Job Description
 

For some reason it seems that "job description" is a confusing word in Japanese.

What I have been able to conclude is this:

Please let me know if I am on or way off...

職務記述書 is a document describing the duties of a given job. A job description.

職務明細書 is a document describing the requirements of an employee who was going to fulfill the above job (i.e. B.A., 10 years experience, etc.) and may be a part of the 職務記述書.

Do people say ジョブ・ディスクリプション?

I'm not familiar with any of the three terms you've quoted above. The usual term for "job description" in Japanese would be 仕事の内容 (shigoto no naiyou) but the two terms you've given above for documents might be used for a more precise purpose. 明細書 is usually used for a breakdown of something into details. The term 職務記述書 I found on ALC but I'm not sure what its precise purpose is.

Thanks, Ben.

仕事の内容 is what you said, but that wouldn't be the name of a document, right? Are job descriptions not physical papers?

I`m going to go along with 仕事内容 / 勤務内容 / 職務内容　(with or without 詳細) - I did data entry for a time listing available positions for universities (my husband made the system, woohoo!) and it was always listed as one of those three.
I have never seen it presented as a separate document - they were always linked to company and pay information so I may be thinking of something different though...

I have been requested to make a separate document by folks in Japan, and need an "official" title for the document. I am getting the impression that a piece of paper titled "Job Description" is not a common document in Japan.

I too vote for 仕事内容

the dictionary gives an example of 明細書　as 支出明細書 or a detailed document of expeditures, for I imagine a company or something.

and 職務記述書 or "job description", as a formal document, from what a coworker has explained to me is not something that traditionally exists in Japan and if this term ever gets any widespread use it would probably be an article or section of a contract or something I imagine. but as something to just briefly explain some of the main duties in a job 仕事内容 is good I think.

but if you gotta go with something for that kind of document, 職務記述書 might be your best bet. there is a wikipedia article on it if you wanna read through the whole thing and then make a decision though.

Thanks Rick, and everyone else.

This is becoming an interesting puzzle that I didn't expect to go as deep as it has.

The document technically would be a part of the eventual hiree's contract, so it is more than just an advertisement for an open position, (though I feel like in the US the same thing can be both...meaning what is advertised becomes a part of your contract).

What is being asked for is a detailed job description that can be distributed to potential hirees, but would also be a part of that person's contract.

It seems like this is a common practice in the US, but not so common in Japan.

From what you are saying Rick, reading a document titled 職務記述書 when considering a job would not be a common practice, though it might be a part of a contract.

Is reading a document titled 仕事内容 a common practice when searching for a job?

Because the company is based in America it isn't the end of the world for it to be "American style" but I don't want it to look bizarre.

Again, all help is appreciated.

職務記述書 is the "official" translation of the term "job description". It is used mostly by the Japanese branches of American and European companies. The transliteration ジョブ・ディスクリプション is also commonly used among such companies and other larger Japanese companies. 職務明細書 is the alternative translation.

As OP stated, these terms are used to named the official company document that describes the responsibilities of each post in a company. At least in Japan, it's not common to include the authority of the post. In describing these responsibilities, the desired levels of knowledge and skills required to fulfill the duties are explained in detail.

The word 仕事内容 is bland, broad and too casual-sounding that it's not used for the title of an official document. It's used in shorter help-wanted ads to describe briefly what the job is about. In casual conversation, however, it can be used to refer to the content of the 職務記述書, but not the 職務記述書 itself as a document. 仕事内容 is simply too light a word.

Thank you Sashimister. This is what I am looking for.

One comment I heard is that job descriptions are less common, as people who are looking for work solicit companies more than companies solicit workers.

Do you think this is true?

Yes, I would say that is generally true.

In Japan, you often receive the complete copy of the job description AFTER you have been hired.

Interesting...and very good to know.