Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Vice President of Human Resources

🎯 Role Definition

The Vice President of Human Resources is an executive-level leader accountable for designing and delivering a comprehensive people strategy that attracts, develops, engages, and retains top talent across the enterprise. This role partners with the CEO and senior leadership to translate business strategy into workforce solutions, leads HR operations and centers of excellence (talent acquisition, total rewards, learning & development, HR operations), and establishes a culture of high performance, inclusivity, and continuous improvement. The VP HR is a strategic advisor, change agent, and operational steward who optimizes people processes and HR technologies to deliver measurable business outcomes.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Director of Human Resources
Head of Talent Acquisition / Head of People Operations
Senior HR Business Partner or Global HR Director

Advancement To:

Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) / Chief People Officer (CPO)
Executive Vice President of People & Culture
General Manager / Member of Executive Leadership Team with broader P&L responsibilities

Lateral Moves:

Head of Organizational Development
Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, own and execute the enterprise-wide human resources strategy, translating business priorities into workforce planning, talent attraction, retention, leadership development, and cultural initiatives that support revenue and profitability goals.
Lead the design and implementation of a market-competitive compensation and benefits strategy (including base pay, variable pay, equity programs, and executive compensation) that aligns with business objectives and is compliant across jurisdictions.
Drive end-to-end talent acquisition strategy for senior and high-impact roles by building employer brand, optimizing recruitment channels, establishing candidate assessment frameworks, and reducing time-to-fill for mission-critical positions.
Build and scale leadership development and succession planning programs that identify high-potential employees, create individual development plans, and ensure bench strength for key leadership positions.
Oversee performance management strategy and processes—goal setting, performance calibration, talent reviews and performance improvement plans—ensuring consistency, fairness and linkage to rewards and development.
Partner with the executive team to design organizational structures, role families, and spans of control that increase agility, reduce complexity, and support strategic growth and M&A activities.
Lead employee relations and labor relations strategy, providing executive-level counsel on complex disciplinary issues, investigations, collective bargaining, grievances and litigation avoidance.
Implement and govern HR policies, employment practices and compliance programs across global jurisdictions to manage legal risk and ensure alignment with local labor laws, privacy regulations, and company standards.
Drive DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) strategy and outcomes through measurable goals, inclusive leadership programs, equitable talent processes and community engagement initiatives.
Lead HR transformation and HRIS optimization projects (e.g., Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM), including vendor selection, data migration, integration, and rollout to improve HR service delivery and analytics.
Define and deliver HR analytics, workforce insights and people metrics (attrition, time-to-hire, engagement scores, cost-per-hire, diversity metrics) to inform executive decision-making and measure program ROI.
Manage total rewards budgeting and forecasting, including headcount planning, payroll oversight, vendor negotiations and cost modeling to support fiscal discipline and strategic investments.
Serve as a strategic advisor to business unit leaders on workforce planning, talent needs, performance issues, and organizational design to ensure people strategies enable business outcomes.
Lead or support M&A and integration efforts from a people perspective—due diligence, cultural assessment, retention strategies, harmonization of policies, and integration of HR systems and processes.
Champion employee engagement and culture initiatives (including pulse surveys, action plans, recognition programs and internal communications) to improve retention and productivity across remote and on-site work models.
Establish crisis and continuity plans for workforce resilience, including pandemic response, workforce reductions, executive transitions and high-risk employee relations scenarios.
Oversee learning and development strategy, including leadership academies, technical training, onboarding experiences and career pathing that accelerate competency building and internal mobility.
Ensure data privacy, security and confidentiality of HR records and sensitive employee information, working closely with legal and IT to maintain compliance with GDPR, CCPA and other applicable privacy regulations.
Develop and mentor the HR leadership team, setting clear objectives, enabling professional growth, and holding leaders accountable for delivering people programs and measurable outcomes.
Represent HR at board and executive committee meetings, preparing and presenting people-related risk assessments, workforce metrics, compensation proposals, and strategic talent plans.

