When you search for “Ecommerce Job Descriptions” on Google, you get more than 467,000 results. That’s not surprising for a growing sector that is relatively still new in some countries. But what is surprising is the different nature of many of those descriptions.
When you hire a Finance Manager or Systems Analyst, typically many companies have a similar description for each of those roles. They are clearly defined for the most part. The only exception may be for some particular systems or technologies you are required to have used or learn. Same goes for the position of Director of Digital Marketing.
Digital Marketing Director Roles Are Much Easier to Draft Than Ecommerce Roles
The description will be filled with buzz words like “must have proven expertise in SEO, SEM, B2C, B2B, Email marketing optimization, and affiliate marketing.” There may be some industry or company specifics that are different, but for the most part, hiring managers, human resources (HR) teams, and recruiters can fill these descriptions with the help of the department head.
But evolving and relatively nascent roles like Ecommerce are a bit more complex. And here’s where the fun starts for Ecommerce.
How to Define Your Ecommerce Job Descriptions
It’s theoretically a newer position, and hiring teams are still not quite sure where the position starts and ends. But that’s where senior management needs to be clear about what this role entails.
Does it cover the technical component of Ecommerce, or is that left to the information technology (IT) team? Does it solely cover digital marketing with some technical components? Is this position responsible for the Ecommerce operations and logistics, or is that left with the operations team? Does the role lead the profit & loss (P&L) for the division, or is that left solely to finance? If you’re scratching your head trying to figure this out, you’re not alone.
Many Hiring Teams Don’t Have a Solid Job Description for Ecommerce Leaders
For my last 3 Ecommerce roles, I did not have a defined job description. Let me re-phrase that. I did not have any job description whatsoever. It was a title, nothing more, nothing less. And I had no problem with that whatsoever. In fact, I made it easy on my bosses and HR by writing my own job description and what it should entail.
You may ask “how did you accept the job without a job description?” Good question.
Through the interview process, I asked the right questions to determine what would be my responsibilities. I wanted to own the digital marketing, technical components, the finance aspect, and definitely the operations and logistics end.
But I know many other Ecommerce roles wherein the only thing they need to take care of is the technical component (as in the IT Ecommerce infrastructure, like launching a new platform or launching an Amazon Marketplace); and I know other roles where Ecommerce is simply Digital Marketing, plus the commerce component of a transactional website (as in optimizing the email marketing program to improve revenue per send, or testing landing pages to improve conversions). And you know what? Neither of those is wrong.
Best Way to Define Your Ecommerce Roles
Hiring teams should work with department heads to draft up a general job description. You can cover all elements of Ecommerce, or just some of them. Make it as general as possible. Then interview your pool of candidates, and see which ones can handle all of the responsibilities, or which ones can handle most of them. If you have an all-star digital marketing candidate who really knows his or her Ecommerce, but is not strong on the operations side, maybe it’s best to define the role more in terms of digital marketing and let the operations team take over the logistics behind Ecommerce, for the short term anyways.
Conversely, if you have a candidate that can handle all elements of Ecommerce, from marketing to logistics to technology improvements to finance, then you may not have to hire a small army, and you can hire this leader, and have him hire some help in the form of Coordinators or Specialists. And yes, it’s not easy to find someone with all those skill sets. When you do, you will want to ensure you hire them, and keep them happy.
Link Your Investment in Ecommerce Leaders With ROI
The great thing about Ecommerce leaders is that their hiring or salary can be tied directly to a return on investment (ROI). That makes it very easy to justify departmental hires. Not many other positions are so cut and dry when it comes to calculating their worth.
Are you part of an Ecommerce team? What does your job description look like?
It makes sense that ecommerce marketing jobs would be hard to outline for a business. Getting a professional to help with that seems like it would be a good idea! That way they can ensure that they get the right people.