounds & filing - that to me all sounds like something someone without childcare experience could do? The could other people take up the other bits (eg would your deputy do policy stuff for eg?) I wonder if you might be better off recruiting someone like that for now (who would certainly be useful for the nursery, if they were good & you wanted to expand their hours. Then you can wait a bit, and employ someone more specifically for the childcare/directly managerial element...? Or maybe your deputy would be more interested if she knew the paperwork was going to ease off (often a reason for people avoiding more responsibility, ime!!

Ignore me if that makes no sense!

Because she only wants to work 'her' hours and no more as it's inconvenient

So if there is a shift no-one can do, I need to cover those hours somehow -currently I do it, but when I leave, there will be no-one to do it & that can't happen

Humm, that sounds like a tricky one to recruit for - you basically need someone who can agree to try and cover any shift, right?

Actually she might be more interested if the paperwork disappeared

So if I got a childcare person who would rather do paperwork - but who is prepared to cover

Or maybe a paperwork person who could work away from the setting & an ad-hoc person/persons?

This is the tricky bit

Well really only am (7:30 start) or pm (6pm finish) never both (hopefully)

Oh this is so hard - If I could just throw money at it - it wouldn't be a propbelm

I could be wrong, but ime (1000% less than yours!!) childcare people aren't paperwork lovers I think, personally, I'd be tempted to go with your option b (separate paperwork person)
It might just be a stop-gap - once the nursery is up & running will you be able to move staff from the nursery to your home setting to cover a shift?
How good is/how much do you think your deputy can 'step into your shoes' apart from the shift covering bit? ie Will she take on managerial responsbility/take ownership or not? If you trust/like her & can see her managing things forwards, it might be easier/better to try and focus on getting something that would work for her too....

I think you could be right

Yes the nursery/childminding will cross over and cover each other

Deputy has 'some' ownership & could be developed - she has quite good people skills 7 I think would develop the HR stuff she needs

Problem is I am now looking at 2/3 new people that way, an admin and some cover staff

I was thinking about having one person paid for maybe 25 hrs - regularly working 15 and floating the extra 10 as necessary but I guess that is unrealistic

Hmm - this needs more thought - I will have a play again tomorrow - any more thoughts gratefully received