Role titles A to Z

How to read a list of titles?

A list of role titles looks simple, and titles hide a lot. The same words can mean different jobs in different companies, and different words can mean the same job. This page is written to help you read the list as a scoping tool, so that the title you choose describes the work you actually need.

Five distinctions do most of the work: the title, the authority, the tool, the industry and the level. If you can answer all five for your seat, you have a brief. If you can answer only one, the title alone will mislead you.

Use the A to Z list to find the exact name, and use the rest of this page to decide whether it is the right one.

What should the brief say about Title versus the work?

Take the word controller. In one company it means a person who runs the close and the accounting team. In another it means a senior preparer with no staff. A brief that asks for a controller will receive both kinds of profile unless it says which.

Analyst is similar. A financial analyst might build forecasts, review variances or prepare reports on request. A systems analyst might configure software or write requirements. Always add what the person will produce.

A useful test: write the title, then write what appears on the person's desk on a typical Tuesday. If the second sentence does not match the first, the title is wrong.

What should the brief say about Authority: who decides?

Authority separates interim roles from contract ones. An interim manager can usually hire, direct and approve within limits. A contract specialist usually cannot. Asking a specialist to run a function leaves them blocked, and asking a manager to prepare schedules wastes the manager.

Reporting lines matter. A payroll manager reporting to finance sees different priorities from one reporting to human resources. An auditor reporting to the person being audited has a conflict.

State what the person can sign, hire and escalate. Candidates read this to decide whether to apply.

What should the brief say about Tools and systems?

Tools shape the work. A cost accountant using one system with job costing is not the same as one using another. Experience with a payroll platform, a warehouse system, a case management tool or a scheduling package may take time to transfer.

Do not list every tool you own. List the two or three the person will use daily. Candidates with the right ones will respond, and others will tell you honestly how fast they could learn.

If a system is being replaced, say so. A person who has migrated before is a different match from one who maintains the old one.

What should the brief say about Industry and setting?

Industry gives work its vocabulary. Construction accounting talks about retainage and change orders. Manufacturing accounting talks about inventory and variances. Healthcare administration talks about payers and claims. Nonprofit work talks about funds and restrictions.Experience across industries is valuable, and a brief should still name yours.

Industry gives work its vocabulary. Construction accounting talks about retainage and change orders. Manufacturing accounting talks about inventory and variances. Healthcare administration talks about payers and claims. Nonprofit work talks about funds and restrictions.

Experience across industries is valuable, and a brief should still name yours. A good candidate from another setting will tell you where the gap is and how they would close it.

Setting also includes size and structure: one entity or many, one site or several, union or non union, regulated or not. These facts change the profile as much as the title.

What should the brief say about Level: executive, manager or professional?

Level is the dimension most often confused. An executive owns outcomes for a function and answers to the owner or board. A manager owns a team and a process. A professional or specialist performs defined work in someone else's structure.

Level is the dimension most often confused. An executive owns outcomes for a function and answers to the owner or board. A manager owns a team and a process. A professional or specialist performs defined work in someone else's structure. The three are different searches.

A common error is requesting a manager when the real need is a specialist, or the reverse. Another is requesting an executive to do tasks that a professional could handle. Ask who will own the result if it goes wrong.

The site separates these levels so that you can browse executives, managers and professionals separately, and the request form asks which you need.

What should the brief say about Putting it together?

Pick a title from the list. Add the authority, the two or three tools, the industry and the level. Then describe the result you expect when the engagement ends. That is a brief a recruiter can act on.If you cannot decide between two titles, describe the work and the problem.

Pick a title from the list. Add the authority, the two or three tools, the industry and the level. Then describe the result you expect when the engagement ends. That is a brief a recruiter can act on.

If you cannot decide between two titles, describe the work and the problem. We will tell you plainly which fits and why.

If the title you want does not appear, tell us. The list reflects roles we commonly see, and not every real title is in it.