Virtual Assistant Job Description Template: Copy, Customise and Post Today

A virtual assistant job description needs seven parts: a specific job title, a short company introduction, a role summary, five to eight responsibilities, must-have requirements, hours and time zone, and pay with clear application steps. Copy the template below, replace the brackets, keep it under 500 words and add three to five screening questions before you post.

A virtual assistant job description is a short public advert that tells remote candidates what work they will do, which skills they need, when they must be online and what they will be paid. It is not a contract. You can post your first role free on DonutJobs, a hiring platform for remote virtual assistants and chatters, and see the kind of small business virtual assistant roles employers hire for before you write yours.

The Copy-and-Paste Template

Paste this into your job post and replace every bracket. Delete anything that does not apply to your business, because a short, specific post attracts better applicants than a long, vague one.

Job title

[Focus] Virtual Assistant, for example "Inbox and Calendar Virtual Assistant for a Small E-commerce Team"

About us

[Company name] is a [type of business] that [one sentence on what you do and who you serve]. We are a team of [number] and we work [fully remote / hybrid with remote support staff]. We are looking for a reliable virtual assistant to take [main area of work] off our plate so we can focus on [your priority].

The role

You will keep [inbox / calendar / customer messages / admin] running smoothly. You will report to [name and title] and check in [daily / weekly] through [Slack, email, WhatsApp, other]. This is a [part-time / full-time] role of about [number] hours a week, engaged as [an independent contractor / an employee].

What you will do

• Manage and triage the inbox, flag anything urgent and draft replies for approval
• Schedule and confirm meetings and keep the calendar free of clashes
• Update spreadsheets, CRM records or project boards accurately
• Answer customer or client messages using our templates and escalate anything outside them
• Research suppliers, leads or competitors and summarise what you find
• Prepare a short report every [week / month]
• [Add one task that is specific to your business]

What we are looking for

Must have:

• [Number] or more years of experience in [admin, support, operations or similar]
• Clear written English and the ability to speak on a call when needed
• A stable internet connection and a working computer
• Comfort with [Google Workspace, Slack, Notion, your CRM or helpdesk]
• Availability during [hours in your time zone]

Nice to have:

• Experience in [your industry]
• [A second tool or skill you would train if needed]

Working hours and time zone

We need cover between [start time] and [end time] [time zone]. Please tell us which of those hours you can reliably work.

Pay and how you will be paid

[Rate or range] per [hour / month] in [currency], paid [weekly / every two weeks / monthly] by [payment method]. [State clearly if any part of the pay is commission or bonus.]

How to apply

Apply through this post and answer the screening questions. We reply to every shortlisted applicant within [number] days. Our process is a short call, a short paid trial task and a final conversation. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and judge every application on skills and experience.

Duties by Type of Virtual Assistant

Pick the row closest to your role and use it to fill the "What you will do" section. Most employers need one focus, not all six.

DonutJobs groups roles by tasks such as inbox management, calendar and scheduling, customer support, prospecting, lead qualification and social media DMs, which is a useful menu when you choose which row fits.

Which Requirements Belong in the Post

List only the skills you will check, and put the ones employers ask for most at the top. A Huntr analysis of 558 virtual assistant job postings (August 2026) found these requirements most often:

Two practical rules follow. First, write requirements you can test: "clear written English" is checkable, "excellent attitude" is not. Second, set bars the job actually needs. On DonutJobs the median typing test result is 31 words a minute, so asking for 60 words a minute for an inbox role filters out most candidates without improving the work. Read what VA candidate test scores tell you and what they don't before you set a cut-off.

How to Fill In Each Part

Each part of the template has one job: help the right person recognise the role and the wrong person rule themselves out.

Start with a specific title. "Virtual Assistant" on its own is too broad. Add the focus, such as "Customer Support Virtual Assistant", so candidates searching for that work find your post. Use a conventional title rather than a creative one.

Write the role summary as if you are talking to one person. Two or three sentences are enough. Say who they report to, how you communicate and what a good week looks like.

