Writing role profile accountabilities

How to write accountability statements when completing a job profile template.

Accountabilities are short statements that describe the responsibilities a job holder will be held accountable for by identifying clear ‘end results’.

Accountability statements help the council's job evaluation specialists to understand what the job holder will be accountable for, so that they can make sure the role grade and profile are accurate.

Without clear accountabilities, the job evaluation process will be slower, less consistent and may result in inaccurate grade determination.

Writing accountabilities

Accountabilities should:

  • usually be one or two sentences long 
  • represent key outputs – describe the ‘what’, not the ‘how’
  • emphasise action that leads to end results – they should be clear, not vague
  • describe separate ‘end results’ – end results should not be combined in one statement
  • be timeless – the statements should be written in such a way that is not dependent on current technology, budget, people managed or other similar conditions
  • be up to 9 statements - generally, this should be sufficient to fully describe the accountabilities in a role

Accountabilities are not a long list of tasks or activities, such as attend committee meetings, update spreadsheets, or hold team meetings.

Instead, each accountability should be written in three parts: an action, the subject and the end result. 

This table shows three examples of how to write accountabilities as statements.
Examples Action: Use verbs to describe the level of accountability in relation to the subject Subject: Describe the subject of the action and end results End result: Describe what will be achieved 
Example  1 Research, develop, implement and subsequently review  an adult domiciliary care strategy  that delivers agreed targets set by the council 
Example 2 Carry out   

statutory social work assessments for adults 

with mental health 

disabilities 

to comply with relevant legislation and arrange the provision of appropriate care 
Example 3 Deliver  domiciliary care services to vulnerable adults in their own homes  to enable them to live as independent life as possible whilst being supported in the community  

Using verbs to describe accountabilities

You should use verbs to describe each accountability. 

This table sets out a range of example verbs that can be used to describe the accountability. This is not an exhaustive list and the headings are only meant to be a general guide to the sorts of jobs where the words may apply.

Policy jobs Management jobs Specialist jobs Specific jobs General jobs

Approve

Authorise

Define

Determine

Develop

Direct

Establish

Plan

Prepare

Research

Achieve

Assess

Ensure

Identify

Improve

Implement

Maintain

Monitor

Review

Analyse

Appraise

Enable

Forecast

Interpret

Justify

Propose

Recommend

Support

Check

Collate

Distribute

Issue

Obtain

Operate

Provide

Submit

Supply

Administer

Assist

Control

Liaise

Manage

Supervise

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