Your KSF post outline helps you understand what is expected of you in your post by describing what knowledge and skills are needed to do your job safely and effectively.
You need your post outline to support your Personal Development Planning and Review (PDPR). It helps to make the discussion between you and your reviewer more meaningful and effective. It gives a focus for your development needs against what is required in your job. Importantly your KSF post outline links your personal development to the work you do, any work objectives you have and the services delivered by your team or department.
This will normally be the responsibility of your manager. However, KSF post outlines should be developed in partnership. Your Board will have its own guidance around the processes that should be followed to develop KSF post outlines. You will find this guidance on your local intranet.
It is important to remember that KSF post outlines must be realistic and should be about setting out the knowledge and skills that are needed to work safely and effectively in the job.
All post outlines must include the 6 Core Dimensions. At first it might be easier to focus only on the Core Dimensions as most aspects of any job in the NHS can fit easily into these 6 areas. However, if the post will be responsible for managing people then the specific dimension, G6 - People Management, must also be included.
If you feel that the other specific dimensions are helpful to add more detail then you should only use one or two of these at the most. Remember these are optional. Please also refer to the guidance at your Board on creating post outlines.
It is important to be realistic when choosing the right level for each dimension. Think about what different bands of post might need. You might find it helpful to look at our guide on KSF Core dimensions levels that are most commonly used in different pay bands:
A table detailing the KSF Core dimension levels that would be expected on the post outline for each AfC pay band.