Keep responsibilities to five to eight items. A list of 20 duties suggests you have not decided what you need. List the tasks that will take most of their time first.

Be open about pay. Posts that state a rate get better-matched applicants and fewer wasted conversations. The virtual assistant cost calculator lets you enter your own rates and add recurring costs, so you can compare a remote hire with a local one before you publish. For context, recent DonutJobs candidates asked for a median of $5 an hour (1,795 profiles, October 2026), though that is an asking rate, not what employers pay.

State the hours in your time zone. Give a start time, an end time and the time zone. "Flexible" on its own leads to mismatched expectations in week one.

Pay, Fairness and Local Rules for US, UK and Australian Employers

Describe the job, not the person, give a pay range where you can, and say whether the role is contractor or employee. Advertising rules differ by market, so check where you and your business are based.

• United States. Some states and cities require pay ranges in job adverts. In New York State, for example, businesses with four or more employees must list compensation ranges for covered job opportunities and must clearly state if a position is commission-based. Check the rules in your own state and city.
• United Kingdom. GOV.UK guidance says you must not state or imply in a job advert that you'll discriminate against anyone, and to use phrases like "recent graduate" or "highly experienced" only when they are real requirements. Acas advises inclusive language that defines the job, not the applicant, for example "German-speaking sales rep" rather than "German sales rep".
• Australia. Check Fair Work Ombudsman guidance on job advertising and unpaid trials before you post. 

Whichever market you are in, do not promise employee benefits, such as paid holiday, in a post for an independent contractor role. This is general information, not legal advice, so check with a qualified adviser if you are unsure.

Screening Questions That Save You Hours

Three to five screening questions let you sort applicants in minutes instead of reading every CV. Good ones include:

• Which of these hours can you reliably work?
• Describe a time you handled a task that kept changing. What did you do?
• Which tools from our list have you used, and for how long?
• What would you do if an instruction seemed unclear?
• What is your internet speed and what device will you work on?

On Agency or Pro, the DonutJobs Formbuilder turns these into knockout questions, so applicants who cannot meet a basic requirement, such as your working hours, are screened out automatically. On the Free plan, you read the answers yourself and chat with applicants in the app. For the interview stage, use these virtual assistant interview questions for agency owners.

Add a Short Paid Trial Task

A trial task is the most reliable way to check what a post and a profile cannot. Pick one real task from your list, such as drafting five replies from your inbox or reorganising a week of calendar changes, set a time limit, pay for it and score accuracy, tone and the questions the applicant asks. This guide on what to look for in a VA trial task has a scoring approach you can copy.

Post This Role on DonutJobs in Five Steps

Once your template is ready, this is the quickest route from draft to shortlist.

1. Create your free account. You can post your first role free, with no credit card.
2. Paste your template into a new job post and choose the tasks that match the role, such as inbox management, calendar and scheduling, customer support or lead qualification.
3. Add your screening questions. On Agency or Pro, build them as knockout questions in the Formbuilder.
4. Submit the post. Free posts are checked by a person before they go live, which takes up to 48 hours. Agency and Pro posts publish straight away.
5. Chat with applicants in the app and send your top two a short paid trial task. On Agency or Pro, move them through pipeline stages in the applicant tracking system and keep notes on each one.

Speed after publishing is usually fast: half of the DonutJobs jobs that drew an applicant saw the first one within 17 minutes of going live (1,540 jobs, October 2026).

What Your Post Gets on DonutJobs

Your post goes live on a platform with 27,197 candidate profiles in 143 countries (October 2026), and on paid plans you can search that pool yourself rather than wait for applications. Candidates can complete up to four checks: an internet and hardware audit, an English communication test, a live typing speed test and a recorded voice sample. Scores show on their profiles, and you can filter to candidates who passed the bars you set.

The checks are optional for candidates, and 3,885 profiles (14%) have completed all four, so treat scores as a quick way to narrow a shortlist, not as proof of how someone will perform after six months. That is why the template ends with a paid trial task.

