| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Human Resources |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | HR Director |
| Direct reports | None |
| Experience | 4 to 8 years in HR, social impact or D&I roles, with experience running programs |
Diversity and Inclusion Specialist 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: Diversity and Inclusion Specialist
Department: Human Resources
Reports to: HR Director
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Diversity and Inclusion Specialist helps a company hire, keep and grow a workforce that reflects the people it serves, and makes sure everyone can work without bias or harassment. The role analyses workforce data by gender, disability and other groups, runs programs such as returnships and women's leadership, supports the POSH process and trains managers on inclusive practice. It reports to the HR Director or HR Head. A good D&I specialist shifts numbers such as the share of women in management, not only awareness.
Key responsibilities
- Analyse workforce data on gender, disability, age and location by level, hiring source and attrition, and share the gaps with leadership.
- Set D&I goals with HR and business leaders, such as women in management or hiring of persons with disabilities, and review them quarterly.
- Work with talent acquisition on inclusive job descriptions, diverse interview panels and outreach to women, PwD and returning professionals.
- Run returnship programs for women restarting careers after a break, covering hiring, onboarding support and mentoring.
- Review policies on leave, flexible work, travel, creche support and night shifts for women for barriers, and propose changes.
- Support the POSH process with Internal Committee training, awareness sessions and proper records, working with the presiding officer.
- Carry out accessibility audits of offices, systems and communication with facilities and IT, and follow each fix to closure.
- Train managers and interviewers on unconscious bias, inclusive meetings and respectful workplace behaviour.
- Support employee resource groups for women, PwD, LGBTQ+ employees and parents, including budgets and leadership sponsors.
- Report progress to leadership and prepare the D&I data needed for sustainability or annual reports.
Requirements
- MBA or PGDM in HR, or a master's in social work, gender studies or psychology
- Training in POSH or disability inclusion is an advantage
- Graduate in any discipline
- 4 to 8 years in HR, social impact or D&I roles, with experience running programs
KRAs and KPIs for a Diversity and Inclusion Specialist
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 |
|---|---|
| Representation | Share of women in manager roles up by the agreed points by year end |
| Diverse shortlists | At least one woman candidate on 90 percent of shortlists for manager roles |
| Returnship retention | At least 70 percent of returnship hires confirmed after probation |
| POSH readiness | Internal Committee trained every year and every employee completes POSH awareness |
| Inclusion score | Inclusion questions in the engagement survey improve for under-represented groups |
| Accessibility | Every accessibility audit finding closed within the agreed timeline |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: HRMS, MS Excel or Power BI, Survey tools, Accessibility checkers, MS PowerPoint.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Senior HR Business Partner, Employee Engagement Manager, HR Manager
Interview questions for a Diversity and Inclusion Specialist
- Women are 30 percent of our entry level but 8 percent of managers. Where would you look first?
- How would you design a returnship for women restarting after a career break?
- What would you check in our night shift arrangements for women employees?
- How do you run bias training that changes behaviour rather than ticking a box?
- What makes a POSH Internal Committee effective in practice?
- How would you make our hiring process accessible for candidates with visual impairment?
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What does a diversity and inclusion specialist do?
A diversity and inclusion specialist studies workforce data by gender, disability and other groups, sets D&I goals with leaders, runs programs such as returnships and mentoring, reviews policies for barriers, supports the POSH process and trains managers on inclusive behaviour. The role turns intent into measurable change.
Why do Indian companies hire D&I specialists?
Companies hire them to widen the talent pool, reduce attrition among under-represented groups, meet client and investor expectations and report D&I data in sustainability disclosures. Legal duties such as maternity benefit of up to 26 weeks and a POSH Internal Committee for workplaces with 10 or more employees also need someone who follows them closely.
What is a returnship program?
A returnship is a structured program for professionals, usually women, returning to work after a career break for childcare, caregiving or relocation. It combines hiring into real roles with refresher training, mentoring and flexible arrangements in the first months, so returners can rebuild confidence and skills quickly.