Repositories of job descriptions - I can't help wondering if I inadvertently invented this in 2009 ;)

A repository of job descriptions can serve different purposes for different audiences. They can help organisations benchmark their own jobs and salaries to keep things harmonious and, if visible to the public, also help future jobseekers see the range of jobs available and the skills and experience required.

I created my first unstructured version in 2009 but recently discovered others have made a bit more of an effort to organise their similar databases (mine aren't technically databases, just WordPress blogs!).

These are the repositories of job descriptions that I know of, what else can I add here? Those marked with a red book 📕 are internal-focused, ones with orange diamonds 🔶 are aimed internally for benchmarking but open to anyone to view and ones with green plants 🌿 are for a public audience.

🔶 LOTI's Job Description Library
The London Office of Technology and Innovation is "London local government's collaborative innovation team. We help London borough councils and the GLA use innovation, data and technology."
JD library | Job descriptions with salary - at the time of writing there are 2,057 jobs and job descriptions archived there (e.g. there are 25 examples of the 'Solutions Architect' role in different boroughs with the salary increasing over the years).

🔶 National Children & Young People's Diabetes Network
Their Example Job Descriptions repository lists the range of jobs needed to run a paediatric diabetes service. It includes the banding information but not specific salaries. 

🔶 NHS Employers
National Job Profiles - this is aimed at NHS HR folk and is quite detailed on the difference between job profiles, job labels (I've never heard of this) and job descriptions. There's a whole NHS Job Evaluation Scheme - it's a massive organisation to be fair - so that the jobs can be "matched to nationally evaluated profiles, based on information from job descriptions, person specifications and additional information." The content is informative about the different types of roles but it's fairly generic and not a job description. From a potential job-seeker point of view it's a bit incomplete (but that's not its purpose of course).

🔶 Society of Research Software Engineering (RSE)
The society has an Evidence Bank of job descriptions organised by level of seniority. I couldn't get one of the files to open ('bad PDF') but managed to download a couple of other things. It's on GitHub which I (personally) find a bit of a confusing interface.

📕 University of Bristol
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/hr/grading/job-descriptions.html "We’ve created a job description repository to share the variety of roles at the University. This helps staff understand the skills needed to develop their career."

🌿 Jobs in Computer Science and related tech jobs. A repository of job ads and job descriptions, stored here (so that they can still be viewed after the vacancy has closed.
https://techdevjobs.wordpress.com/ - by me
I began this site shortly after coming across the Shadbolt Review which found that university students were largely unaware of the roles available in either computer science or any of the many allied digital roles. It is a non-systematic database of job packs as I come across them whereas the ones like LOTI above have some structure. I have had a go with structuring here.

🌿 ScicommJobs
https://scicommjobs.wordpress.com/
I began this one on Posterous in October 2009 (much missed, closed down) and transferred it to WordPress. It's full of job packs relating to science communication and public engagement with science. 

Bonus material
A Reddit post, from October 2024, by someone looking for tools to help create one of these repositories: Looking for a way to store and manage job description (inventory / repository), and a website which sells software for same, AI-powered to help you 'build a job description repository in minutes'.

Google groups and file sharing for skeptics?

I was wondering if there exists a Google group for UK skeptics? If not might there be any mileage in setting one up? Not for the chatter, which already takes place in a number of online venues but for the useful facility of being able to upload files (PDFs of useful papers perhaps) for storage / sharing among the group members.

There might be a copyright issue of course, in terms of storing other people's articles - but I could always write to authors and ask if they're happy for their material to be used and stored for this purpose.

In the next week or two I'll be collating a bunch of papers from the British Library (which will be bought for my own personal use so I expect I can't share them without falling foul). I'll be sending these to Trading Standards (TS) / Advertsing Standards Authority (ASA) regarding a local shop which is making some ridiculous claims in a leaflet (ASA) and on its website (TS). Having spoken to someone who worked in the shop it's clear that they consider that "people keep coming back / feel better" equals good evidence.

Anyway, if I were to get a bit more organised and email authors for permission for their copies to be stored in a small skeptic repository via Google groups... does that seem sensible?