Plans, as listed on the DonutJobs pricing page in October 2026:

Every paid plan includes the applicant tracking system, Formbuilder knockout questions, Magic Search and Swipe and time tracking. There is no per-hire fee, no placement fee and no commission on wages, and you pay your hire directly. If you buy Agency or Pro, you can request a full refund within 48 hours of your first subscription purchase, as long as you have not used the platform yet (sending a chat message, receiving an application or activating a boost counts as use). DonutJobs reports an average of about 48 hours from search to signed offer.

Practical Use Cases

The same template works for most small teams once you swap the duties row. A founder buried in email can post the admin version this afternoon. An online store can post the customer support version to cover order questions. A small agency can post the lead generation version to free its team for client work. If you would rather buy hours than manage a person, DonutJobs also offers managed virtual assistants at $629 a month for 80 hours or $899 a month for 160 hours, with the contract and payroll handled by DonutJobs.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Most weak job posts fail for one of four reasons. The first is copying a long generic post without editing it; applicants can tell. The second is listing every possible duty, which attracts people who want to "do everything". The third is leaving out pay and hours, which wastes time on both sides. The fourth is wording that describes the person instead of the job, such as "young and energetic", which can breach advertising rules in the UK and elsewhere.

Remember that a job description is not a contract. Once you choose someone, agree the working terms in writing. For the full process from brief to onboarding, see how to hire a virtual assistant.

FAQ

How long should a virtual assistant job description be?

Aim for 300 to 500 words. That is enough to cover the role, responsibilities, requirements, hours, pay and how to apply without losing the reader halfway down the page. Anything longer usually means the duties list needs cutting. Candidates often scan job posts on a phone, so short sections, a bulleted duties list and a clear pay line make your post easier to act on. If you need to explain your tools or processes in detail, save that for the trial task brief or the onboarding notes rather than the public advert.

Can I post a virtual assistant job for free?

Yes. The DonutJobs Free plan includes one active job post and up to 10 applications, with no credit card needed. A person reviews free posts before they go live, which takes up to 48 hours, so submit early if you are in a hurry. You can chat with every applicant in the app on the Free plan. If you need more than 10 applications, instant publishing or the ability to message candidates in the talent pool directly, the Agency plan adds those for $99 a month, or $55 a month on a six-month term.

Can I hire a virtual assistant part-time for admin tasks only?

Yes. Many employers start with a part-time assistant on a narrow set of admin tasks, such as inbox triage and scheduling, and add hours once the work is documented. State the expected weekly hours and the fixed cover window in your post so applicants with the right availability apply. A narrow, part-time role is also easier to trial, because you can judge one or two tasks properly before you expand the scope. Put the hours in the role section of the template and the cover window in the working hours section.

Should a VA job description say contractor or employee?

Yes, say which one you intend, because it changes what applicants expect about tax, holiday and equipment. Many remote virtual assistants hired directly work as independent contractors, but the label alone does not decide their legal status; how the work is controlled in practice matters too. Avoid promising employee benefits in a contractor post. Rules differ in the US, UK and Australia, so this is general information rather than legal advice, and it is worth checking your position with a qualified adviser before you make an offer.

What happens after I post on DonutJobs?

Applicants arrive in your DonutJobs inbox, where you can read their screening answers and chat with them in the app. Each profile shows any checks the candidate has completed, such as English and typing scores. On Agency or Pro, applicants also appear in the applicant tracking system, where you can move them through pipeline stages, add notes, use bulk actions and search the wider talent pool. From there, run a short call, send your top two a paid trial task and make an offer to the strongest candidate.

A job post does not need to be perfect. It needs to be clear about the work, the hours and the pay, so the right people can recognise themselves in it. Use the template, trim it to your business and publish it while the need is fresh.

Your free account is one step away. Create your free DonutJobs account and post your virtual assistant role, or browse the talent pool to see the kind of profiles your post will reach.