Leadership role
Chief Human Resources
The senior people executive, responsible for workforce strategy, compensation, benefits and employee relations.
Reporting and scope
Reports to the Executive Director / CEO or COO, and often supports the board's compensation committee. Authority covers HR policy and practice across the organization.
Core responsibilities
- Leads recruiting, retention and workforce planning
- Designs pay structures and benefits, and prepares executive pay data for the compensation committee
- Oversees employee relations, investigations and, where present, union relations
- Maintains policies and compliance with employment law
- Leads staff development and culture programs
- Manages HR systems and payroll coordination
How it differs
The VP of Human Resources and Director of HR run the function at a lower level. The Chief Learning Officer focuses on training and development only.
By organization size
Chief-level HR is common above a few hundred employees. In smaller organizations an HR director or the finance lead covers the work.
Filings from the last five years mapped to this role commonly report titles such as: Chief People Officer; Chief Human Resources Officer; Chief HR Officer; CHRO; Chief Human Resource Officer; Chief Human Resources Offi