Heads of people · the role
What does a head of people do?
The short answer · updated
A head of people (often titled head of HR) leads a company’s people function: hiring, pay and benefits, performance, learning, employee relations, culture and the HR policies and compliance behind them. They advise the leadership team on organisation and talent, and usually report to the chief executive, the COO or a chief people officer.
What is a head of people?
A head of people is the senior leader responsible for how a company hires, pays, develops and looks after its staff.
In a growing company it is often the first senior HR hire and the most senior people role; in a larger one it sits below an HR director or a chief people officer.
The title has largely replaced “head of HR” in younger companies, but the work is the same.
The CIPD Profession Map, the people profession’s standard, sets its purpose as championing better work and working lives, and describes the knowledge every people professional needs as expertise in people, in work and in change.
Head of people roles and responsibilities
The remit depends on the size of the company and what sits with finance or operations.
The common core:
- People strategy. Turning the business plan into a plan for hiring, structure, skills and culture.
- Hiring. Running recruitment and onboarding, and the employer brand behind them.
- Pay and benefits. Designing salary bands, bonus and benefits, and running the pay review.
- Performance and development. Setting up reviews, objectives, learning and career paths.
- Employee relations. Handling discipline, grievances, absence and change fairly and lawfully.
- Policy and compliance. Contracts, the handbook, right to work checks, data protection and reporting duties.
- Culture and engagement. Measuring how people feel about working there, and acting on it.
- HR operations. Payroll inputs, HR systems and people data.
Head of people vs HR director vs chief people officer
A head of people or head of HR leads the people function and its team, often hands-on.
An HR director usually has the same remit at greater scale, with a seat in the senior team.
A chief people officer or CHRO is the most senior people executive, setting people strategy across the whole company and advising the board.
See what a CHRO does.
Titles vary between companies, so compare the remit, the reporting line and the budget, not the name.
The employment law a head of people runs
Much of the role is getting the legal basics right every time.
An employer must give employees a written statement of employment particulars when they start, and must check a job applicant’s right to work before employing them, or risk a civil penalty.
When things go wrong, the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures is the minimum an employer should follow, and a tribunal takes it into account.
Employers above a set headcount must report their gender pay gap each year; the head of people usually prepares it.
None of this is legal advice: a head of people knows when to call an employment lawyer.
Skills and qualifications
No qualification is required by law.
Many heads of people hold CIPD professional membership, which shows standing in the profession.
Ask also for evidence of the company’s current problem: scaling hiring, building the first pay framework, a restructure, or culture after rapid growth.
The best candidates combine judgement in difficult cases with a commercial view of what the business needs from its people.
Fractional, interim and permanent heads of people
A permanent head of people suits a company large enough to need the role every day.
An interim head of people covers a fixed period: a restructure, a merger, or a gap between appointments.
A fractional head of people works part of the week, often for a growing company building its first HR foundations.
See fractional head of people jobs.
A fractional or interim head of people working through their own company may fall within the off-payroll working rules (IR35).
Status turns on how the engagement runs in practice, and a medium or large client makes the determination.
Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
Pay depends on the size of the company and the scope of the role.
Our head of people salary page sets out published pay with sources.
How to hire a head of people
Write down what the role must fix in its first year, which decisions it may take alone, and what stays with finance or the founders.
Then choose the form: permanent, interim, part-time or fractional.
Test candidates on a real case from your business, such as a pay review, a difficult grievance or a hiring plan, and take references from managers they supported.
We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent executives, and non-executive directors.
For a people brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting.
For the most senior people seat, see how to hire a CHRO.
Questions people ask
What is a head of people?
The senior leader of a company’s people function: hiring, pay, performance, development, employee relations, culture and HR compliance.
Is a head of people the same as a head of HR?
Usually, yes.
“Head of people” is the newer title and often signals more weight on culture and development, but the remit is normally the same.
Who does a head of people report to?
The chief executive or COO in a smaller company; an HR director or chief people officer in a larger one.
What is the difference between a head of people and a chief people officer?
Seniority and scope.
A chief people officer sets people strategy for the whole company and advises the board; a head of people leads the people function.
See what a CHRO does.
Does a head of people need a CIPD qualification?
No qualification is required by law, but many hold CIPD professional membership, which shows standing in the profession.
Can a head of people work part-time?
Yes.
A fractional head of people works part of the week.
How much does a head of people earn?
It depends on the company’s size and the scope of the role.
Our head of people salary page sets out published figures with their sources.
