| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Human Resources |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | General Manager HR |
| Direct reports | Plant HR Manager, Industrial Relations Manager, HR Manager, Assistant HR Manager |
| Experience | 12 to 15 years in HR, with 5 or more years handling industrial relations and multi-unit HR in manufacturing |
DGM HR job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: DGM HR
Department: Human Resources
Reports to: General Manager HR
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A DGM HR runs HR for a large plant, a group of units or the corporate office in manufacturing, infrastructure and other traditionally structured Indian companies. Sitting one band below the GM HR, the role is hands-on: it signs off manpower requisitions, leads the management side of wage negotiations with the IR team, keeps compliance clean across units and closes difficult disciplinary cases. A good DGM HR keeps units running without labour disruption and without surprises at inspections.
Key responsibilities
- Consolidate unit-wise requirements for permanent, fixed-term and contract workers, and present the annual manpower plan to the GM HR for approval.
- Lead the HR managers and plant HR managers across units, review their monthly HR MIS and step in on escalated cases.
- Prepare the management's position on wage settlements, attend negotiation meetings with the union and draft settlement terms with the IR manager.
- Review compliance at every unit each month, covering PF, ESI, contract labour licences and registers, and close audit points before inspections.
- Approve disciplinary action for workmen and staff, appoint inquiry officers for domestic inquiries and review findings before the final order is issued.
- Standardize HR rules across units, such as shift allowance, overtime approval and canteen subsidy, and settle unit-level exceptions in writing.
- Oversee recruitment of engineers, supervisors and officers, and fix yearly intake numbers for graduate and diploma engineer trainees.
- Monitor overtime hours and cost by unit and department, and act where overtime has become a routine way of covering vacancies.
- Coordinate the appraisal and increment process for staff and the settlement-linked increments for workmen in the same financial year.
- Represent the company before labour department officials and conciliation officers, alongside the IR team, when disputes are raised.
Requirements
- MSW, MPM or MBA with a specialization in HR or industrial relations
- Graduate in any discipline, often science or commerce
- A diploma or degree in labour laws is an advantage
- 12 to 15 years in HR, with 5 or more years handling industrial relations and multi-unit HR in manufacturing
KRAs and KPIs for a DGM HR
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Industrial peace | Zero man-days lost to strikes, go-slows or lockouts across units in the year |
| Unit compliance | No open PF, ESI, contract labour or register gaps at any unit's monthly compliance review |
| Manpower and overtime cost | Unit manpower and overtime cost within the approved budget every quarter |
| Disciplinary case closure | Domestic inquiries completed within 90 days of the charge sheet |
| Staff hiring for units | Approved staff vacancies filled within 45 days, and trainee intake completed as planned |
| Policy consistency | Every unit-level HR exception documented and approved by the DGM HR before it is applied |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: HRMS, Biometric attendance system, MS Excel, EPFO and ESIC portals, Shram Suvidha portal, State labour department portals.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: General Manager HR, AVP HR, HR Head
Interview questions for a DGM HR
- The union has served a charter of demands asking for a 20 percent wage rise. How do you prepare the management's reply?
- Walk us through a domestic inquiry you handled, from the charge sheet to the final order.
- One unit's overtime has doubled in three months. How would you find out why?
- How do you make sure a contractor actually pays PF and ESI for the workers deployed at our site?
- A plant head wants a worker dismissed today for assaulting a supervisor. What do you advise?
- How would you explain the new wage definition under the Code on Wages to plant managers?
Managing a DGM HR in ZeniaHR
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What is the role of a DGM HR?
A DGM HR manages the HR function for a large plant, several units or the corporate office. The role covers manpower planning, industrial relations, statutory compliance, disciplinary cases, staff hiring and the appraisal cycle, and leads the HR managers who run each unit day to day. DGM stands for Deputy General Manager.
What is the difference between DGM HR and GM HR?
The GM HR owns HR policy, wage settlement mandates and senior hiring for the company or division and reports to the top management. The DGM HR executes that agenda across units: running negotiations on the ground, clearing compliance gaps, deciding disciplinary cases and leading unit HR managers. The DGM is usually the GM HR's successor in waiting.
Who reports to a DGM HR?
Plant HR managers, the industrial relations manager and HR managers for the corporate office or regions usually report to the DGM HR. In smaller groups, assistant HR managers and the time office in-charge may also report directly, while payroll and training sometimes sit under the DGM as well.