Secondary Functions

Manage relationships with external HR vendors, executive search firms, benefits brokers, and consultants to ensure high-quality service delivery and cost efficiency.
Oversee HR shared services and employee experience functions to ensure timely, consistent and high-quality HR support for all employees globally.
Lead employer branding and recruitment marketing initiatives in partnership with communications and marketing teams to increase candidate pipeline and market reputation.
Facilitate cross-functional change management for large-scale initiatives, providing stakeholder communications, training plans, and adoption metrics to minimize disruption and accelerate ROI.
Drive continuous improvement of HR processes using automation, lean methodologies and employee feedback to improve efficiency and satisfaction.
Support compensation committee and board-level executive compensation processes including benchmarking, market analysis and documentation for governance and approvals.
Serve as an escalation point for complex or sensitive employee relations matters, coordinating investigations, legal counsel and remediation actions as needed.
Partner with finance to align HR programs with budget, forecasting and headcount planning cycles and deliver quarterly and annual people-related financial reporting.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

HR strategy development and execution — creating multi-year people plans that align to business objectives and measurable KPIs.
Talent acquisition strategy and executive recruiting — building diverse pipelines and improving hiring velocity for critical roles.
Total rewards design and compensation benchmarking — designing incentive plans, equity programs and benefits that attract and retain talent.
HRIS design, implementation and administration — hands-on experience with Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM, or comparable systems.
Employment law and global compliance — deep knowledge of U.S. federal, state and international labor laws, GDPR/CCPA privacy requirements and regulatory reporting.
Workforce planning and analytics — using people data, predictive modeling, and HR dashboards to forecast needs and identify retention risks.
Labor relations and collective bargaining — negotiating with unions, handling grievances and managing workforce campaigns where applicable.
M&A people integration — conducting HR due diligence, designing retention strategies, harmonizing policies and integrating cultures and systems.
Change management and organizational design — leading restructures, span-of-control optimization and role redesign with measurable adoption.
Learning & leadership development program design — building scalable leadership pipelines, competency models, and high-potential programs.
HR project and vendor management — running cross-functional HR programs on time and on budget with external partners.

Soft Skills

Strategic leadership and executive presence — able to influence C-suite and board-level stakeholders and represent people strategy credibly.
Stakeholder partnership and business acumen — translating business goals into people solutions and measuring impact on financial results.
Exceptional communication and storytelling — articulating complex topics clearly in presentations, memos and cross-functional forums.
Coaching, mentorship and talent development — developing HR leaders and managers to elevate organizational capability.
High emotional intelligence and cultural sensitivity — building trust across diverse and global teams and leading with empathy.
Change leadership and resilience — navigating ambiguity, managing resistance, and driving sustained organizational change.
Influence without authority — building coalitions and driving outcomes through persuasion, data and collaborative problem-solving.
Confidentiality and ethical judgment — safeguarding sensitive information and making principled decisions under pressure.
Problem solving and decision-making — diagnosing people challenges, identifying options and implementing pragmatic, scalable solutions.
Results orientation and accountability — delivering measurable outcomes and holding teams accountable for performance and compliance.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Psychology, Industrial/Organizational Psychology or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree (MSc / MA) in Human Resources, Organizational Development, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, MBA or relevant advanced degree; HR certifications such as SHRM-SCP, SPHR, or CIPD desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Human Resources Management
Business Administration / Management
Organizational Development / Industrial & Organizational Psychology
Labor Relations / Employment Law

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

12–20+ years of progressive HR experience with increasing scope and complexity.

Preferred:

15+ years of HR experience including at least 5 years in a senior leadership role (VP, Head of HR, CHRO) with responsibility for global or multi-site HR operations, demonstrated success in talent strategy, compensation planning, culture change, HR technology implementations and M&A integrations.
Proven track record of building high-performing HR teams, influencing executive leaders, and delivering measurable improvements in retention, engagement and organizational effectiveness.