Human Resources (HR) Director Job Description

As a Human Resources (HR) Director you are responsible for providing specialist consultation to the company’s management and executive team on strategic staffing plans, training initiatives, development schemes and remuneration packages. You will be working to create a vision and execute a people strategy that brings competitive advantage. 

 

What does a HR Director do?

Your choice of career path as an HR Director can be varied, as this role is required in almost all sectors and industries. The role comes with senior responsibilities towards business culture, the company’s workforce and attracting talent.  

Your responsibilities will also focus on creating people management strategies and HR department processes. Effective management and implementation of all parts of the HR agenda is needed. These include, internal recruitment, employee engagement, pay, reward and recognition, welfare, learning and development, HR systems and budgets. 

You will be charged with creating and embedding a culture that is committed to coaching, mentoring and supporting employees while championing diversity, inclusion, equality and wellbeing throughout the organisation. You will be expected to manage personnel, ensuring the human resources programmes and initiatives are effective, efficient and aligned to the overall business objectives. This is a great role for applying your previously gained skills, knowledge and professional experience, to support continuous employee development across all levels of the business.  

During the COVID-19 pandemic, HR functions underwent huge adjustments. With strategic business changes, new technology systems and tools introduced, changes in priorities and projects, budgets, headcount and the introduction of furlough. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, HR Directors may have to focus on items not dealt with before, for example stark changes to teams, redundancies, recruiting in line with potentially revised business priorities and focus.    

 

Is an HR Director job a good fit for you? 

If you have been working in a senior HR managerial role for at least 3 years, now could be the time for you to take the next step in your HR leadership journey. Embracing the opportunity to drive continuous development strategies that ensure the welfare and development of all staff.  

You will need to be an experienced HR professional with the ability to apply strong, inspirational leadership skills to promote and embed a diverse, inclusive culture. You will need to have vast knowledge and experience in: 

• Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE). 
• Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). 
• Employee Relations (ER). 
• Employee experience. 
• Diversity and inclusion. 
• Learning and development. 
• Organisation development and design. 
• People analytics. 
• Resourcing. 
• Reward. 
• Talent management. 

You will ideally have an accreditation from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), at Associate or Chartered Member Level. Not already a member? Find out how to become one by clicking here. 

Your duties as HR Director will include: 

• Plan and create strategies to ensure achievement of the HR objectives. 
• Provide expert professional advice to senior management in all areas of HR, including payroll, learning and development, employment law, HR policy, best practice and workforce development. 
• Develop effective employment policies in consultation with senior managers, executives, trade unions, staff and partners. 
• Provide professional leadership, support and development to HR staff, in order to increase knowledge, share best practice and ensure professional standards are met. 
• Ongoing review and improvement of the company’s occupational health, employee programmes, staff benefits and packages. 
• Set internal professional standards for creating job descriptions and handbooks. 
• Be accountable for company compliance with current regulations, professional standards, policies and procedures and legislation.  
• Oversee the development and implementation of succession planning. 
• Implement a continuous improvement agenda with focus on engagement and welfare activities, maximising productivity, devolving HR responsibilities to line managers and building leadership capability.  
• Ensure the organisational structure uses development principles most appropriate to support future growth. 
• Analyse and review HR statistical reports to identify trends, so that key issues and resources are adjusted accordingly. 
• Design and implement standardised onboarding processes. 
• Determine relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) for incentive schemes. 
• Form a strong organisational culture, so that the company values are displayed. 
• Promote inspirational leadership by demonstrating the company’s values and championing the leadership behaviour framework. 
• Effectively communicate any initiatives and programmes that encourage delivery of the company’s values. 
• Champion a high-performance culture with a focus on successful outcomes. 
• Create and oversee the plan for diversity, equality, and inclusion that aligns with company values, business strategy and commitments. 
• Oversee the creation of training and development plans for all employees and ensure they operate at a consistently high standard. 
• Design and lead the performance review programme that supports continuous development for all employees. 
• Ensure employee training requirements are well managed and monitored. 
• Coach, mentor and support senior colleagues to identify strengths and development needs. 
• Ensure the efficient management of annual HR budgets. 
• Form strong relationships with Senior Managers, Executives and Trade Union representatives to ensure that the team perspective is fully represented in decision making. 
• Provide management and strong leadership of the HR business unit functions and staff, including advice and direction on work priorities, budget and staff resources, strategic and policy issues, organisation and staff management issues. 

 

Are you a good fit for a HR Director job?  

To succeed as HR Director, you will need to draw upon the vast range of skills and abilities gained throughout your HR career so far: 

• Excellent knowledge of HR strategy and commercial insight, recruitment, engagement, cultural change, pay, reward and recognition, welfare, learning and development, HR systems and budgets. 
• Experience in developing and executing people strategy. 
• Excellent knowledge of employment legislation. 
• Practice of embedding HR practices that drive people and performance excellence. 
• Proven experience in leading departments and teams.  
• Exceptional leadership and role model qualities. 
• The ability to develop and nurture relationships across the business. 
• The confidence to provide expert professional advice. 
• The ability to lead or oversee the development of effective employment policies. 
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of regulations, accepted professional standards, policies and procedures and legislation (including legislation on data protection, the Equality Act and health and safety.) 
• The ability to analyse and review HR data to identify trends. 
• Experience in determining, measuring and analysing relevant KPIs for incentive schemes. 

 

Qualifications, Licences and Certifications 

HR Director requirements include:  

• An accreditation from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), or a bachelor's degree in Human Resources Management, Psychology, or Business-related subject.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in an HR role.
• Minimum 3 years’ experience in an HR management role.
• Fluent level of English, both spoken and written. 

In addition to the essential qualifications, employers will be looking for those who show strategic thinking abilities, strong organisational skills and superior interpersonal skills. 

You will need to be proactive, with an agile work ethic and experienced in managing a skilled team. In-depth knowledge of Employment Law, coupled with experience of using metrics for driving performance, along with thorough and methodical attention to detail.  

Ideally you will possess a curious mindset, to think innovatively and rationally about decisions, to come up with creative solutions and have pro-active leadership skills with a passion for leading with integrity and encouraging collaboration. 

Prospective employers will expect excellent presentation skills, good time management skills and the ability to prioritise, exceptional communication abilities, along with problem-solving skills and the use of initiative. 

You will also need a positive and approachable manner, be adaptable to change and possess a willingness to embrace new ideas and processes. These, along with a commitment to continual personal development, having the ability to accept and provide feedback, be challenged on your advice and work well under pressure, and having the capacity to make quick but rational decisions with proficient I.T. skills, will be essential. 

Where can an HR Director job take you?   

HR careers are excellent for building your skills, capabilities and experience so you can share your knowledge, mentoring and ability to nurture talent. As such, an HR Director with a variety of applicable industry knowledge is well recognised and sought after. 

If you are already in an HR Director role, you may wish for a more varied career by moving sector and industry. 

After working as an HR Director your next step could be Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), especially if you have gained or are working towards Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) accreditation at Chartered Fellow level. 

Next steps  

If you’re interested in an exciting and varied role within HR, that offers you the opportunity for self-development, meeting new people and making an impact on a company’s candidate pool, click here to see what HR Officer jobs we have available.

Visit our HR Jobs area for new opportunities or visit our LinkedIn page for the latest news. 

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